This Week in Psychoactives - 2.7.20

Cannabis

• Bernie Sanders Pledges Legal Marijuana In All 50 States On Day One As President (Forbes)

• Businesses Are More Profitable And Innovative In States With Legal Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Nepal’s Communist Party Wants to Legalize Weed and Ban Booze (MERRY JANE)

• Vermont Committee Unanimously Approves Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales (Marijuana Moment)

• Another Vermont House Committee OKs Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales (Marijuana Moment)

• Gallup: Twelve Percent of Adults Acknowledge Smoking Marijuana (NORML)

• Virginia Lawmakers Approve Another Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• CBD May Treat Psychosis Rather Than Cause It, Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Liberal Americans Are Six Times More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Conservatives, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Whoopi Goldberg's cannabis company has shut down (CNN)

• Cannabis in South Africa: the duplicity of colonial authorities (TalkingDrugs)

Magic Mushrooms

• Inside the Campaign to Legalize Magic Mushrooms in California (Reason)

MDMA

• Speech Pattern Technology Can Now Detect If You’re High on MDMA (MERRY JANE)

5-MeO-DMT

• Supportive Context is Associated With Positive Effects From Inhaling 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Science Review)

• 5-MeO-DMT: The 20-Minute Psychoactive Toad Experience That’s Transforming Lives (Forbes)

PCP

• What is PCP? The ‘angel dust’ drug used in Netflix’s The Stranger (The Tab)

Opioids

• The highs and lows of the opium trade in southern Africa (TalkingDrugs)

• "Gray death" drug is so dangerous, police say you shouldn't even touch it (CBS News)

Cocaine

• A fingerprint can show if someone has taken cocaine or just touched it (New Scientist)

• Enhanced cocaine vaccine blocks the high in mice (Futurity)

Caffeine

• Caffeine has been a boon for civilization, Michael Pollan says. But it has come at a cost. (The Washington Post)

Nicotine

• The vaping 'flavor ban' goes into effect today. Here's what it does (The Hill)

• Mismatched tobacco laws could put federal funding for NC at risk (The News & Observer)

• American Lung Association Gives Arizona Failing Grades in Tobacco Control Report (Phoenix New Times)

• American Lung Association gives Georgia low grades for tobacco use (11Alive.com)

• Michigan receives 'F' grade for tobacco prevention, new report shows (WWMT)

Alcohol

• Baby boomers are the booziest generation – and are driving a 60 per cent rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions (The Telegraph)

Kratom

• Natural herb kratom may have therapeutic effects and relatively low potential for abuse or harm (Medical Xpress)

• Maryland bills aim to restrict kratom (The Southern Maryland Chronicle)

Kava

• The great kava boom: how Fiji's beloved psychoactive brew is going global (The Guardian)

Miscellaneous

• Measure To Decriminalize Psychedelics Advances In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists find a new trippy link between psychedelics and climate change (Inverse)

• Psychedelics linked to persisting reductions in cannabis, opioid, and stimulant use (PsyPost)

• Could wearable microdosing technology be a thing one day? (Psymposia)

• DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment Shows Decrease in Drug Overdose Deaths (Pharmacy Times)

• A New Nonprofit Is Betting on Psychedelic Therapy (Outside Magazine)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 1.31.20

Cannabis

• New Mexico Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois Is Already Getting a Weed Lounge, Just Weeks After Legalizing (MERRY JANE)

• Berkeley Council Votes To Allow Cannabis Consumption In Lounges (CBS San Francisco)

• First Alaska retail pot shops get approval for on-site consumption (Anchorage Daily News)

• Local Australian Marijuana Legalization Law Takes Effect This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Cleveland City Council approves eliminating fines, jail time and criminal records for low level marijuana possession (Cleveland.com)

• Key Virginia Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Bill, While Broader Legalization Study Advances (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Helps Protect HIV Patients’ Brains From Deteriorating, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• President Trump: Marijuana Makes You “Lose IQ Points” (NORML)

• Abnormal imaging findings key to EVALI diagnosis in vapers (Medical Xpress)

• Find That CBG and CGC Can Kill Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells (MERRY JANE)

• Missouri Activists Launch Signature Drive To Put Marijuana Legalization On 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis vaping devices reimbursement approval for Canadian veterans (Health Europa)

• American Cannabis Stocks Are Working Their Way To Wall Street (Forbes)

• Legalization may mean more cannabis and less alcohol in colleges (Medical News Today)

• U.S. Military Reiterates That CBD Is Off Limits To Service Members (Marijuana Moment)

• Across Utah more students are reporting using marijuana (KUTV)

• Weed-Sniffing K-9s in New York Are Getting Hounded into Early Retirement (MERRY JANE)

