This Week in Psychedelics - 11.16.18

Cannabis

• Will 2019 be the Year of Federal Marijuana Law Reform? (The Marijuana Times)

• Thai lawmakers back legalizing medical marijuana (Associated Press)

• Study Finds CBD Alleviates Psychotic Disorder Symptoms (Psychedelic Times)

• Pot approved for research, medical use (Bangkok Post)

• Medical cannabis: Death sentence prompts Malaysia to re-think harsh laws (BBC)

• Why Women Support Legal Marijuana Less Than Men, According To A New Study (Marijuana Moment)

• The Complicated Relationship Between IP Law & Cannabis (IPWatchdog)

• Marijuana Use Doesn’t Affect Outcome Of Kidney Transplants, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Michigan law push Indiana toward cannabis? (South Bend Tribune)

• Mitch McConnell Guarantees Industrial Hemp Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Why people love CBD — the cannabis product that won't get you high (CNBC)

• If Chris Christie Becomes Attorney General, Pot Advocacy Could be Set Ablaze (Reason)

• VA Will Explore Medical Marijuana, But Only If Federal Law Changes, Secretary Says (Marijuana Moment)

• A cannabis Coke and a smile? Colorado companies hoping to tap infused beverage craze (The Denver Post)

• Here’s Where The Next House Speaker Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Canada: officials urge action to keep edible marijuana away from children (The Guardian)

• Legal Marijuana Would Generate Hundreds Of Millions For Illinois, New Analysis Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Congress: New House Rules Chairman Pledges To Allow Floor Votes On Marijuana-Related Amendments (NORML)

• The Feds Want Researchers To Study ‘Minor’ Cannabinoids And Terpenes In Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• If This Bill Passes, Possessing Pot in Texas Will Be Treated Less Harshly Than Distributing Straws in San Francisco (Reason)

• Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Three Medical Marijuana Bills For Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Local Officials From Across US Call For Federal Marijuana Rescheduling (Marijuana Moment)

• Police drugs lead 'impressed' by cannabis clubs (BBC)

• The DEA Just Got Scolded Over Its Marijuana Eradication Program (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis and the brain: Recent studies shed new light (Medical News Today)

• The Feds Are Hiring Professional Marijuana Joint Rollers…Kind Of (Marijuana Moment)

• For a Buck and Sometimes a Buzz, Brewers Are Putting Cannabis Into Cans (The New York Times)

• Feds Seek New Growers To Produce Thousands Of Kilograms Of Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas NORML: Midterm Elections and the 86th Texas Legislature (NORML)

• Indiana NORML: Midterm Elections Shakeup State Legislature (NORML)

• Here’s How Much Legal Marijuana Supporters And Opponents Spent Per Vote In Last Week’s Election (Marijuana Moment)

• Could Pot Help Solve The Opioid Crisis? (BuzzFeed News)

• Michelle Obama Talks Smoking Marijuana In New Memoir (Marijuana Moment)

• The UK's Biggest Legal Weed Producer Has Ignited Fresh Criticism (VICE)

• Cali judge protects right to grow cannabis (The Leaf Online)

• Holiday Gift Guide 2018: The Ultimate Luxury List For Cannabis Connoisseurs (Forbes)

• American cannabis expert warns UK government ‘relax laws or be left behind’ (Metro)

• ‘Walking Dead’ Actor Raises Money For Kids Who Use Medical Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Alfie Dingley: Mum's fresh medicinal cannabis campaign (BBC)

• Texas Lawmaker Files Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Is the stigma of cannabis preventing more seniors from using it? (WTVF)

• Mormon Church Faces Potential Lawsuit Over Medical Marijuana Opposition (Marijuana Moment)

• NORML Chapters Participate in Las Vegas’ First Business-to-Consumer Cannabis Conference (NORML)

• TV Stations Pulled Anti-Legalization Ads Ahead Of Midterm Marijuana Votes, Advocates Say (Marijuana Moment)

• Here's What Marijuana Stock Aurora Cannabis Is Saying About Its Future (The Motley Fool)

• Colorado Governor Touts Marijuana Legalization’s Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Throwback Thursday: Understanding “South Pacific” With a Little Help from LSD (Dope Magazine)

• Man ‘gouged’ PCSO’s face while on LSD at Bexhill party (Bexhill-on-Sea Observer)

• Navy Sailors Dealing LSD in Nuclear Reactor Department of Aircraft Carrier (Citizen Truth)

• Drug with therapeutic effect: How LSD affects the brain (Infosurhoy)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Could Be Legal for Therapy by 2021 (Rolling Stone)

• FDA Gives Stamp of Approval for Clinical Psilocybin Trials (Psychedelic Times)

• Driver on psychedelic mushrooms crashed vehicle on Beltine, walked into traffic, police say (Channel 3000)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• How long will it be until we see the legalisation of MDMA? (The Student)

• Teenage boy with epilepsy died after secretly taking MDMA on night out (Metro)

