This Week in Psychoactives - 4.26.19

CANNABIS

• CBS Poll: Nationwide Support For Marijuana Legalization At All-Time High (NORML)

• All the Top Democrats Running for President Favor Legalizing Marijuana (Reason)

• Marijuana Legalization Not Linked To Increased Traffic Deaths, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Years After Legalization, Maine Releases First Cannabis Industry Rules (Leafly)

• Mexican Lawmakers Plan To Tackle Marijuana Legalization This Summer (Marijuana Moment)

• The Clean Slate Act's Record-Sealing Provisions Go Further Than Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act (Reason)

• North Dakota: Governor Signs Medical Cannabis Expansion Laws (NORML)

• Alabama Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• CBD reduces impairment caused by cannabis (EurekAlert!)

• Homeland Security Says Cannabis Users Lack ‘Good Moral Character’ (Leafly)

• USDA Clarifies That Farmers Can Import Hemp Seeds From Other Countries (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas House Votes To Legalize The Farming Of Industrial Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• Wisconsin Legalization Would Save Lives, Bring $1.1B Benefit, Study Says (Leafly)

• Utah is allowing only 10 cannabis farms. Will that be enough to supply the state’s new medical marijuana program? (Salt Lake Tribune)

• Denver City Council to vote on allowing cannabis clubs to operate closer to daycare and rec centers (KDVR)

• Cannabis websites in US and Canada crash on biggest 4/20 day (The Guardian)

• Lawmakers Want Legal Protections For Universities That Research Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• SFPD Spread Misinformation about Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana (SF Weekly)

• The Weed Industry Is Burning Millions on DC Lobbyists and Getting Nowhere (VICE)

• Earth Day Begs The Question: Is Cannabis Farming Sustainable? (Forbes)

• USDA Accepting Applications For Hemp Intellectual Property Protection (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis, Marijuana, Weed, Pot? Just Call It a Job Machine (The New York Times)

• How Israel Became the Global Leader in Cannabis Research (Green Entrepreneur)

• Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, Without the Hype (Filter)

• Where Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Seth Moulton Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Keeping Score: Major League Sports’ Stance on Cannabis (Leafly)

• Can Cannabis Replace Wellbutrin? (Civilized)

• The Indica vs. Sativa Distinction Isn’t Real (Slate)

• Did a Cannabis Company Just Patent the Spliff? (Leafly)

• Quitting Cigarettes? Joints Rolled With CBD Might Help (Marijuana Moment)

• The Paradoxical Power of Medicinal Microdosing (Psychology Today)

• Uplifting a New Face & Voice of Cannabis: A Happy 4/20 with Safon Floyd of EstroHaze (Psychedelic Times)

LSD

• “Discover who you truly are.” Albert Hofmann’s Bicycle Day and A Critical Look at LSD (Psychedelic Times)

• Here's Why You Don't Mix LSD and Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carriers (The National Interest)

• Is microdosing LSD a solution to the 'crisis of meaning' in modern life? (Montreal Gazette)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Award Winning Filmmaker Brings Psilocybin Documentary To Denver Prior To Decriminalization Vote (Prime Time News)

• Research shows psilocybin — a Schedule I narcotic — to be of great help to patients with end-of-life problems (Anchorage Press)

MDMA

• "Japanese Walter White” Accused Of Teaching Students To Make Ecstasy (The Fix)

• Study Suggests MDMA Could Help People With PTSD, Autism (The Swaddle)

• War, Morality, and MDMA: A Conversation with an Anonymous Military Psychologist (Psychedelic Times)

• To Unravel PTSD, She Took MDMA. A Promising Therapy Offers Hope (KJZZ)

AYAHUASCA

• Do Ayahuasca Shamans See Microbial Worlds in Their Visions? (Kahpi)

• Police intervene in 'healing ceremony' after death: report (NL Times)

• Ayahuasca Spirits Are Special Because They Are Not Real (Kahpi)

• Ayahuasca: the alternative antidepressant (The Vermont Cynic)

5-MEO-DMT

• Psychedelic Toad Venom Relieves Depression, Anxiety And Stress, Studies Find (Marijuana Moment)

PEYOTE

• Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy) on Taking Peyote (Reality Sandwich)

IBOGA

• The Future of Medical Ibogaine (Psychedelics Today)

• Serotonin transporter–ibogaine complexes illuminate mechanisms of inhibition and transport (Nature)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Spice-related overdoses on the rise in Alabama - again; feds warn about ‘disturbing’ trend (AL.com)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Arctic Laughing Gas Emissions Could Accelerate Global Warming (EcoWatch)

• Hippy crack is no laughing matter (GQ)

KETAMINE

• Robust Evidence Supports Analgesic, Antihyperalgesic Properties of Ketamine (Clinical Pain Advisor)

• How ketamine can change the brain to fight depression (Medical News Today)

PCP

• Man accused of PCP-crazed shotgun killing of Chinese missionary pleads guilty in KC (The Kansas City Star)

• Driver was high on PCP in crash that split car in half, cops say (Lehigh Valley Live)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses (TIME)

• After Leaving Thousands in Agony, the CDC Is Finally Clarifying Its Painkiller Restrictions (Tonic)

• Demystifying buprenorphine misuse: Has fear of diversion gotten in the way of addressing the opioid crisis? (Taylor and Francis)

• FDA clears Psychemedics hair test for fentanyl (Seeking Alpha)

• Do Electronic Health Record Prompts Increase Take‐Home Naloxone Administration for Emergency Department Patients After an Opioid Overdose? (Wiley Online Library)

• Fentanyl Speedballs Are the Latest Disturbing Trend in America's Opioid Crisis (VICE)

• Narcan is just the start of fighting the opioid overdose epidemic (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Heroin used to pass through South Africa en route to Europe. Now much of it stays, with devastating effects (Los Angeles Times)

• Vancouver pot king hopes to brew opium tea to help drug addicts (The Chronicle Herald)

• How the US military's opium war in Afghanistan was lost (BBC)

• New “Generic” Naloxone: Expect More Big-Pharma Sleight of Hand (Filter)

• Fentanyl killed a Penn physician’s son. Now she works to save other families from the same pain. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Life after a life of addiction (Cincinnati Enquirer)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Use of meth on the rise, officials say (The Indiana Gazette)

CAFFEINE

• Beverages containing caffeine more harmful to liver than alcohol? (The Asian Age)

• Unless we act now, scientists warn, that coffee so many of us love could become extinct (WCPO)

