CANNABIS
Bipartisan Legislation To End Marijuana Prohibition Filed (NORML)
As of 2019, Legal Cannabis Has Created 211,000 Full-Time Jobs in America (Leafly)
Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Passes New Mexico Senate (Marijuana Moment)
New Mexico House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)
Hawaii Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)
Trump Administration Wants More Input On Marijuana Rescheduling (Forbes)
North Dakota’s First Medical Cannabis Dispensary Is Open for Business (Leafly)
Elon Musk Could Lose His Pentagon Security Clearance Over Video of Him Smoking Pot (TIME)
Higher education: Colleges add cannabis to the curriculum (AP News)
Liberal Hawaii Decides Again Not to Legalize Cannabis (Leafly)
Cannabis conundrum: California researchers struggling to get their hands on it (The Mercury News)
Why scientists are using yeast to make marijuana compounds (The Verge)
Amazon Vet Joins Cannabis Site Leafly As New CEO (Forbes)
Majority Of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana And Expunging Records, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)
Hawaii Dispensaries Can Now Serve Out-of-State Cannabis Patients (Leafly)
Marijuana Use Before Sex Leads To More Satisfying Orgasms, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)
Regulations Are Choking Out California's Legal Weed Industry (VICE)
Bernie Sanders Hits Campaign Trail With A Big Focus On Marijuana Reform (Marijuana Moment)
Beto O’Rourke Rallies Support Around Marijuana Reform Ahead Of Potential 2020 Run (Marijuana Moment)
Where Presidential Candidate John Hickenlooper Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
Where Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
How I Use CBD to Treat Endometriosis (Civilized)
Texas Lawmakers Hold Marijuana Decriminalization Hearing (Marijuana Moment)
Texas Sheriffs Stand Against Marijuana Policy Reform (The Appeal)
The DEA Wants Help Differentiating Marijuana From Hemp (Marijuana Moment)
Facebook May Loosen Marijuana Restrictions, Internal Company Presentation Says (Marijuana Moment)
Guns or cannabis? Ohio patients must choose. (Cincinnati.com)
South Africa's Cannabis Policy is Wildly Confusing, Despite "Dagga" Being Part of the Culture for Centuries (Civilized)
Florida Poised to Repeal State Ban on Smokable Cannabis (Leafly)
Massachusetts dogs suffering from “cannabis toxicity” now that pot is legal (The Takeout)
Meghan McCain Says Marijuana Might Have Extended Her Father’s Life (Marijuana Moment)
Boulder company conducting study on effects of CBD on brain injury (Boulder Daily Camera)
Where Do The Major North American Sports Leagues Stand On Cannabis? (Yahoo! Sports)
LSD
Stanford admissions employee charged in LSD stabbing of girlfriend (Los Angeles Times)
How LSD Makes Us Trip, and Why It Might Be Good for Us (Esquire)
Taking LSD every morning ‘could be beneficial’, say scientists (Metro)
Gaspar Noé provokes again, this time with LSD as lubricant, in 'Climax' (The Boston Globe)
This sailor brought acid aboard his carrier (Navy Times)
MAGIC MUSHROOMS
A single dose of psilocybin enhances creative thinking and empathy up to seven days after use, study finds (PsyPost)
B.C. counsellor wants Health Canada to approve psilocybin to treat death anxiety (Vancouver Sun)
MDMA
Israeli approves compassionate use of MDMA to treat PTSD patients (420 Intel)
MDMA is purer, more readily available than ever in New Zealand (Newshub)
Man died plunging into Amsterdam canal after taking MDMA (Rave Jungle)
Schoolgirl, 15, collapsed and died on first day of summer holidays after experimenting with ecstasy (The Sun)
DMT
Scientists Microdosed Rats With DMT, and It Was Both Good and "Concerning" (Inverse)
The DMT Trip and the Mysteries of Hyperspace Travel (Chacruna)
Meet the real-life people probing one part of an Alex Jones DMT conspiracy theory (Rooster Magazine)
AYAHUASCA
Ritualistic ayahuasca users tend to have positive health and psychosocial well-being (PsyPost)
Six Playful Lessons from a Transgender Journey Through Ayahuasca Integration (Chacruna)
Shipibo Women Healers on the Challenges and Opportunities of the Ayahuasca Boom (Psymposia)
What I Learned During 15 Years as an Ayahuasca Scientist (Kahpi)
5-MEO-DMT
5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety (Taylor and Francis Online)
SALVIA DIVINORUM
What It’s Like to Smoke Salvia for Science (Motherboard)
NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
2C-B Is the Drug Taking Over the UK's Clubs (VICE)
What is party drug 2CP and what are the side-effects after first UK death? (Metro)
Examining the Tragic Bestival Drug Death of Louella Fletcher-Michie (VICE)
SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS
Synthetic cannabinoid use can affect psychological outcomes (Healio)