• Girl, 18, died 'after taking "double-strength" ecstasy at Mutiny music festival' (Mirror)

• Woman, 29, died after taking heroin, ecstasy and cocaine in strip club (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Can Toad Venom Unlock The Mystery Of Neurogenesis? New Insights on 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Times)

• How I drank my way from the Amazon to the Himalayas (Condé Nast Traveller)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• In The Only State Where Selling Peyote Is Legal, The Cactus Is Threatened And Still Controversial (Texas Public Radio)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Holy War – A Tale of Bwiti Iboga Initiation, Part 2 (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• ‘Testing prisoners for cannabis led to the Spice epidemic,’ says former government adviser (talkRADIO)

Dissociatives

• Hospital Injected Intoxicated Woman with Ketamine, Enrolled Her in Clinical Trial Without Consent, Lawsuit Says (Newsweek)

• ‘It’s the PCP’: Man wearing only a towel arrested at shopping center (FOX2Now.com)

• Ketamine For Depression (Healthy Magazine)

• Man accused of causing deadly crash was high on PCP, officials say (KOCO)

• Judge rules woman accused of setting fatal Springfield fire was too high on PCP to confess (MassLive.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• As if heroin weren’t dangerous enough, it may come with lead poisoning (Ars Technica)

• 'Dozens' of underground heroin-injection sites operating now in King County (KIRO)

• Some pharmacies fail to offer easy access to naloxone, or to stock it, despite anti-opioid initiatives (STAT)

• The Hell of Getting Methadone When You’re Away from Home (Tonic)

• Philly may require all pharmacies to stock overdose-reversal drug naloxone (WHYY)

• Growing concern for 'pink death' drug and pure fentanyl (KMSP)

• Why Some Pharmacies Still Fail To Carry Naloxone (The Fix)

• Life After Heroin Is Beautiful and Boring (VICE)

• Find Out the Rate of Opioid-Related Overdoses in Your Town (NBC Chicago)

• Toronto man sounds alarm about 'drastic need' for naloxone training to battle opioid overdoses (CBC)

• Viewpoint: Big Pharma didn't drive up the cost of naloxone, 'opportunity has' (Becker's Hospital Review)

Kratom

• Kratom herbal supplement may cause withdrawal symptoms in newborns (MyNDNow.com)

• HHS recommended that the DEA make kratom a Schedule I drug, like LSD or heroin (STAT)

• The U.S. May Ban Kratom. But Are its Effects Deadly or Lifesaving? (Discover Magazine)

• A ruling is imminent on the legality of a controversial drug that's used to treat addiction — but some have called it a 'dangerous opioid' (Business Insider)

• Kratom for Fitness, Pre-Workout & Bodybuilding (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom Plants & Kratom Seeds for Sale Online (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Vanuatu continues push for quality standard for kava (Radio New Zealand)

• The New Criterion: say 'bula' to the world's first listed kava producer (Livewire Markets)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The DEA and ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights (Quartz)

• Egypt MP Proposes Law to Decriminalise All Drug Use (Talking Drugs)

• Teenagers boil sanitary pads to get high (The Jakarta Post)

• My Relationships With Drugs Vary Wildly: We Must Recognize Spectrums (Filter)

• Drug-Law Violations Account for Over a Quarter of Women Incarcerated in the US (Filter)

• Greece Health Ministry Plans Drug Consumption Rooms (Talking Drugs)

• Secret CIA Document Shows Plan to Test Drugs on Prisoners (ACLU)

• Psychedelic Ethics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Psymposia)

• Is Psychedelic Science Reaching A Breaking Point? (The Third Wave)

• Microdosers Are More Creative With Happier Emotions, Study Finds (VICE)

• The Psychedelic Renaissance Will Be Decided By Access (Chacruna)

• Get Up, Stand Up, Speak Up (Psymposia)

• What It's Like to Run the Biggest Drug Encyclopedia in the World (VICE)

• A New Documentary Shows How Vets Are Using Weed and Ayahuasca to Treat PTSD (Tonic)

• Ayahuasca for PTSD: Interview with "From Shock to Awe" Producer Janine Sagert (Reality Sandwich)

• This comedian tried to explain what drugs feel like and it went strangely (Rooster Magazine)

• Competitive Psychedelic Users Are Chasing 'Ego Death' and Losing Their Sense of Self (VICE)

• The Global Drug Survey wants to have an honest conversation about your drug habits (Time Out)

• Can Psychedelics “Cure” Gay People? (Chacruna)

• The Life and High Times of Psychedelic Bard, Terence McKenna (Kahpi)

• Oiling the Hinges of the Doors of Perception – Microdosing with Psychedelics (Beckley Foundation)

• Service workers say supervised injection facilities could cut restroom overdoses (Business Insider)

• The Island: Recovering Self, Culture and Place through Plant Medicine (Chacruna)

• Personal drug use should be decriminalized, addictions expert says (CBC)