• Wholesale coffee is cheaper than it’s been in years. That’s not good news. (Vox)

• Experts Find Out How Many Cups of Coffee Are Needed to Enhance Your Workout (Inverse)

• Coca-Cola is making a big push into coffee (CNBC)

• Leading expert warns of dangers after man (34) dies from caffeine toxicity (Irish Independent)

• SC could ban kids from buying caffeine-packed energy drinks, but not this year (Charleston Post Courier)

• Is Kombucha Environmentally Friendly? Here’s The Real Tea (Bustle)

• Dear Pharmacist: Caffeine is a natural option for ADHD (The Gainesville Sun)

• The One Thing I Gave Up That Made A Massive Difference In My Anxiety (mindbodygreen)

• 9 Benefits Of Matcha Tea That Will Make You Want To Drink It Every Day (Woman's Health)

TOBACCO

• Walgreens, Rite Aid to Raise Tobacco Buying Age to 21 and Older (The Wall Street Journal)

• Vermont House Gives Final Approval To Tobacco 21 Bill (WAMC)

• 21 and older: Proposal to raise tobacco-buying age nationwide drawing mixed feelings (WEAR)

• New Evidence of Smoking Disparities Underlines That Tobacco Harm Reduction Is Social Justice (Filter)

• ‘Tobacco 21’ Proposal Draws Debate In Florida (WLRN)

• Vaping teens exposed to as much nicotine as tobacco smokers but don't know it (NBC News)

ALCOHOL

• Why faking positive emotions at work can lead to heavier alcohol consumption (Quartz)

• Illinois Senate approves statewide rule for alcohol delivery (WQAD)

• 5 Reasons You're Depressed After Drinking too Much Alcohol (Mens Health)

• Anne Hathaway doubles down on giving up alcohol until her son is 18, but says she'll spend the 'back half of my life completely sloshed' (INSIDER)

NOOTROPICS

• An Experiment With Smart Drugs – What I Learned From Modafinil (The Quint)

KRATOM

• Kratom Craze: After wife’s death, Franklin County man seeks ban on popular substance (KMOV)

• What is kratom? ‘Controversial’ herbal supplement leads to overdoses in the U.S. (Global News)

• Kratom: Castle Rock Deciding What to Do About Controversial Substance (Westword)

• When pregnant women take kratom, their babies may suffer (Medical Xpress)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Another dark web marketplace bites the dust --Wall Street Market (ZDNet)

• Joe Biden’s long record supporting the war on drugs and mass incarceration, explained (Vox)

• Survey of subjective "God encounter experiences": Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT (PLOS)

• Imperial launches world’s first Centre for Psychedelics Research (Imperial College London)

• Psychedelics as a treatment for disorders of consciousness (Neuroscience of Consciousness)

• How a drug gang devastated our helpless family (The Guardian)

• America’s Only Publicly Traded Addiction Treatment Chain Makes Millions Off Patients. What Could Go Wrong? (Mother Jones)

• Trump Justice Department Goes After Overdose Prevention Sites as ‘Crack Houses’ (The Daily Beast)

• Psychedelic therapy: The patients paying $2k to get high with their doctor (news.com.au)

• B.C.’s chief health officer calls for decriminalization of illicit drugs (The Globe and Mail)

• British Police Are Raising Their Voices Against the Drug War (Filter)

• Confronting Sexual Misconduct in the Psychedelic Community: An Interview with Daniel Pinchbeck (Chacruna)

• Trump has been... good?... for psychedelic drugs???... (The Outline)

• What Politicians Daring Each Other to Be Drug Tested Reveals (Filter)

• Building a Psychedelic Community During the War on Drugs (Chacruna)

• Psychedelics to treat mental illness? Australian researchers are giving it a go (The Conversation)

• Psychedelics as a Path to Social Learning (The Wall Street Journal)

• Shades of Sobriety: Life Shows That Recovery Needn’t Mean Abstinence (Filter)

• The Five Phases of Psychedelic Initiation (Chacruna)

• How drug decriminalization could help stem an epidemic of drug overdoses (The Globe and Mail)

• Trump Praises China for Killing Drug Traffickers (Reason)

• Young People of Color As Leaders in The Movement To End the War on Drugs (Psymposia)

• Prison For Forced Addiction Treatment? A Parent's 'Last Resort' Has Consequences (NPR)

• The Psychedelic State of South Texas (Texas Monthly)

• Drug Use in Music Festivals Across the United States (One EDM)

• Your Guide to Microdosing for Anxiety and Depression (Allure)

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.

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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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This Week in Psychoactives - 4.5.19

CANNABIS

• Guam Legalizes Marijuana Use By Adults (NORML)

• New Mexico Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Forbes)

• Los Angeles to Erase 50,000 Criminal Cannabis Convictions (Leafly)

• States With Legal Marijuana Would Be Protected From Feds Under Newly Filed Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Legalization Bill Clears New Hampshire House, but Veto Expected (Leafly)

• Federally Produced Marijuana Is Closer To Hemp Than Commercial Cannabis, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Street cannabis 'contains dangerous amount of faecal matter' (BBC)

• Wisconsin Voters Approve Multiple Marijuana Ballot Questions (Marijuana Moment)

• Science Says: Better Orgasms Through Cannabis! (The Stranger)

• Texas removing hemp from controlled substance list (The State)

• The EPA Is Funding Research On Using Hemp As A Sustainable Alternative To Concrete (Marijuana Moment)

• Medicinal use of cannabis based products and cannabinoids (The BMJ)

• Using Marijuana With Your Partner Increases The Likelihood Of Intimacy, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Georgia on cusp of legalizing medical marijuana (CNN)

• Medical Marijuana for Autism Law Approved on World Autism Day (The Fix)

• Will Germany become the world's largest market for medicinal cannabis? (Deutsche Welle)

• ‘Weed Dip’ Could Help Curb A Smokeless Tobacco Addiction (NowThis News)

• The Unique Challenges to Recycling Vapes in the Cannabis Industry (Civilized)

• Legalizing pot is the new Democratic litmus test (Politico)

• New York Governor Cuomo Leaves Marijuana Legalization Out of State Budget (NORML)

• Why Is the Cannabis Industry Struggling to Build Social Equity in the City of Angels? An Interview with Kristen Lovell of the Social Impact Center, Los Angeles (Psychedelic Times)

• PGA Issues Warning To Golfers Using CBD Products (Marijuana Moment)