• Pennsylvania: Marijuana possession arrests decline statewide (NORML)

Magic Mushrooms

• Andrew Yang Wants To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

Iboga

• 'I cannot claim to have prevailed': Miami University professor reinstated after iboga tree suspension (Cincinnati.com)

• Special Forces: How Ibogaine is Helping Former Special Operations Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Chicago Shop Owner Gets Prison Sentence For Selling K2 Laced With Rat Poison (High Times)

• Synthetic cannabinoids on the rise in Toledo, costing taxpayers thousands for EMS (WNWO)

Opioids

• Tom Steyer Calls For Marijuana Legalization And Opioid Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Could a Naloxone Implant Have a Major Impact on the Overdose Crisis? (Filter)

• Federal Crackdown On Fentanyl Analogues Repeats the Mistakes of the Drug War, Advocates Say (The Appeal)

Caffeine

• Everyone is making coffee wrong, study suggests (Fox News)

Nicotine

• WHO Report: Tobacco Use is Declining Worldwide (Vaping Post)

• International Experts Slam World Health Organization’s Deceptive Vaping Release (Filter)

• Wisconsin can’t enforce tobacco age at 21 because of state law, causing confusion at stores (WQOW)

• Study: Teens with ADHD Face Increased Risk for Nicotine Addiction (ADDitude)

Kratom

• Reasons why kratom is getting more popular in the past decade (Augusta Free Press)

Miscellaneous

• Santa Cruz City Council Approves Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Goop on psychedelics isn’t bad, it’s just boring (WIRED)

• Psychedelic drugs may reduce depression and anxiety by increasing psychological flexibility (PsyPost)

• Heroin and cocaine can be injected safely in UK's first 'mock drugs room' (Sky News)

• Oakland Activists Unveil Plan To Legalize Sale Of Psychedelics This Year (Marijuana Moment)

• Music festivals responsible for minuscule percentage of drug deaths (The Age)

• Are Investors Ready To Change Their Minds About Psychedelic Drugs? (Forbes)

• Drug deaths summit to take place in Glasgow (BBC)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 1.17.20

Cannabis

• Hawaii’s Marijuana Decriminalization Law Is Officially In Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists discover the reason why anxious people smoke marijuana (Inverse)

• Pot seizures jumped at U.S. border in the year after Canada legalized cannabis (CBC)

• Black Swan: rare Jamaican cannabis strain could treat pancreatic cancer (Health Europa)

• Report: Federal Marijuana Prosecutions Declining (NORML)

• New Jersey: Court Affirms Employer Must Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses (NORML)

• Medical Marijuana Is an Ideal Replacement for Opioids, Another Study Confirms (MERRY JANE)

• New CDC Report Highlights the Risks of Black-Market THC Vapes (Reason)

• Weed impairs driving skills long after the high is gone (FOX6Now.com)

• New Approach Montana aims to put two legalization measures on 2020 ballot (Leafly)

• New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed After Governor Puts Issue On 2020 Agenda (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Delivery Drones Are Coming to Seattle This Spring (MERRY JANE)

• Colorado lawmakers want to stop employers from firing people for using weed in their personal time (The Denver Post)

• Marijuana Record Expungement Movement Growing Rapidly, Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Can Workers Still Get Fired For Using Marijuana In Legal States? (BroBible)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Take New Approach To Marijuana Legalization For 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• More pets accidentally eating marijuana (WNEM)

• Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Shifts Focus To 2022 Instead Of This Year (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study Finds ALD-52, 1P-LSD, and 1B-LSD Are Prodrugs of LSD (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

• A Single Dose of Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Reduce Anxiety for Nearly Five Years (MERRY JANE)

• COMPASS Pathways Granted Patent Covering Use of Its Psilocybin Formulation in Addressing Treatment-resistant Depression (PR Newswire)

• Psychedelic Events Are Going Mainstream, Where The Much-Maligned Mushroom Industry Focuses On Mental Health (Forbes)

Ayahuasca

• We Are Harvesting the Ayahuasca Vine at an Alarming Rate (Kahpi)

• 'I wake up and I'm a baby': an NFL star's journey into ayahuasca (The Guardian)

• How Can You Drink Ayahuasca Legally in the U.S.? (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca, Nazis, and the Life of Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (Kahpi)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• The World’s First LSD Microdosing Kit is Here (DoubleBlind)

Nitrous Oxide

• Laughing gas can ease symptoms of depression in just two hours by acting on a brain chemical with no side-effects, new research suggests (Daily Mail)

• Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban (The Guardian)

• UAMS first hospital in central Arkansas to offer laughing gas for women in labor (KTHV)

Opioids

• Up to a third of opioid overdose deaths might be suicides, researcher concludes (Medical Xpress)