• Chris Selley: On safe injection sites, why can't conservatives just let people not die? (National Post)

• Confirmation Bias And Misreporting Plague Psychedelic Research (The Ticker)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" 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 Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 11.2.18

Cannabis

• Mexican Supreme Court Strikes Down Marijuana Prohibition (Marijuana Moment)

• Thailand Mulling Becoming the First Country in Asia to Legalize Medical Marijuana (TIME)

• NORML Submits 10,000+ Written Comments to the FDA for the Reconsideration of International Marijuana Prohibition (NORML)

• Blood-Sucking Flies Love Marijuana, New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Legal Marijuana Helps Reduce Opioid Harms, Two More New Studies Reveal (Marijuana Moment)

• 4 More States Could Legalize Medical or Recreational Marijuana Next Week (Reason)

• Marijuana In The Governor's Mansion: Record Number Of Candidates Say Legalize It (Forbes)

• Coca-Cola CEO says company has no plans for cannabis drinks (CNN)

• Vancouver, Canada’s Marijuana Capital, Struggles to Tame the Black Market (The New York Times)

• Medical cannabis products available on prescription (BBC)

• New Study Shows How Opinions On Marijuana Shift Based On Who Endorses It (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis oil: Why it could really be the miracle sleep saver (The Telegraph)

• Australia’s cannabis industry set to boom: report (news.com.au)

• Kansas Finally Admits It's Okay to Put Hemp in Beer (Reason)

• Young Advocates Launch Marijuana Legalization Phone Bank To Get Out The Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Pot never should have been illegal in the first place (USA Today)

• Paul Ryan Touts The Benefits Of A Marijuana Ingredient And Industrial Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• Quitting cannabis could lead to better memory and cognition (The Guardian)

• Utah Medical Marijuana Campaign Funding Mainly Slows Down Following Compromise Deal (Marijuana Moment)

• Everything you need to know about CBD, the cannabis elixir that doesn’t get you high (MarketWatch)

• Mother says cannabis oil has been saviour for epileptic son Alfie (The Guardian)

• Advocacy Groups Push Colorado To Make Legal Marijuana Market More Equitable (Marijuana Moment)

• With pot legalized, job openings surge in Canada’s cannabis industry (The Washington Post)

• Marijuana Campaign Ads Are Flooding Airwaves Ahead Of The Election (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Yale scientists have new insight on how LSD works in the brain (Quartz)

• U of A student who stabbed 19-year-old to death while on LSD wins shorter sentence on appeal (Edmonton Journal)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Study Shows Beneficial Effects of Microdosing "Trip Truffles" (Inverse)

• Is Medicalization the Only Way to Legalize Psilocybin and Ibogaine? (Chacruna)

• Shroom for improvement: FDA lists psychedelic drugs as ‘breakthrough therapy’ for depression (RT)

• These folks used to raise money for the planet, now psychedelic mushrooms (Rooster Magazine)

• A handful of psychedelic "Atlantis" mushrooms in Amsterdam (Boing Boing)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• MDMA-Assisted Therapy For PTSD Edges Closer To FDA Approval After Largest-Ever Trial (IFLScience)

• DJ David Morales released without charge after ecstasy arrest at Japanese airport (The Sun)

• Mum recalls heartbreaking moment daughter, 15, died after taking ‘dark web’ MDMA pill (The Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• DMT Is the Drug for Our Collective Crisis of Meaning (Medium)

• Ayahuasca For the First Time at 64 Years Old: Interview with Rhea Consalvo (Psychedelic Times)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine trial suspended following concerns around informed consent (Outsourcing-Pharma.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• Opioid Antidote Can Save Lives, But Deciding When To Use It Can Be Challenging (NPR)

• Poppy farmers seek comprehensive solution to illicit drug problem (Myanmar Times)

• Can you grow opium poppies in New Zealand? (Stuff.co.nz)

• Giant heroin spoon left outside Massachusetts Statehouse (StarTribune)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• What Psychedelic Research Can and Cannot Tell Us about Consciousness (Scientific American)

• The fix is worse than the problem: A reply to psychedelic researchers (Metaphysical Speculations)

• Why did shamanism evolve in societies all around the globe? (Aeon)

• Portugal’s drug policy shows what common-sense approach looks like (San Francisco Chronicle)

• psychedelic.support creates a network for psychedelic therapists (Psymposia)

• The Ideal Society In Terms Of Psychoactive Substances (Maps Of The Mind)

• Psychedelics and Witchcraft — The Truth About Hallucinogenic “Hexing Herbs” (Psychedelic Frontier)

• “Zombies” and Rotting Flesh: The Media Just Loves Halloween-y Depictions of People Who Use Drugs (Filter)

• DEA Says Meth Use Has Never Been Higher; Survey Data Say Otherwise (Reason)

• Horizons: The Psychedelic Conference Where Old Meets New (The Third Wave)