• Can marijuana help end the opioids crisis? (The Guardian)

• The Feds Are Looking To Hire A Professional Marijuana Joint Roller (Marijuana Moment)

• Oklahoma Medical Cannabis Patients Can Hold Open-Carry Gun Permits (Leafly)

• “Our lawmakers don’t talk to their constituents.” An Interview with New Mexico Activist Monique Chavez on Why Pot Legalization Failed In Her State (Psychedelic Times)

• One county’s take on medical marijuana makes some users criminals (Arizona Capitol Times)

• Hemp Is At The Center Of Fashion, Politics, And Sustainability (NYLON)

• Florida Lawmakers Want to Limit Medical Marijuana Potency (Leafly)

• Cannabis stocks mixed ahead of bill proposing protections for weed companies (MarketWatch)

LSD

• Police suspect LSD contributed to death of Springfield teen (KEZI)

• Explainer: Can you die from LSD? (The Register-Guard)

• Man spiked his co-workers' water with LSD because they were ‘too uptight’ (Her)

• Scary Combination: A Navy Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier and LSD (The National Interest)

• Bizarre true story of the UK military testing LSD on Royal Marines revealed in incredible footage that shows high soldiers stumbling and climbing (The Sun)

• The acid test: Here's what LSD does to your brain (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• From Hollywood to Silicon Beach, L.A. Professionals Are Using LSD to Amp Up Their Careers (LAmag)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Why Stop at One Campaign to Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms? Oregon Has Two—and They Don’t Get Along. (Willamette Week)

• Denver Will See Whether Voters Favor Decriminalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms (Weedmaps)

MDMA

• Psychedelic drug MDMA may reawaken 'critical period' in brain to help treat PTSD (ScienceDaily)

• Ecstasy use by Australian high school students doubles over three years (Stuff.co.nz)

• GHB and MDMA are the best drugs for 'enhancing' sex, new study finds (Metro)

AYAHUASCA

• Scientists studying psychedelic ayahuasca as a potential anti-depressant (CTV News)

• Great Shamanic Deception: Using Ayahuasca as a Conduit for Sexual Fulfillment (Chacruna)

• Am I a Sectarian Drug User? A Brief Legal Comment on the Religious Use of Ayahuasca in Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands (Chacruna)

• Catharsis through vomiting: My experiences with an ancient Amazonian drug at a Haryana farmhouse (Scroll.in)

• Inside Chelsea Handler’s Shocking Psychedelic Drug Confession (Radar Online)

5-MEO-DMT

• Could Bufo toad toxins be beneficial to humans? (NBC2 News)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• UAB research study finds that the majority of novel psychedelic drug users are white, college-educated men (Alabama Political Reporter)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• This is what it's like to be a Spicehead (Manchester Evening News)

NITROUS OXIDE

• How Medical Researchers Used to Party (JSTOR Daily)

• Red Bluff hospital first in Northstate to offer laughing gas for child birth (KRCRTV)

KETAMINE

• Immunosuppressant May Extend Ketamine's Antidepressant Effects (Medscape)

• When Nothing Seems to Help Your CRPS, Ketamine Pain Treatments May Bring Relief (Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic)

• Effect of Ketamine With Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depressive Symptoms (Psychiatry Advisor)

• FDA Approves Ketamine-Derived Treatment for Depression, But How Are People Really Using It? A Conversation with Kellye Greene of New York DanceSafe (Psychedelic Times)

• Esketamine and psychedelics will require restructuring mental health care visits (STAT)

• Study: Alligators on ketamine and headphones to mimic dinosaurs (Digital Journal)

• Boys rescued from Thai cave were sedated with ketamine (CNN)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• China to Regulate All Fentanyl-Related Drugs as Controlled Substances (TIME)

• “Nation’s Most Comprehensive Lawsuit”—Now NY Takes On Purdue and the Sacklers (Filter)

• Fear, Loathing and Fentanyl Exposure (The New York Times)

• “Tranq Dope”—The Heroin Combo That’s Been Putting Philly to Sleep (Filter)

• Naloxone remains stable for at least 28 days after enduring extreme conditions: study (The Record)

• As overdoses rise, New Jersey removes a barrier to treatment for opioid addiction (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• A single-dose antidote may help prevent fentanyl overdoses (Science News)

• Philadelphia Department of Prisons will begin offering buprenorphine to male inmates again (WHYY)

• How to stop the opioid crisis (The Washington Post)

• Philly sees concerning increase in new HIV cases driven by opioid epidemic (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Study Finds Vast Differences In Ease-Of-Use For Naloxone Delivery Methods (PR Newswire)

• Is Xi Jinping the New El Chapo? (The Trumpet)

• Opium farming goes unchecked, difficult to locate plantation sites (The Kathmandu Post)

• Narcan-resistant drug linked to suspected fatal OD, Montgomery County coroner warns (WHIO)

• How Atlantic City is rethinking addiction amid opioid epidemic (The Press of Atlantic City)

• Baby Born Prematurely, Addicted to Heroin Gets Second Chance at Life Thanks to Rare Adoption (Clay Center Dispatch)

• Heroin Is Not Your Friend (Psychology Today)

COCAINE

• Why Cocaine Turns People into Jerks, a Simple Explanation (VICE)

• War on drugs has helped cocaine traffickers conquer swathes of Central America, study suggests (The Independent)

• Man faces multiple felonies after alleged cocaine-fueled melee during concert (Aspen Daily News)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Messier Than Opioids, Meth Is Asia's Worst Narcotics Threat (Bloomberg)

• Do you live near a meth lab? This interactive map will show you (KGUN)

• Cheap, Nasty, Near You. How Crystal Meth Is Spreading (Bloomberg)

• 'Completely preventable': 50 young people killed by stroke after using meth, MDMA (The Sydney Morning Herald)

CAFFEINE

• There May Be a Link Between Coffee and Lung Cancer, Study Suggests (Live Science)

• Combining Caffeine With Alcohol Can Be A Problem (American Council on Science and Health)

• Are You Overdosing on Caffeine? (Outside)

• Here’s what happens to your body when you drink coffee (Health24)

TOBACCO

• Maryland approves raising age to 21 to buy tobacco (The Washington Post)

• State lawmakers raise age to buy tobacco products, e-cigarettes to 21 (The Buffalo News)

• Olmsted County raises tobacco age to 21 (Med City Beat)