• Heroin, Fentanyl Deaths Drop in Medicaid Expansion States (U.S. & News Report)

Cocaine

• A Cocaine Nasal Spray Just Received FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)

Methamphetamine

• Meth overtakes marijuana, now most reported drug in Tennessee crime labs (WJHL)

Caffeine

• Using caffeine as a tool to study information processing (Medical Xpress)

Nicotine

• Vaping crackdown: School system will send e-cigarette users to alternative school (AL.com)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepine prescriptions reach ‘disturbing’ levels in the US (New Scientist)

Alcohol

• The Latest Findings on Why It’s So Hard to Quit Drinking (Elemental)

Kratom

• Kratom to Be Removed as Type-5 Narcotic in Thailand (Chiang Rai Times)

• Kratom Business From Colorado Breaks New Ground in Oregon (Westword)

• The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug? (NPR)

• Kratom Lab Testing and Why It Matters (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Vanuatu stops issuing kava export licences, moves to tighten regulations (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous

• Explosive growth of plant medicine movement aims to help heal the world (Chacruna)

• Activists Take Steps To Decriminalize Psychedelics In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)

• How researchers and advocates of color are forging their own paths in psychedelic-assisted therapy (WHYY)

• The DEA seized her father’s life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred, lawsuit says (The Seattle Times)

• A Report From the Rocky Path to Legal Psychedelics (Playboy)

• Johns Hopkins Scientists Give Psychedelics the Serious Treatment (Scientific American)

• Ukraine paves the way for innovative harm reduction in the EECA region (TalkingDrugs)

• Roadside drug tests failed by 185 drivers during festive campaign (BBC)

• BBC Duped into Promoting Marketing Scheme for Microdosing Psychedelics (Psymposia)

• NYC To Host Economics Of Psychedelics Investing Summit (Benzinga)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 1.10.20

Cannabis

• Scientists Discover Two New Cannabinoids (VICE)

• Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine (Reuters)

• Most employers in Nevada can no longer utilize pre-employment drug tests for marijuana (KSNV)

• Federal Marijuana Reform Will Get Another Congressional Hearing Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• South Dakota: Adult-Use Marijuana Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Specialists warn about risks of cannabis edibles (Medical News Today)

• Don't Panic — Weed Edibles Are Just as Safe as We Thought, Actually (MERRY JANE)

• CBD for Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) (One World Herald)

• Marijuana Will Be Legalized in New York, Cuomo Vows (The New York Times)

• Nova Scotia is nearly out of edibles and other 2.0 products (Leafly)

• Illinois Dispensaries Ran Out of Weed During First Week of Legal Sales (Reason)

• More Than Half of Cannabis Tourists Bring Weed Home, New Survey Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Legal Pot Takes a Bite out of Beer Consumption in Canada (Bloomberg)

• Federal Reserve Bank Examines Marijuana Industry’s Growth (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Survey: 26% of young people have driven high or ridden with a high driver (Leafly)

• Legalizing Medical Marijuana Makes People Have More Sex, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• California’s Mushroom Decrim Campaign Cleared to Begin Voter Signature Drive (Filter)

• Shroom-Therapy Startup Edges Toward FDA Approval (Bloomberg)

• Dave Chappelle And Aziz Ansari Took Magic Mushrooms To Celebrate Comedy Award (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Shroom Dispensaries Become a Thing Anytime Soon? (DoubleBlind)

MDMA

• Use of ‘gateway drug’ MDMA on the rise among young Japanese (The Asahi Shimbun)

Ketamine

• Trump touted a new antidepressant as a solution for veterans. Only 15 have been treated (STAT)

Opioids

• Fentanyl deaths on the rise as drug is added to heroin, warns report (The Guardian)

• Black Americans Were Prescribed Opioids Less Frequently Because Of Racial Bias, New Analysis Shows (WBUR)

• Nasal spray found to be quickest, easiest way to deliver antidote naloxone for opioid overdose (News-Medical.net)

• What We Can Learn From a Tiny Baltic Country's Two-Decade Fentanyl Crisis (VICE)

Methamphetamine

• The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained (Vox)

Caffeine

• Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests (CNN)

Nicotine

• What if a Vaping Tax Encouraged Cigarette Smoking? (The New York Times)

• Juul Hits Deliver More Nicotine Than Cigarettes, Study Finds (Rolling Stone)

• Can 18-Year-Olds Still Buy Tobacco Legally in Arizona? AG Suggests Yes (Phoenix New Times)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines: Another Prescription Drug Problem (The Fix)

Alcohol

• U.S. Alcohol-Related Deaths Have Doubled, Study Says (NPR)

• 'Sober curiosity': Dry January a wellspring for booze-free beverages (The Washington Times)