• It’s Time for the Psychedelic Renaissance to Join the Harm Reduction Movement (Chacruna)

• Global Drug Survey 2019: Kiwis urged to get frank about their drug use (Stuff.co.nz)

• Wave of Burning Man-Related Drug Arrests Won't Go to Trial (Reason)

• 5-Year-Old Has Meth Poisoning After Trick-or-Treating. It Probably Wasn't the Halloween Candy. (Reason)

• Evidence is mounting that psychedelic drugs can help treat diseases. Here are the most promising uses (Pulse)

• Drugs: Perspectives in Social Sciences (Chacruna)

• Setting the record straight with Robin Carhart-Harris and Enzo Tagliazucchi (Metaphysical Speculations)

• Further Response to the Psychedelic Neuroimaging Researchers (Metaphysical Speculations)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" 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 Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 7.13.18

Cannabis

• Israel Moving to Decriminalize Marijuana Use This Week (High Times)
• Marijuana Is Not a Holy Sacrament, Rules Indiana Judge Following First Church of Cannabis Lawsuit (Newsweek)
• Maine: Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto, Expand Medical Marijuana Access (NORML)
• Rhode Island: Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Legislation Into Law (NORML)
• Oklahoma Governor Signs Restrictive Amendments To State’s Voter-Initiated Marijuana Law (NORML)
• Caribbean Nations Agree To Consider Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)
• Brazil Lawmaker Puts Marijuana Legalization On the Table (Marijuana Moment)
• Coming soon to a lab near you? Genetically modified cannabis (Nature)
• New York Enacts Emergency Rules Allowing Medical Marijuana As Opioid Replacement (Marijuana Moment)
• Congress Could Vote On These Marijuana Amendments Next Week (Unless GOP Blocks Them Again) (Marijuana Moment)
• Democrats still haven't figured out that legal weed is a winning issue (Los Angeles Times)
• Voters Across Wisconsin Will Weigh In On Marijuana Legalization This November (Marijuana Moment)
• Medical Marijuana Reduces Opioid Prescriptions, Another Study Finds (Forbes)
• Utah’s state-funded study of pot’s effects on pain delayed (Associated Press)
• Here Are The Most And Least Marijuana-Friendly Newspapers, According To Science (Marijuana Moment)
• North Dakota: Advocates Turn In Signatures For 2018 Adult Use Initiative (NORML)
• Legal Marijuana Is Coming to Canada. Investors Catch the Buzz. (The New York Times)
• The love drug: can marijuana improve our sex lives? (The Guardian)
• Where Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Stands On Marijuana And Drug Policy (Marijuana Moment)
• NORML Blasts Police for Chasing Cannabis Suspect With Bulldozer (Leafly)
• Sophia Gibson: Cannabis oil wait girl admitted to hospital (BBC)
• Here Are The DEA’s Newest Slang Terms for Marijuana: ‘Shoes,’ ‘My Brother’ And More (Marijuana Moment)
• Study Finds Cannabis May Not Be Effective at Treating Chronic Pain (High Times)
• A Florida Man Arrested for Pot Is in Jail Until He Lets Deputies Search His Phones (Reason)
• Prop. 64 didn’t legalize every cannabis crime, but arrests are falling fast (The Orange County Register)
• Congress Debates Marijuana Legalization And Impaired Driving (Marijuana Moment)
• Can Cannabis Be Considered a Psychedelic? (East Bay Express)
• Why I Take Cannabis Terpenes Instead of Smoking Weed (Bon Appetit)
• Ian Hamilton: Decisions about medicinal cannabis should be made by the health department (The BMJ)
• This Band Photographer Smoked Weed Once and Says He Wrote the Next Bible (VICE)
• ‘Legalise cannabis and tap into market’ (The Times)
• Five Dream Destinations For Cannabis Weddings And Honeymoons (Forbes)
• Digging Deeper into Cannabis Product Strategy (Market Realist)
• Myths and misconceptions about cannabis (Jamaica Observer)
• Lebanon minister plans to cash in on cannabis (Dhaka Tribune)
• Attitudes to cannabis a mass of contradictions (Cyprus Mail)

LSD

• Coroner: Oregon teen killed by semi had LSD in his system (SaukValley.com)
• Two teenagers hospitalized after buying LSD from dealer on Snapchat, police say (MassLive)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Donald Trump shaped ecstasy pills flood Britain as US President ready to meet The Queen (The Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• 19-year-old Spaniard rescued from drug-fuelled doomsday sect in Peru jungle (The Local)
• Ayahuasca: Ritual psychedelic turns modern-day anti-depressant (PLoS Blogs)
• Remembering Wholeness: Ayahuasca and the Structural Violence of Modern Life (Kahpi)
• Can Ayahuasca Help Those With Severe Depression? (The Fix)
• He called it a hair tonic, feds called it illegal, but the name is ‘ayahuasca’ (Tampa Bay Times)