• With vaping under fire for potential links to seizures, tobacco-free snuff latest alternative to help smokers quit (USA Today)

• Alabama Congressman aims to raise the age someone can buy tobacco (ABC 33/40)

• Could smokers under 21 be barred from buying tobacco products? Texas takes a step closer to raising the age (Dallas News)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol, caffeine are common triggers of irregular heart rhythm (Reuters)

• More adults seeking support for alcoholic parents (BBC)

• To Combat Binge Drinking, a Search for Chemical Solutions (Undark)

• Don’t Call Jessica Lareau an Alcoholic. To Her, Words Matter (Boston University)

• Even low alcohol consumption is bad news for strokes – study (The Guardian)

• Brain damage from alcohol lasts up to six weeks after quitting (New York Post)

• Millennials Are Sick of Drinking (The Atlantic)

• Hangover free alcohol? Scientist claims he’s created magic recipe (FOX 8)

ABSINTHE

• Burning Question: Why was absinthe legal then illegal and now legal again? (Monterey County Weekly)

NOOTROPICS

• What Are Nootropics? Your Guide To The Best Brain-Boosting Nutrients (mindbodygreen)

• Nootropics You Need To Know About (The Epoch Times)

KRATOM

• FDA Confirms 'Dangerous' Levels of Heavy Metals in Some Kratom Products (Medscape)

• Drug task force lobbies county to ban sale of opioid-like Kratom (The St. Augustine Record)

• Commissioners postpone move to ban kratom in St. Johns County (WJXT)

KAVA

• Retired UFC fighter to open Island Kava tea bar in Patchogue (GreaterPatchogue)

KHAT

• Woman Khat vendor killed in Banaadir region (Somalia Affairs)

MISCELLANEOUS

• D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases (The New York Times)

• People who ‘microdose’ psychedelic drugs for a month say it increases positive emotions and productivity (PsyPost)

• Drugs before sex more common in UK than in Europe or US – study (The Guardian)

• Ralph Metzner, LSD and Consciousness Researcher, Dies at 82 (The New York Times)

• Philly Councilman Mark Squilla moves to block supervised injection site (WHYY)

• What Could a Conscious, Psychedelic #MeToo Look Like? (Chacruna)

• Acetaminophen's Surprising Psychoactive Effects (RealClearScience)

• On the Eve of the Great Psychedelic Debate (Quillette)

• Drug Paraphernalia Laws: The “Swiss Army Knife” of the Drug War (Filter)

• But The Drugs Keep Me Sober (The Small Bow)

• Philippine Supreme Court Orders Release of Evidence From Duterte’s Drug War (TIME)

• Supervised injection site supporters countersue feds, saying their Philly mission comes from religious and medical imperatives (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Pledges To Pardon All Non-Violent Drug Offenders On 4/20 (Marijuana Moment)

• Let’s Address Four Common Myths About Harm Reduction (Filter)

• Drug trips, not broken hips: let later life be the age of irresponsibility (The Guardian)

• In the Space of One Minute, Joe Biden Defends the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers, Asset Forfeiture, and Mandatory Minimums (Reason)

• The New Science of Psychedelics: A Tool for Changing Our Minds (SingularityHub)

• Two SOM students explore psychedelic investment opportunities (Yale Daily News)

• Psychedelic therapy for depression (The Naked Scientists)

• What's the deal with microdosing? (Stuff.co.nz)

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.

---

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:

---

This Week in Psychoactives - 2.15.19

CANNABIS

• Senator Files '420' Marijuana Bill To Legalize It Federally (Forbes)

• Mexican Senate Report Lays Out Marijuana Legalization Considerations (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill At Committee Hearing (Marijuana Moment)

• Oregon has more legal cannabis than the state can consume in six years (Quartz)

• States With Legal Medical Marijuana Have Lower Teen Use Rates, Large-Scale Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why CBD Works Better With a Little THC (Even If You Don’t Want to Get High) (Leafly)

• Study Shows How Marijuana Component CBD Can Help People With Substance Use Disorders (Marijuana Moment)

• Veterans Medical Marijuana Access Legislation Introduced In House and Senate (NORML)

• European Parliament Approves Medical Marijuana Resolution (Marijuana Moment)

• Bill to Provide Greater Access for Virginia Medical Cannabis Patients Succeeds (NORML)

• Missouri Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Expungement Bill For Medical Cannabis Patients (Marijuana Moment)

• Kamala Harris Got So High Smoking Weed in College She Thought She Was Listening To Snoop Dogg and Tupac (Reason)

• Where Presidential Candidate Amy Klobuchar Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Michigan’s First Cannabis Lounge Is the Chill Alternative to Bars (Leafly)

• Marijuana possession bill reintroduced in state Senate (Winston-Salem Journal)

• Maury Povich Smoked A Marijuana Strain Named After His Wife, Journalist Connie Chung (Marijuana Moment)

• Dan Bilzerian's Weed Company Is Keeping Sexist Cannabis Ads Alive (VICE)

• If you support marijuana legalization, you should support safe injection sites (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Here's How New Mothers are Using CBD to Combat Baby Brain (Civilized)

• Aurora Cannabis earnings show big growth in pot sales, but worrisome profit trend (MarketWatch)

LSD

• The Man who Mapped LSD (OUPblog)

• Microdoses of LSD change how you perceive time (Big Think)

• Amanda Feilding: ‘LSD can get deep down and reset the brain – like shaking up a snow globe’ (The Guardian)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• $1m kicked into campaign for magic mushroom therapy (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Push to legalize psychedelic mushrooms gains traction in Eugene (KEZI)

• Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Are Having a Moment. Here's What It's All About. (Cheddar)

• Magic Mushrooms Show Promising Results for Treating PTSD and Depression (San Diego Entertainer Magazine)

MDMA

• MDMA Users May Have a Social Advantage Over People Who Use Other Drugs (Inverse)

• Israel's Health Ministry Approves Compassionate Use of MDMA to Treat PTSD (Haaretz)

• MDMA Expanded Access is almost here. What’s it all about? (Psymposia)

• Use of Ecstasy spreading in Cebu: PDEA 7 (Sun.Star)

• Police issue a warning for yellow octopus ecstasy pills (Mixmag)

• Daniel Eades, 19, took MDMA at Halo and Wetherspoon (Bournemouth Echo)

• Young dad dies after taking ecstasy on New Year's Eve (Derbyshire Live)