• The real reason midlife women should give up booze: PROFESSOR DAVID NUTT reveals how alcohol increases risk of breast cancer, bad skin and hot flushes (Daily Mail)

GHB

• GHB: The drug used as a 'rapist's weapon of choice' (BBC)

• Britain’s “Most Prolific” Rapist Spurs Misguided GHB Crackdown (Filter)

Kratom

• Kratom, usually made use of as a replacement for many opioids, is currently prohibited in France (OBN)

Miscellaneous

• Medical University of South Carolina To Launch New Psychedelic Research Center (High Times)

• Transforming psychedelics into mainstream medicines (STAT)

• More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared amid drug war, officials say (The Washington Post)

• The 'psychedelics coach' with drug-fuelled career advice (BBC)

• People are seeing ‘Cats’ while high out of their minds. These are their stories. (The Washington Post)

• This D.C. Group Wants To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms And Some Psychedelic Plants (WAMU)

• Philly’s supervised injection site backers say they won’t delay opening while Justice Dept. appeals (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Addiction Treatment Facilities Fall Badly Short, Shows Federal Study (Filter)

• People Visiting Safe Injection Sites Are Less Likely To Die Compared To Other Drug Consumers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee Backs Decriminalizing Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 12.27.19

Cannabis

• “Impermissible Levels of Lead” Found in Massachusetts' Legal Weed Vapes (MERRY JANE)

• Travelers caught with weed in Chicago airports won’t be busted, police say (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Federal CBD Regulations Are Finally Coming (MERRY JANE)

• Peoria airport to allow recreational marijuana (CIProud)

• Legal Marijuana Shops Refuse Sales To Underage Customers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana On The 2020 Ballot: These States Could Vote (Forbes)

• South Dakota: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Trump Says He Can Ignore Medical Marijuana Protections Passed By Congress (Forbes)

• Alabama Legislature’s Study Commission Recommends Medical Marijuana Be Legalized (Marijuana Moment)

• Hemp cleans toxic soil and produces clean CBD flower, study finds (Leafly)

• Legalizing Cannabis Has Unexpected Impact on Food and Farming in Humboldt (KQED)

• Three-Fourths Of New Mexico Voters Support Marijuana Legalization, State-Funded Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study reveals what happens to the brain on LSD (Inverse)

Magic Mushrooms

• Denver's psilocybin mushroom policy review panel set to launch in January (9News.com)

• Activists Take Next Step In Campaign To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms In California (Marijuana Moment)

• Paul Stamets Tells Joe Rogan About the Future of Psilocybin Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• More Patients Could Have Access to MDMA Therapy—Before the FDA Approves It (DoubleBlind)

• How — and why — to legalize ecstasy (AlterNet)

Ayahuasca

• Initial Trial of Ayahuasca for Depression Shows Promising Results (Mad in America)

• More Evidence About Ayahuasca ‘Death Cult’ Emerges With Arrest of Lawyer Paul Sulla in Hawaii (Frank Report)

Iboga

• For opioid addicts, African psychedelic ibogaine is last-resort detox drug. Research shows it works, but a legal grey area surrounds its use by clinics (South China Morning Post)

Opioids

• Risk Factors for Opioid Overdose Similar for Teens and Adults (PsychCentral)

• The opioid crisis shows why racism in health care is always harmful, never ‘protective’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Methamphetamine

• Meth boom adds to Afghanistan's opium and heroin woes (Breitbart)

Nicotine

• Federal Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Products Officially Raised to 21 (TIME)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines May Influence Suicide Risk in Anxiety Disorders Depending on Duration of Use (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Benzodiazepines linked to overdose deaths among those treated for opioid dependency (The Pharmaceutical Journal)

• More U.S. Teens Are Overdosing on Valium, Xanax (U.S. News and World Report)

Alcohol

• THC vs Alcohol Impaired Driving (DrugScience)

• Ad stating alcohol is a drug blocked as ‘too political’ (Irish Examiner)

• UNC researchers may have discovered why some casual drinkers develop an alcohol use disorder (WRAL Tech Wire)

Nootropics

• The 5 Most Science-Backed Nootropics for Energy (Psychology Today)

Miscellaneous

• Baba Ram Dass, Proponent of LSD Turned New Age Guru, Dies at 88 (The New York Times)

• Say Hello to World’s First Psychedelic Microdosing Study Mobile App (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Ireland's first supervised drug injection centre gets approved (The Irish Post)

• The future of psychedelic science: What the next decade holds (New Atlas)

• A New Way To Quit? Psychedelic Therapy Offers Promise For Smoking Cessation (NPR)

• Portland Activists Begin Gathering Signatures For Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• What Makes A Good Psychedelic Guide? (Maps of the Mind)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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.