Dissociatives

• Thai cave boys given ketamine during miraculous rescue to keep them calm as new footage shows the team waving and smiling in hospital (The Sun)
• Business of using ketamine to treat depression, PTSD, other ailments is growing (Northern Nevada Business View)
• Hennepin Healthcare Suspends Trial Of Paramedics Administering Ketamine (WCCO)
• Man accused of killing his own mother: "If it wasn't for PCP, she'd be here" (KTRK-TV)

Opiates/Opioids

• More People Are Inhaling Heroin, and It's Destroying Brain Tissue (Gizmodo)
• Nevada to become first state to execute inmate with fentanyl (The Guardian)
• Addicted people often end up in jail. That can be deadly for them (The Boston Globe)
• US Surgeon General Urges More Americans to Carry Naloxone (Clinical Advisor)
• Demonized in absentia: What The Nation got wrong about child welfare and opioids (NCCPR Child Welfare Blog)
• Patients can get—and pharmacists can provide—naloxone at the pharmacy. Why don’t they? (American Pharmacists Association)

Kratom

• Case Report Details Use of Buprenorphine for Treatment of Kratom Dependence (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
• HPU study: Herb could help treat opiate addiction (The High Point Enterprise)
• Kratom Draws Support And Controversy As Opioid Addiction Treatment (The Fix)
• Here's why we must continue to study Kratom and other opioid-like drugs (The Hill)
• Are There Any Physical Shops That Sell Kratom? (Kratom Guides)
• How Much Does Kratom Cost at a Head Shop? (Kratom Guides)
• White Vein Vs Green Vein Kratom: Differences And Similarities (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Kavasutra Kava Bar serves its libations with a side of sexism and transphobia, followers have complained (Sun Sentinel)
• Taking Pacific kava quality to new heights (Scoop.co.nz)

Khat

• Village in Mandera County bans miraa chewing men from marrying their girls (Daily Nation)
• Health Ministry bans the use of khat (Khmer Times)
• Tarime ambulance seized for allegedly transporting khat (The Citizen)
• Djibouti's khat, an expensive habit (France 24)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Japan Just Executed the Leaders of an LSD-Fueled Doomsday Science Cult (Motherboard)
• Why psychedelics could be the new class of antidepressant (The Independent)
• Yes, Make Psychedelics Legally Available, but Don't Forget the Risks (Scientific American)
• Government will not 'stand in the way' of drug testing at festivals, says Home Office (The Independent)
• Become one with art at Tokyo's psychedelic digital museum (Engadget)
• Sri Lanka Will Start Hanging Its Drug Dealers to 'Replicate the Success of Philippines' (TIME)
• Toronto’s chief medical officer calls for decriminalization of all drugs for personal use (The Globe and Mail)
• People are using Fitbits and Apple Watches to monitor their heart rate when binging on drugs — and doctors say it's a bad idea (CNBC)
• Automating molecule design to speed up drug development (MIT News)
• UK Drug Policy is Fuelling an HIV Outbreak in Scotland (Talking Drugs)
• So, You Want To Find a Psychedelic Guide? (Psychedelics Today)
• Cities Planning Supervised Drug Injection Sites Fear Justice Department Reaction (NPR)
• Can Psychedelics Make You More Creative? (Kahpi)
• Do Psychedelics Have the Power to Change Minds? (Chacruna)
• Can Psychedelics Help Save the Planet? Interview with James Oroc (Psychedelic Times)
• Children are one of the 'War on Drugs' casualties (The Hill)
• Psychedelic Feminism Grants Hand Talking Stick to Women (Zoe Helene)
• Why Is There Such A Stigma Surrounding Psychedelics? (Psychedelic Heaven)
• Does Akuamma Give You The Euphoria Feeling? (Kratom Guides)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" 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 Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.22.18