AYAHUASCA

• The First Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference (Yubaka Hayrá) in Acre Demonstrates Political, Cultural and Spiritual Resistance (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca Shows Huge Potential As a Treatment For Severe Depression (Reset.me)

• What Ayahuasca is Trying to Teach Us: An Interview with Dennis McKenna (Reality Sandwich)

• Mindful Eating as a support for Ayahuasca Dieta (Tam Integration)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Severe bleeding associated with use of tainted synthetic cannabinoids (AAP News)

• Colorectal cancer: Scientists halt growth with cannabinoid compounds (Medical News Today)

• Children as young as THREE are treated in hospital after taking Spice as Britain's synthetic drug crisis deepens (Daily Mail)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Laughing gas now an option for women giving birth (Everything Lubbock)

• Residents 'disgusted' after piles of 'hippy crack' canisters dumped outside Cambridge home (Cambridgeshire Live)

• Everything you need to know about nangs, the worrying craze growing amongst Aussie teens. (Mamamia)

KETAMINE

• Taking Ketamine Can Feel a Lot Like a Near-Death Experience (Tonic)

• F.D.A. Panel Recommends New Depression Treatment (The New York Times)

• Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles Commemorates Five Years of Patient Success Stories (New Kerala)

PCP

• Man who killed USA Today reporter in PCP-fueled crash sentenced to six years in prison (The Washington Post)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease (The New York Times)

• Mapping the Opioid Epidemic (New America)

• Overdose remedy naloxone now carried by all Ventura police officers (Ventura County Star)

• Mass. Issues Guidelines After Boston Nurse Was Denied Life Insurance For Carrying Naloxone (WBUR)

• Even in best-case scenario, opioid overdose deaths will keep rising until 2022 (Los Angeles Times)

• Opioid-Related Deaths Decreasing in Iowa, Report Shows (WHO-TV)

• Veterinarian sentenced to 6 years for stitching heroin into puppies and turning them into drug mules (INSIDER)

• Why the Rural Opioid Crisis Is Different From the Urban One (CityLab)

• Opium cultivation business squeezed by market shift towards meth (Myanmar Times)

• Vet saves Victoria puppy with naloxone injection (Maple Ridge News)

• Offer: help solve the opioid crisis, have your student loans forgiven (Rooster Magazine)

• Indy coffee shop is the newest place to offer life-saving drug naloxone (Fox 59)

• Coroner: No carfentanil spike locally, but OD deaths are up (Dayton Daily News)

• 'Church Of Safe Injection' Offers Needles, Naloxone To Prevent Opioid Overdoses (NPR)

• It's too late to save my son's life, but this drug can save others (The Sacramento Bee)

• Houston Cop Involved in Deadly Drug Raid Relieved of Duty Due to 'Ongoing Questions' (Reason)

• Naloxone training could help save numerous lives (KVAL)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Crystal Meth Is North Korea's Trendiest Lunar New Year's Gift (The New York Times)

• Officials: Iowa sees higher-quality meth, increased drug use (The Daily Nonpareil)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• The Deadly Worst Case Scenario for America's Xanax Obsession (VICE)

ALCOHOL

• Beer before wine, you'll feel fine? Not according to a new study (CTV News)

• More than 100 dead after drinking bootleg alcohol in India (Reuters)

• Man 'under influence of alcohol' allegedly beats stepdaughter to death (Jakarta Post)

• How heavy drinking might boost your appetite for alcohol (Health24)

• Alcohol Problems Grow as Booze Gets a Bigger Kick (WebMD)

• Alcohol’s effects on the brain (The Ithacan)

• Plan to raise alcohol limits in beer at Utah stores approved (Cache Valley Daily)

• Report says Utah has lowest alcohol consumption per capita in country (KUTV 2News)

• Thousands sign petition to stop ban of alcohol on some Michigan rivers (WXYZ)

• I Stopped Drinking For 30 Days — & My Skin Got So Much Better (Refinery29)

• Giving up alcohol made our lives better — and turned us into terrible guests (The Washington Post)

ABSINTHE

• Does absinthe really make drinkers hallucinate? (Fox News)

NOOTROPICS

• Brain‑Enhancing 'Smart Drugs' Promise a Boost in Creativity, Memory (The Swaddle)

• Seven Mental and Athletic Performance Benefits of Nootropics (Youth Health Magazine)

• Noopept: one of the most potent brain boosters on the market (London Post)

KRATOM

• Kratom Is A Drug, But Indonesia Really Wants It To Remain An Unlicensed Supplement (Science 2.0)

• The FDA is wrong about kratom (The Washington Post)

• Regulations Are On Hold as Kratom Debate Rages (WebMD)

• Kratom No Longer Allowed In Columbus (WCBI)

• What Is Kratom & Why Is It Being Used For Opiate Self-Detox? (Psychology Today)

• Miracle treatment or dangerous drug? (The Star Online)

MISCELLANEOUS

• El Chapo, the Notorious Drug Kingpin, Has Been Found Guilty in His U.S. Trial (TIME)

• 'Kitty Flipping' and the Psychonaut Obsession with Mixing Drugs (VICE)

• FDA explores using blockchain to track drug supplies (Engadget)

• How Brexit Will Shape Britain's Drug Supply (VICE)

• GOP Iowa lawmaker proposes decriminalizing psychedelic drugs for medical use (The Hill)

• Sri Lanka hiring hangmen, inspired by Philippines' war on drugs (Reuters)

• Will El Chapo's conviction change anything in the drug trade? (The Guardian)

• Victoria city councillors call on B.C. to provide safe-inhalation sites for drugs (Times Colonist)

• Tennessee bill would charge pregnant women using drugs if baby born addicted (KMPH)

• Students Turn To Study Drugs And Alcohol To Cope With Campus Life (Forbes)

• Is there something divine about gender and psychedelics? (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Microdosing Hallucinogens Has Positive Effects—but Not What You Might Suspect (Pacific Standard)

• Riverstyx: A Small Family Foundation That Funds Psychedelic Research and Other Fringe Causes (Inside Philanthropy)

• Sex On Drugs (PSU Vanguard)

• The case for drug decriminalization in Baltimore (The Baltimore Sun)

• Japan managed to win its war on drugs, why can’t we? (The Spectator)

• Trip Sitters and Conscious Bachelorette: Interview with Chi of Truffles Therapy (Psychedelic Times)

• Psychedelics Live Up to Early Promise (Discover Magazine)

• How 'Russian Doll' flirts with psychedelic therapy (The Outline)