Government moves to increase synthetic cannabinoids penalties (Radio New Zealand)
Spice ‘zombies’ triggering NHS cost crisis (Metro)
NITROUS OXIDE
Boca Regional Offering Nitrous Oxide Therapy For Patients In Childbirth (Boca Newspaper)
Why ‘nos’, the nitrous oxide party drug, is no laughing matter (The Times)
KETAMINE
A ketamine-like drug is the first new antidepressant to get FDA approval in years (Vox)
Esketamine is not a breakthrough new drug: Why the nasal spray for depression is old news (KevinMD.com)
How Is Taking Ketamine for Depression Different From Falling Into a K-Hole? (Gizmodo)
Driver high on ketamine ploughed into woman walking in Kings Heath (Birmingham Live)
PCP
Bryan police: Man charged after resisting arrest, assaulting officer (Bryan-College Station Eagle)
OPIATES/OPIOIDS
Maryland to distribute fentanyl test strips to allow users to test drugs (The Baltimore Sun)
How One Group Is Expanding Access to Overdose-Reversing Drugs Through the Mail (Tonic)
French poppy seed bread found to contain dangerous levels of morphine (The Telegraph)
Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. (The New York Times)
Investigation: Where Are Naloxone Confiscations Happening the Most? (Filter)
'Opium-addicted' parrots terrorize Indian poppy farmers (The Jerusalem Post)
The Opioid Dilemma: Saving Lives in the Long Run Can Take Lives in the Short Run (The New York Times)
Naloxone kits will be added to 29 city-owned public buildings (CBC)
Staten Island nonprofit will include naloxone training in CPR classes (SILive.com)
Naloxone credited with decrease in overdose reports in Lima region (Lima Ohio)
Scott Gottlieb was one of the few Trump officials taking on the opioid crisis. Now he’s out. (Vox)
Fulton commission considering ban on synthetic opioids (MDJOnline.com)
Report: Man overdosing on heroin crashes into restaurant (News 12 Westchester)
Saira Khan: Stop doctors creating a nation of addicts (Mirror)
Charges dropped in historic opium poppy bust in Catawba County (WCNC)
Why aren’t slots for opioid treatment filled? City tries to turn the tide. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Training Day: Naloxone indications and administration (EMS1.com)
Naloxone saves lives and experts say it's easier to get than most people think (9News.com)
COCAINE
Insta-gram: How British cocaine dealers got faster and better (Mixmag)
METHAMPHETAMINE
Local dentists show dangers of meth (KRQE)
ALCOHOL
Alcohol Reduces Fibromyalgia Pain (Pain News Network)
Why You Can't Buy Alcohol on Election Days in Some Countries (VinePair)
Drinking Alcohol Is More Harmful To Young People Than Previously Thought, According To Study (Bustle)
Push to allow more alcohol in Utah beer hits stumbling block (Standard-Examiner)
Locals reflect on first year of having Sunday alcohol sales (WTHI-TV)
Is It More Difficult for Women to Quit Drinking Alcohol? (The Bold Italic)
More than a dozen Clayton businesses caught selling alcohol to minors (WRAL)
KRATOM
Kratom recalled after salmonella bacteria found in products sold by Oregon company (Statesman Journal)
Chester County family sues kratom distributor in death of son (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
US Poison Control Is Being Inundated With Calls About an Opioid-Like Herb (ScienceAlert)
Two Parents' Kratom Stories: One Nightmare, One Miracle (Westword)
Monroe County sheriff to ask for banning of Kratom (WCBI)
MISCELLANEOUS
Psychedelics and Dying Care: A Historical Look at the Relationship between Psychedelics and Palliative Care (Taylor and Francis Online)
The IRS Targets Drug Policy Reformers (Reason)
Gwyneth Paltrow thinks psychedelics are the next big wellness trend (Quartz)
Labour supports trials of consumption rooms to cut drug deaths (The Guardian)
“Never Give Up”—State Commission Urges Mass. to Move for Supervised Consumption Sites (Filter)
Leaving The Third Wave: Team Statement (The Psychedelic Scientist)
Reframing Psychedelic Integration into a Continuum with Community (Psychedelic Support)
Alex Jones Says Secret Government Program Uses Psychedelics To Communicate With Aliens (Marijuana Moment)
Can We Quantify the Placebo Effect in Psychedelic Medicine? (Psychedelic Support)
Wavepaths Conversations — Jon Hopkins (Medium)
Record Number in US Dying From Alcohol, Drugs, Suicide (Newsmax)
Teens Need the Truth About Drugs (The Wall Street Journal)
Male drug-related deaths up 98% in Northern Ireland (BBC)
Yale researchers bolster conversations on psychedelic science (Yale Daily News)
Could Microdosing Psychedelics Treat Mood Disorders? (The Fix)
Psychedelic Drugs Heal, Too (Washington Square News)
On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:
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Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.
Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.