Cannabis

• Canada becomes second country to legalise cannabis use (The Guardian)
• Portugal's parliament legalizes cannabis-based medicines (Reuters)
• Oklahoma voted to legalize medical marijuana (Vox)
• Marijuana legalization is having its best year ever (Vox)
• Poll: Record Percentage Of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana (NORML)
• Texas Republican Party Endorses Marijuana Decriminalization (Forbes)
• Home Office looks at allowing cannabis oil for boy with epilepsy (The Guardian)
• Senate Democratic Leader Introduces Far-Reaching Marijuana Descheduling Bill (NORML)
• New York: State-Commissioned Report Will Recommend Legalizing Marijuana (NORML)
• What Might Medical Cannabis Mean for our Children? (Beckley Foundation)
• Why Are Cannabis Industry Leaders Donating to Anti-Immigration Candidates? (Cannabis Wire)
• Full marijuana legalization up for a vote today in Delaware House (Delaware Online)
• New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to Allow Patients who are Prescribed Opioids to Access the State's Medical Marijuana Program (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Why a Top Conservative Politician Is Calling for Marijuana to Be Legalized in the U.K. (TIME)
• Counting Canada, More Than 100 Million People Live in Places Where Pot Is Legal (Reason)
• Alexander discusses DOH's plans to legalize recreational marijuana (Spectrum News)
• NYPD Will Start Using Summonses, Not Arrests, for Marijuana (The New York Times)
• Legislation To Protect Legal Consumption In Federal Housing Introduced (NORML)
• Massachusetts crafts 'social equity' program to help minorities and drug offenders enter marijuana industry (MassLive)
• Senators Vote To Block Marijuana Banking Amendment (Forbes)
• Pot pros to budtenders: stop telling pregnant ladies to smoke cannabis (Rooster)
• PAX’s ‘Session Control’ helps you control your vape high (Engadget)
• NORML Releases Comprehensive Report Summarizing Local Decriminalization Laws (NORML)
• Sister-in-law of Home Office Minister who banned cannabis oil confesses: I have used it too, so make it legal (Daily Mail)
• Will Marijuana Be Legal in the U.S. Anytime Soon? Canada Law Revives Talk of Weed Legalization Nationwide (Newsweek)
• Denver Contradicts Itself by Targeting Previously Tolerated Cannabis Tour Buses (Reason)
• What is cannabis oil and how does it work? (The Guardian)
• Will Doug Ford change how Ontarians buy legal marijuana? (CityNews Toronto)
• Can cannabis oil really treat epilepsy and what would impact of medicinal reclassification be? (The Independent)
• This New Data Reveals the Scale of the UK's Cannabis Industry (VICE)
• Review needed on medicinal cannabis cases, says May (BBC)
• Cannabis 101: Where Entrepreneurs, Lawyers and Caregivers Go To Learn (Forbes)
• Higher Standards Pop-up Offers Next-Level Cannabis Accessories (Hollywood Reporter)
• Marine veteran gets first look at cannabis products (The Gainesville Sun)

LSD

• Meet the Canadian “Psychedelic Revolutionaries” Who Pioneered LSD Research (MERRY JANE)
• When Timothy Leary Got Artists to Take LSD (Artsy)
• Considering Microdosing LSD for Treatment-Resistant Depression? Read This First (Third Age)
• Johnny Depp Admits He Gets Lines Fed to Him on Set, Believes LSD Would’ve Helped Find Osama bin Laden Faster (Indie Wire)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Mushrooms vs. LSD for Mental Health Issues (Psychedelic Heaven)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Study: Ecstasy could be far less dangerous than past research suggests (Big Think)
• MDMA Being Used in New Trials to Help Beat Alcoholism (Your EDM)
• FDA Moves Closer to Approving Ecstasy (The Beacon)
• Ecstasy-assisted psychotherapy is bringing peace to people with PTSD (Yahoo! News)
• Patrick Coakley died after taking fatal MDMA overdose (Kent Online)
• Student who supplied killer ecstasy to friend says he should not be blamed as taking drugs is university 'culture' (The Telegraph)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• New Study: Ayahuasca Tea Rapidly Helps Patients Overcome Severe Depression (Kahpi)
• Enhancing Your Ayahuasca Experience: Harnessing the Power of Intention and Belief (Kahpi)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Gabon's sacred plant 'Iboga' under threat of extinction (Africanews)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Cartoon Dystopia: 25I-NBOMe and Why You Should Test Your LSD (Psymposia)

Dissociatives

• Minneapolis police asked medical workers to use ketamine on suspects (The Seattle Times)
• First Ketamine Guidelines for Pain Released (WebMD)
• Ketamine a safer option for agitated patients and providers (EMS1.com)
• Can Ketamine Cure Depression? (Psychedelic Heaven)
• PD: Man on PCP did pushups in the middle of the road (CT Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• Facebook redirects would-be opioid buyers to crisis helpline (Engadget)
• How legal drug companies helped revive the heroin trade (The Washington Post)
• Afghanistan is producing more opium than ever before (We Are The Mighty)
• Researchers May Have Underestimated the Number of Opioid Overdose Deaths (TIME)
• Many Doctors Give Morphine to Babies Born With Opioid Addiction. A New Study Suggests There's a Better Way (TIME)
• Opiate addiction and the history of pain and race in the US (The Conversation)
• Purdue Pharma, company behind Oxycontin, just laid off its entire sales team (VICE News)
• Heroin use in Pacific Northwest linked to incurable kidney disease (UW Medicine Newsroom)