• Becoming an Entheogen (Medium)

• Psychedelic Meditation (The Third Wave)

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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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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 - 1.25.19

CANNABIS

• Does marijuana use really cause psychotic disorders? (The Guardian)

• 2018 Was A Major Year For Cannabis Legislation And 2019 Is Shaping Up To Be Much Bigger (Marijuana Moment)

• New Study on Cannabis and Autism Supports Parents’ Longtime Claims (Leafly)

• Study Debunks Claim That Traffic Deaths Increase On The 4/20 Marijuana Holiday (Marijuana Moment)

• Want To Minor In Cannabis? This SUNY Program Could Be For You (Forbes)

• Virginia Medical Cannabis Bills Clear Senate Committee (NORML)

• First Senate Marijuana Bill Of 2019 Would Force Study On Medical Cannabis For Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Massachusetts Dispensary Replaces Lines With App (Ganjapreneur)

• Most U.S. Mayors Support Legalizing Marijuana, Survey Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Cafes Are Coming (Forbes)

• Women And Baby Boomers Are Increasingly Embracing Marijuana, New Market Report Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Website Offers Unpaid Federal Workers Free Medical Marijuana That They Can’t Legally Smoke (Reason)

• Young people in liberal states use more cannabis, but have lower rates of dependence (The Verge)

• DC Lawmaker Proposes Same-Day Medical Marijuana Access And Social Use Spaces (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis equity aimed at helping those most affected by the war on drugs (The News Tribune)

• Future Weed: Formulations, Patents and Where Cannabis Is Going Next (Rolling Stone)

• Federal Judge Rules For Medical Marijuana Grower In Free Speech Case (Marijuana Moment)

• CBS Blocked a Medical Marijuana Commercial From Playing During the Super Bowl (TIME)

• Can Cannabis Actually Boost Concentration? (Civilized)

• Lawmakers File Competing Medical Marijuana Research Bills Amid Language Dispute (Marijuana Moment)

• Potential Contaminants in CBD and THC Oils (News-Medical.net)

• Opioid Addiction Is Now A Medical Marijuana Qualifying Condition In New Jersey (Marijuana Moment)

• On Pot and Psychosis: Five Questions for Alex Berenson (Undark)

• Pennsylvania Governor Announces Statewide Marijuana Legalization Listening Tour (Marijuana Moment)

• The Next Attorney General May Not Bar Progress On Cannabis Policy After All (Forbes)

• Good Luck Getting Medical Cannabis On the NHS (VICE)

• Cannabis can help with better sex, but low doses are key (Global News)

• DC Mayor Considers How To Legalize Marijuana Sales In Light Of Congressional Block (Marijuana Moment)

• 9 Governors Get 'A' Grades for Marijuana Reform, Up From 2 Last Year (Reason)

• Potential 2020 Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg Calls Marijuana Legalization ‘Nonsensical’ (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Meet America's Youngest Cannabis CEO (Civilized)

• If these Northeast states legalize adult-use marijuana, they could generate billions of dollars in sales (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Hallucinogenic Strains of Cannabis (Seattle Weekly)

• What LA's First Weed Rave Means for the Future of Cannabis and Nightlife (Civilized)

• U.S. Surgeon General Deletes Tweet About Medical Marijuana And Children (Marijuana Moment)

• Alex Berenson: Pot is not a cure-all medicine – I told the truth and the backlash has been incredible (Fox News)

• The cannabis business is booming — but that’s not necessarily good if you’re an investor (CNBC)

• Goop CCO Is Eyeing CBD, THC, Psychedelics as Wellness Empire Expands (Cheddar)
  

LSD

• Marc Emery Gave LSD, Ecstasy To Underage Girls: Ex-Employees (HuffPost)

• Not a transit point, Kolkata now an LSD market: Cops (The Times of India)

• Police: Ohio student on LSD attacked and grabbed staffers' breasts (NBC4 WCMH-TV)
  

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Psilocybin combined with psychological support might correct pessimism biases in depression (PsyPost)

• Most Oregon Voters Favor Legalizing Psilocybin Mushrooms For Medical Use, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Terminally ill patients to be given magic mushroom hallucinogen (Metro)

• Magic mushrooms to soothe the dying (Crikey)

• Dutch retreat claims magic truffles could be ‘the secret to improving your relationship’ — but do they really work? (The Sun)

• 10 potential risks of taking 'magic' mushrooms (INSIDER)
  

MDMA

• Will MDMA-assisted psychotherapy be covered by health insurance? (Psymposia)

• How does ecstasy kill? (The Conversation)

• Most ecstasy pills tested by WA’s ChemCentre found they contained no MDMA (PerthNow)
  

AYAHUASCA

• Behind the scenes at Kenzo’s ayahuasca-fueled Fall/Winter 2019 show (Document Journal)
  

PEYOTE

• The Supreme Court's 'peyote decision' limited freedom of religion. Is it in trouble? (Los Angeles Times)
  

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Disturbing moment ‘spice zombie’ howls and writhes on ground in front of city centre shoppers in broad daylight (The Sun)

• Police raid two Savannah businesses selling synthetic cannabinoids (11Alive)
  

NITROUS OXIDE

• More women choosing nitrous oxide to help them through labor (KXAN)

• Nitrous Oxide stolen from QA Hospital in Portsmouth (ITV News)
  

KETAMINE

• Ketamine May Be Equally Effective in Anxious vs Nonanxious Depression (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Ketamine Reduced Opioid Need in Severely Injured Subgroup (General Surgery News)

• Hennepin Healthcare ketamine probe recommends more training, internal reviews (KMSP-TV)
  

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Police and Media Keep Spreading the Myth That Merely Touching Fentanyl Can Kill You (Gizmodo)

• Study Links Drug Maker Gifts for Doctors to More Overdose Deaths (The New York Times)

• A New Drug Policy Approach Can Alleviate Poverty in Rural India (Talking Drugs)

• Free naloxone kits, training being offered in Chico after mass overdose (KRCR)

• FDA Pushing for Over-The-Counter Sales of Naloxone (Pain News Network)

• What’s Taking So Long for Naloxone to Be Made Available Over the Counter? (Filter)

• Wound Botulism Outbreak Linked to Heroin Raises Concern of Opioid Epidemic Effects (Contagion Live)

• Thunder Bay paramedics report naloxone use jumped 5 times over previous year (CBC)

• Buprenorphine May Be an Optimal Treatment for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Monthly Prescribing Reference)

• Design team creates a naloxone dispenser (Medical Xpress)

• Post-Naloxone Observation of ED Patients is Focus of Study (Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences News)

• Yes, Opium Soaked Tampons Were Actually A Thing Roman Ancients Used To Cure Headaches (Rare)

• Libraries saving lives: Pilot program trains employees to administer naloxone (KPTV)

• The Importance Of Patient-Centric Opioid Prescribing Guidelines (Forbes)

• Vermont prison staff will carry opioid rescue medication Narcan after rise in overdoses (Burlington Free Press)

• Lancaster County tops list for charging heroin dealers with homicide (WITF)

• Volunteer medical first responders not allowed to administer Naloxone (Regina Leader-Post)

• Is Medically Prescribed Heroin the Answer to the Opioid Crisis? (Healthline)

• Rantz: Seattle public health officials give tips to be a better heroin user (KTTH)
  

COCAINE

• Cocaine in London river is making eels 'hyperactive,' researchers say (Fox News)

• Scientists Kept Rats Sober by Deleting Memories of Cocaine (Futurism)

• Steve-O from Jackass admits he once snorted cocaine splattered with HIV-positive blood (Newshub)

• Cocaine found in singer Chris Brown's hotel room not his, he wants to sue rape accuser for defamation: Lawyer (The Straits Times)
  

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Why Crystal Meth Has Made a Big Comeback in Philadelphia (Filter)

• Amid South Dakota's meth epidemic, recovering addict helps others find sobriety (The Dickinson Press)
  

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol-Linked Disease Overtakes Hep C As Top Reason For Liver Transplant (Kaisser Health News)

• New study finds areas in brain that cause alcohol addiction (The Drinks Business)

• Alcohol marketers face sobering times as moderation trend grows (Ad Age)

• Singapore lifts ban on sale of food products containing alcohol (The Drinks Business)

• This Is Why Anne Hathaway Has Given Up Alcohol (Marie Claire)

• Many migraine sufferers wary of alcohol as a headache trigger (Reuters)

ABSINTHE

• Chasing the green fairy: Absinthe, fact and fiction (Earth.com)
  

NOOTROPICS

• Nootropics, or ‘Smart Drugs,’ Are Gaining Popularity. But Should You Take Them? (TIME)
  

KRATOM

• Kratom Vendor Offers Free Product to Federal Employees During Shutdown (Inverse)

• A buying guide for kratom (Augusta Free Press)

• Top health benefits of using kratom (Augusta Free Press)
  

KAVA

• Fiji Kava Applauds Australian Government’s Decision To Ease Kava Import Regulations (Fiji Sun)

• Drinking kava can tackle the root of your stress problems (The Daily Texan)
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• How can we take power away from criminal gangs? Legalise drugs (The Guardian)

• The Pentagon Spent Billions Fighting the War on Drugs Without Even Asking for a Plan (Motherboard)

• A Brief History of Microdosing Research (Psychedelic Times)

• Needle and syringe programmes cost-effectively prevent hepatitis C transmission (Medical Xpress)

• More people in recovery from substance use problems are quitting smoking than ever before (EurekAlert!)

• ‘Example to the world': Sri Lanka president plans to copy Duterte's war on drugs (The Guardian)

• More Companies Should Offer Bathroom Syringe Disposals Like Starbucks (Filter)

• I'm 'coming out' about drugs: it's time get real about pill testing (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Drug deaths at music festivals: one overdose victim 'took up to nine MDMA pills' (The Guardian)

• Three Charts on who uses illicit drugs in Australia (The Conversation)

• SW's resistance to pill testing will drive dealers to sell 'more dangerous drugs', ACT warns (The Guardian)

• Combining Psychedelics with Capitalism May Cause Unintended Side Effects (Chacruna)

• Which ACT politicians have tried cannabis, MDMA and acid? (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Cosmic Sister and #PsychedelicFeminism: Interview with Zoe Helene (Psychedelic Times)

• A Supervised Drug Use Site? Meet the Leaders Behind Denver's Push. (Westword)

• Psychedelics & Meditation – How They’ve Informed Each Other On My Path (Maps Of The Mind)

• Should all drugs be legalised now? (The London Economic)

• Carbondale hosts ‘non-hallucinogenic’ psychedelic seminar (The Aspen Times)

• Reforming Regulation to Promote Medical Use of Psychedelic Drugs (The Regulatory Review)

• Injecting centre for Cork drug addicts still under evaluation (Echo Live)

• What Is Harm Reduction, Anyway? (Filter)

• 'War on drugs' doesn't tackle the drug problem (The Hill)

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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 Psychedelics - 4.27.18