Kratom

• The House Just Passed a Bill That Could Make Kratom Illegal (Inverse)
• What Is It Like To Be High On Kratom And What It Feels Like? (Kratom Guides)
• 3 Best Kratom Strains You Should Try If You Suffer From Anxiety (Kratom Guides)
• How Much Does An Ounce Of Kratom Cost? (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• New law gives critically ill people 'Right to Try' psychedelics (Rooster)
• The DEA Is Worried Sick About Touching Contaminated Drug Money (The Daily Beast)
• Alleged Silk Road Mentor Indicted, Extradited to United States (Reason)
• Can People Who Had a Drug Addiction Ever Drink Alcohol? (Tonic)
• New Study Shows Drug War Sends Users to Dark Web (Reason)
• We need to offer safety drugs testing to users across society, not just at festivals and nightclubs (Metro)
• Psychedelics Are Promising, But Many Psychiatrists Don't Want to Use Them (Tonic)
• Congress Wants To Give Jeff Sessions Unprecedented New Drug War Powers (Reason)
• Staten Island Law Enforcement Won’t Stop Fighting the War on Drugs (The Village Voice)
• Psychedelic Drugs Promote Neural Plasticity (Worldhealth.net)
• While we discuss cannabis oil, we should remember that the government is blocking life-saving research into MDMA and magic mushrooms (The Independent)
• Would psychedelics really lead to democratic transformation? (Open Democracy)
• Mental health of a self-selected sample of psychedelic users and self-medication practices with psychedelics (ResearchGate)
• Psychedelics and Male-Perpetrated Violence (The Third Wave)
• Transformational Festivals and the New Psychedelic Revolution: A Conversation with James Oroc (Psychedelic Times)
• A mind-bending psychedelic art temple is coming to Upstate New York (Time Out)
• The Underground World of Psychedelics and the Potential of Plant Medicine (NYU News)
• Psychonautics: A Comic’s Exploration Of Psychedelics (Film Threat)
• The Power and Promise of Psychedelics: Michael Pollan Show Us How to Change Our Minds (AlterNet)
• Drug Checking in Latin America: the Countries Leading the Way (Talking Drugs)
• How underground groups use psychedelic drugs for healing (Futurity)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" 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 Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.8.18

Cannabis

• All eyes on Canada as first G7 nation prepares to make marijuana legal (The Guardian)
• Bipartisan Legislation Introduced To Protect States That Have Legalized Marijuana (NORML)
• 65 percent of Americans say it’s ‘morally acceptable’ to smoke pot (The Washington Post)
• Study: Majority Of Chronic Pain Patients Replace Opioids With Cannabis (NORML)
• Legalising cannabis ‘could earn Treasury £3.5bn’ (The Guardian)
• Republican Rules Committee Blocks Veterans Medical Cannabis Amendments (NORML)
• Banned from Wall Street, US cannabis companies go north (CNN)
• Looking For Big Returns In The Cannabis Market? Look East, Not West (Forbes)
• Virginia: Crime Data Shows Surge In Marijuana Arrests (NORML)
• Colorado's Governor, Who Founded a Brewpub, Nixes Cannabis 'Tasting Rooms' (Reason)
• Some California hospitals report uptick in ER visits for cannabis (Daily Democrat)
• Part 3, The Most Common Qualifying Conditions for MMJ (Leafly)
• L.A. Supervisors Support Bill to Automatically Expunge Some Cannabis Convictions (LA Weekly)
• Portland Has Nearly Twice as Many Pot Shops as Liquor Stores (Willamette Week)
• Watch This: Celebrities Keep Educating Conan About Cannabis (Leafly)
• It's The 1st Day Cannabis Licenses In Mass. Can Be Issued, But Expect A Slow Rollout (New England Public Radio)
• Why we must legalise cannabis now for the sake of public health (The Guardian)
• A Dietitian's Surprising Take on Cannabis Edibles (U.S. News & World Report)
• The Ontario Election: What Does It Mean For Cannabis? (Leafly)
• NORML's Jared Polis Endorsement and Growing Power of Marijuana Voters (Westword)
• High time India, the land of bhang, legalises marijuana: Shashi Tharoor (ThePrint)
• Everything you wanted to know about cannabis legalization … but forgot to ask (The Guardian)
• Why we need better, smarter, panic-free education on cannabis (The Conversation)
• These Are The 4 Big Buzzwords in the Cannabis Industry Right Now (Entrepreneur)
• The Cannabis Strains of Summer (for Every Tolerance Level) (East Bay Express)
• California’s First Cannabis Business Owners Policy Approved (Insurance Journal)
• Medical cannabis and the challenge for regulation of medicines (The Conversation)
• Cannabis industry leaders opine on budding business (Bristol Herald Courier)