Cannabis

• Top Democrats Embrace Marijuana Reform Ahead of Midterm Elections (Truthout)
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Jeff Sessions: Medical marijuana could save many addicted to opioids (CNN)
• NEW POLL: 63% of Americans Believe “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)
• Sessions Admits There ‘May Well Be Some Benefits From Medical Marijuana’ (Marijuana Moment)
• Marijuana Legalization Will Be on Michigan's Ballot in November (Reason)
• Cannabis is having its 'smartphone' moment (Engadget)
• How activists are fighting for full cannabis legalization in Washington, D.C. (Psymposia)
• The End of the Joint As We Know It (The Ringer)
• NORML Delivers Over 10,000 Citizen Comments To The FDA Calling For The Reconsideration of Cannabis Prohibition (NORML)
• The best way to fight illegal pot is with legal cannabis (The Hill)
• Why Are Marijuana Policies So Behind in 4/20-Heavy Places Like New York? (Rolling Stone)
• How Seniors Joined the Cannabis Craze (The New Yorker)
• Cannabis Flowers Are Legal in Italy. You Just Can’t Eat or Smoke Them. (The New York Times)
• How 'dank' became a compliment for both beer and marijuana (Detroit Free Press)
• Greens' cannabis plan could raise $3.6bn (9NEWS)
• Isle Of Man Could Be The First Place In The British Isles To Decriminalise Cannabis Possession (HuffPost)
• These Five States Lead the Nation in Marijuana Arrests (AlterNet)
• Miracle drug or the devil's lettuce? (The Washington Post)
• The Complicated History of Cannabis in the US (History)
• FDA Rejects Anti-Legalization Pharma Co’s Cannabis Drug Request (Marijuana Moment)
• Legalising marijuana is a lot more complex than you might think (The Age)
• 4/20 Special: How Advocates and Entrepreneurs of Color Are Fighting for Equity in the Legal Weed Business (Colorlines)
• Liberal party members overwhelmingly vote for decriminalizing drugs while Trudeau repeats opposition (The Georgia Straight)
• Assemblyman introduces bill that would allow vets to prescribe cannabis for pets (KABC-TV)
• Utah Medical Marijuana Measure Has Enough Signatures For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)
• Is marijuana decriminalization possible in the Middle East? (The Washington Post)
• Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract (NPR)
• YouTube Continues Its Cannabis Purge and Nobody Knows Why (Leafly)
• Facebook Has a Cannabis Problem That ‘Community Standards’ Don’t Solve (Leafly)
• Two Cannabis Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets For Success (Forbes)
• Police Department Offers Prize For Possessing The Most Cannabis (High Times)
• Medical cannabis oil is legal in Texas, but epilepsy patients still struggle (The Texas Tribune)
• A Multibillion-Dollar Cannabis Company Has Announced Its Asia-Pacific Headquarters In Australia (BuzzFeed News)
• Senator Wants Jeff Sessions To Meet With Drug War Victims (Marijuana Moment)
• Psychedelic Rapper Challenges New Jersey's Cannabis Laws In New 420 Song (PR Newswire)
• 'The Truth About Cannabis': Inside New Pro-Pot Web Doc (Rolling Stone)
• Cannabis Cultivation Will Be A Race To The Bottom (Forbes)
• 'Women of Cannabis' Cultivate Ideas and Relationships (Seven Days)
• Cannabis and psychosis: what is the link and who is at risk? (The Conversation)
• Marijuana moguls optimistic about legalisation of recreational cannabis in Australia (ABC)
• Can Cannabis Make You Sick? (The Stranger)
• Is This The Most Expensive Marijuana In The World? (Forbes)
• Could 'one puff' of cannabis ease depression? (Medical News Today)
• Understanding Terpenes: Linalool (Cannabis Now)
• Harvard Medical Students Say Schools Need to Teach More About Medical Marijuana (Civilized)

LSD

• LSD Provokes Synesthetic Hallucinations in a Congenitally Blind Man (Psychedelic Times)
• Couple drop LSD to see if it makes them better at assembling IKEA furniture (Metro)
• Psychedelic Cyclists – An Irishman’s Diary about Albert Hofmann and Flann O’Brien (The Irish Times)
• St. Pete man on LSD punches 13-year-old girl in face, knocks her out (WFLA)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• The Man Who Treated His OCD with Magic Mushrooms (VICE)
• Inside Jamaica's magic mushroom retreat for women (The Independent)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Can MDMA Treat Alcoholism? Scientists Begin First Clinical Trials (Newsweek)
• MDMA research meets Australian antipathy (Cosmos Magazine)
• An Amsterdam house had so much MDMA discovered inside it's been locked down (Mixmag)
• Teen dies after taking 'Netflix and Chill' ecstasy pills (New York Post)
• Melissa McCarthy Snorts Ecstasy With Sex Crazed Puppets in ‘Happytime Murders’ (Variety)
• Gardaí fear 'bad batch' of MDMA may have killed teen (17) (Independent.ie)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Canadian Lynched by Mob After Being Accused of Killing Shaman at Ayahuasca Retreat (VICE)
• UN condemns murder of Peruvian indigenous leader (Andina)
• A Judge Has Ordered Arrests Over Killing of a Canadian in the Peruvian Amazon (TIME)
• Effects and risks of ayahuasca, the hallucinogen sought after by Canadians travelling to the Amazon (CBC)
• How Did Avicii Die? Details On The Artist's Sudden Passing (EDM Sauce)
• Doctor sees healing power in psychedelic plant as Peru investigates deaths (The Reminder)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Why opioid addicts desperate to quit are turning to this risky treatment (New York Post)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Nasal Spray May Help Reduce Depression Symptoms, Study Says (The Fix)
• Oral ketamine does not ease cancer-related neuropathic pain (medwireNews)
• Beneficial effects of ketamine in a chronic pain state with allodynia, possibly due to central sensitization (Science Direct)
• Document: Hagerstown man smoked PCP before shooting woman (Herald-Mail Media)
• Boyfriend of Morgan Freeman's slain kin knew what he was doing despite being in PCP haze (New York Daily News)

Opiates/Opioids

• New York Could Open the First Safe Injection Site in the US (The Nation)
• asha bandele: Prince could still be alive today if America didn’t shame people for using drugs (Mic)
• Google uses its search skills to help fight opioid addiction (Engadget)
• The New York Times Suggests Opioids Should Be Reserved for Terminal Patients (Reason)
• Will Getting Tough on Dealers Curb the Opioid Crisis? (The Crime Report)

Kratom

• Leading Scientists Say Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Kratom May Be Side-Effect Of FDA Crackdown & Underscores Need For Regulation … Not A Ban (PR Newswire)
• Kratom Products Recalled for Risk of Salmonella (Coherent Chronicle)
• Kratom Wars: FDA, Proponents Square Off on Controversial Opioid-Like Plant (Pain Medicine News)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Lessons from Portugal: The Case for Drug Policy Reform (Beckley Foundation)
• Becoming a Psychedelic Researcher: Alan Kooi Davis (Psymposia)
• Are psychedelics the answer to depression and addiction? (Salon)
• Not all drug dealers are the same – it’s time to ditch outdated stereotypes (The Conversation)
• Harm Reduction: More than just clean needles (Julian Buchanan)
• A Survey Shows The Most Used Drugs At Music Festivals: Here’s What We Learned (Dance Music Northwest)
• Antidepressants and Withdrawal: Readers Tell Their Stories (Mad in America)
• A revolution in teen drug education (New York Daily News)
• Police chiefs studying decriminalizing drugs as possible solution to opioid crisis (CBC)
• Just Because You Can't Stop Taking Antidepressants Doesn't Mean You're Addicted (VICE)
• Pill-testing trial approved for Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra (ABC)
• Why we should test drugs for safety (Virgin)
• The Best Drug Documentaries On Netflix Right Now (HotNewHipHop)
• 'Archaic and harmful': report condemns strict handling of student drug takers (The Guardian)
• Psychedelic Scholar Robert Forte Talks Conspiracy Theories and Consciousness (Santa Barbara Independent)
• New Research Provides First Peek at Ancient Mesopotamian Drug Use (Ancient Origins)

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.