LSD

• The political significance of LSD (Open Democracy)
• ‘Largest ever LSD haul in Germany’ seized in Rhineland-Palatinate (The Local)
• Sheriff: Wrong-way driver on LSD thought he was in video game 'Grand Theft Auto' (KVAL)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• California won't vote on psilocybin this year. Denver still might. (Rooster)
• What Ever Happened to Denver's Magic Mushroom Initiative? (Westword)
• When A Maryland Man Posted Pictures Of Morel Mushroom On Facebook, The Cops Showed Up (Inquisitr)
• What It’s Like to Trip on the Most Potent Magic Mushroom (The Atlantic)
• Psychedelic Medicine 101: Psilocybin and the magic of mushrooms (New Atlas)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Yours for £2: artist Chemical X donates ‘ecstasy’ work as prize for drug test charity (The Guardian)
• Festival goers warned of high dose batches of ecstasy following deaths in UK (Independent.ie)
• MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Mitigates PTSD Symptoms (Medscape)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Is it Cultural Appropriation for White People to Drink Ayahuasca? (Kahpi)
• Spiritual exploration is the top reason people consume 5-MeO-DMT, study finds (PsyPost)
• A Shamanic View of How Ayahuasca & Nature Communicate With Us (Kahpi)
• Psychedelic tourism thrives in Peru despite recent killing (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Ayahuasca Pilot Study Investigates the Meaning of Life and Death: Interview with Brad Adams, Ph.D. (Psychedelic Times)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• The Essential Guide to Mescaline (The Third Wave)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Synthetic Weed Is Back, Bigger Than Ever, and Scary as Hell (The Daily Beast)

Dissociatives

• From Chaos To Calm: A Life Changed By Ketamine (WMOT)
• NPR (yet again) writes uncritically about ketamine for mental illness (Health News Review)
• Guidelines for Use of IV Ketamine Infusions for Acute Pain Management Released  (MD Magazine)

Opiates/Opioids

• High Schoolers Who Use Heroin Commonly Use Multiple Other Drugs (NYU News)
• Naloxone Recalled Due To Particulate Matter (CBS Pittsburgh)
• A new study shows stigma is hurting our response to the opioid epidemic (Vox)
• She Went to Jail for a Drug Relapse. Tough Love or Too Harsh? (The New York Times)
• Suggested Paths to Fixing the Opioid Crisis (JAMA Network)
• U.S. Hunger For Opioid Alternative Drives Boom in Borneo Jungle (Bloomberg)
• This Is Your Hand on Opioids: Trump's 'Very Bad Commercials' Rely on Dishonest and Pernicious Scare Tactics (Reason)
• She paid nothing for opioid painkillers. Her addiction treatment costs more than $200 a month. (Vox)
• Farmers tell govt to lift ban on cultivation of opium (The Tribune)

Absinthe

• Absinthe Market will touch a new level in upcoming year – Key Players involved in the research (The Financial)

Kratom

• 6 Most Common Myths About Kratom (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom advocates fight FDA crackdown (Washington Examiner)
• Buying Kratom In Canada? Is that Kratom legal In Canada? (Kratom Guides)
• FDA warns about possible contaminated herbal supplement parents may need to worry about (KUTV)
• Where To Buy Kratom In New York And Is It Legal? (Kratom Guides)
• What Are The Best Kratom Strains For Pain? (Kratom Guides)
• Top Extracts Botanicals Review – The Best Vendor To Buy Kratom Online (Kratom Guides)
• What Is The Legal Status of Kratom In Tennessee? (Kratom Guides)
• Companies Leading In Selling Kratom And CBD/Hemp Products Online (Kratom Guides)
• Is Kratom Legal In Florida In 2018 (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Psychedelic drug use associated with reduced partner violence in men (EurekAlert!)
• FDA Monitors Social Media for Drug Abuse Trends (Pain News Network)
• Michael Pollan Drops Acid — and Comes Back From His Trip Convinced (The New York Times)
• How should we be teaching students about drugs? (Psymposia)
• Rhode Island Wants to Treat Drug Dealers Like Murderers (Reason)
• With The Rise Of Legal Weed, Drug Education Moves From 'Don't' to 'Delay' (NPR)
• Bangladesh accused of using drugs war to hide political assassinations (The Telegraph)
• The Feds Are Raiding the Offices of Doctors Who Prescribe Addiction Medication (Tonic)
• Festival drug-testing shows a way to reduce harm (The Economist)
• How psychedelic drugs made a comeback (DailyO)
• A debate over plant consciousness is forcing us to confront the limitations of the human mind (Quartz)
• Bestival to offer drug testing facilities for first time in bid to prevent more drug-related deaths (The Independent)
• The Stigma Surrounding Hallucinogens Took Root in Western Colonialism (71 Republic)
• Michael Pollan & the Objectification of the Psychedelic Experience (Disinfo)
• Manchester's night-time adviser backs drug testers for festivals and clubs (The Guardian)
• On Religious Sacraments: Holy Crackers and 'Evil Drugs' (Andrew Joseph)
• Renewed interest in psychedelics as potentially useful therapeutic agents (Drug and Alcohol Research Connections)
• We've been fighting the drug war for 50 years. So why aren't we winning? (The Appeal)
• The Myth of People Who “Don’t Use Drugs” (Psychedelic Heaven)
• About Me: Lawyer, Writer, Psychedelic Enthusiast (Andrew Joseph)
• Psychedelics and Personality (ACS Publications)
• The UK’s Cruel Drug Laws Ruin Lives, Including My Son’s (Talking Drugs)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" 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 Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.