This Week in Psychedelics - 6.11.21

Cannabis

• Nevada: Governor Signs Bill into Law Regulating Cannabis Consumption Lounges (NORML)

• Senate Votes to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Conn. (NBC Connecticut)

• Washington state offers ‘joints for jabs’ to boost vaccination rates (The Guardian)

• Louisiana lawmakers pass bill to decriminalize marijuana (The Hill)

• Biden Administration Wants to Uphold Ban on Adult-Use Cannabis Sales in DC (MERRY JANE)

• Testing People For Marijuana Impairment Based On THC Levels Is ‘Not Reliable,’ Federally Funded Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: Enactment of Adult-Use Marijuana Laws Doesn’t Encourage Drugged Driving Behavior (NORML)

• Medical Cannabis Users Are More Likely to Cut Back on Cigarettes, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• NFL Funds Marijuana Research As Federal Prohibition ‘Adversely’ Impacts Studies Into Opioid Alternative For Players (Marijuana Moment)

• Virginia: Marijuana Arrests Fall Dramatically Following Enactment of 2020 Decriminalization Law (NORML)

• Bill Would Finally Let Researchers Obtain Marijuana From Dispensaries (Filter)

• LA Is Literally the Worst Place to Buy Legal Weed, Thanks to Exorbitant Sales Taxes (MERRY JANE)

LSD

• Susi’s Tram Ride: Recognizing the First Woman to Take LSD (Chacruna)

• Deepak Chopra did LSD for the first time in a lab and felt his consciousness shift while staring at a photo of Mother Teresa (Insider)

• Blotter paper part of LSD mixture, must be weighed too (The Times of India)

• LSD and the Anarchic Brain (Psychedelic Science Review)

• LSD for Bipolar Disorder: Is LSD the Answer? (The Third Wave)

Magic Mushrooms

• Silo Pharma Announces Collaboration with University California San Francisco to study Psilocybin as an Anti-Inflammatory agent in Parkinson’s and Bipolar Patients (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psilocybin Oral Strips: Benefits and Drawbacks (Truffle Report)

• Mydecine Discovers Over 40 Groundbreaking Potential Pharmacologically Active Novel Compounds in Mushrooms (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• Pill-iD App Lets Users Scan MDMA Pills To See What They Contain (LADbible)

• MDMA soaring in popularity in New Zealand, making its way into high schools (Newshub)

• MDMA, Water, Seizures, and Death: Interview with Gabriel Kearns, M.D. and Founder of Elevation Chemicals (Psychedelic Times)

Ayahuasca

• Is Ayahuasca Legal? (DoubleBlind)

5-MeO-DMT

• A hallucinogenic toad in peril (High Country News)

Iboga

• Iboga Conservation (Chacruna)

Nitrous Oxide

• Can Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide) Help People With Treatment-Resistant Depression? (Forbes)

Ketamine

• Colorado bill to restrict ketamine use outside of hospitals close to passing (Colorado Newsline)

• Deaths Resulting from Ketamine Injection Rare, Study Indicates (JEMS)

Miscellaneous

• Connecticut Governor Signs Psychedelics Study Measure As He Awaits Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• The FBI Secretly Ran an Encrypted Messaging Service To Conduct the Same Old Drug War Stings (Reason)

• Aphrodite Health Is Here To Shift The Narrative: The First Psychedelics Company ‘For Women, By Women’ (Forbes)

• Poll Shows Huge Public Opposition to “War on Drugs,” After 50 Years (Filter)

• Seattle City Council Signs Letter Proposing Psychedelic Use in Opioid Addiction Treatment (Truffle Report)

• Field Trip Health Ltd. Applies to List Its Common Shares on the NASDAQ Stock Market (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Over One Third of US Voters Know Psychedelics Have Valid Medical Use, Poll Says (MERRY JANE)

• Psychedelics For Frontline Clinicians With Covid-Related Burnout? A Study Is Looking Into It (Forbes)

• Accountability & Transformative Justice in the Psychedelic Space: A Roadmap for Change (Psychedelics Today)

• Study Links Hallucinogen Use to Emotional Dysregulation, Risk Taking Among Youth (Psychedelic News Wire)

• Life Sciences Announces Launch of Initial Public Offering (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Are Psychedelics the Next Big Cure? (Good Housekeeping)

• Is Absinthe an Hallucinogen? Debunking the Green Fairy (Truffle Report)

• Tolerance, Tachyphylaxis, and Psychedelic Drug Action (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Basics for Tripping in Nature (Maps of the Mind)

• Psychedelic Cartoons: Through the Decades (Reality Sandwich)

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 Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

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.

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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 - 2.22.19

CANNABIS

• Tough cannabis policies do not deter young people – study (The Guardian)

• Marijuana Companies Urged Governor To Ban Cannabis Home Cultivation, Document Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Popular book on marijuana's apparent dangers is pure alarmism, experts say (The Guardian)

• Legalization Coming ‘Within Weeks,’ New Jersey Advocates Say (Leafly)

• Vermont Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Approved By Key Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Thanks to New York City Health Officials, New Yorkers Can No Longer Get CBD in Their Coffee (Reason)

• West Virginia House Passes Medical Marijuana Banking Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Medicinal cannabis: Why has it taken so long to get to patients? (BBC)

• Scientists Actually Did A Study To Confirm That Marijuana Causes The Munchies (Marijuana Moment)

• Denver's second cannabis lounge opens in the Green Mile, making history (Rooster Magazine)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Narrowly Rejected By North Dakota Lawmakers (Marijuana Moment)

• Wisconsin Could Decriminalize Cannabis, Legalize Medical Use (Leafly)

• Worldwide Marijuana Conferences Confirm The Business Of Weed Is Officially Legit (Forbes)

• Liberal Democrats Overwhelmingly Support Marijuana Legalization, Survey Data Reveals (Marijuana Moment)

• Study Shows That Bees Like Hemp, And That’s Great News For The Environment (Marijuana Moment)

• Mothers Demand Baltimore Police End Marijuana Arrests And Instead Focus On Murders (Marijuana Moment)

• Survey Says: Price, Quality, and Access Are Key for Canadian Consumers (Leafly)

• Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Key New Hampshire House Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Florida Senate panel takes another step toward lifting ban on smokable medical marijuana (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

• Virginia Law Would Protect Students Who Use CBD and THC-A Oils (Leafly)

• Marijuana Businesses Plea For Congress To Provide Banking Access (Marijuana Moment)

• End the cannabis banking problem (The Hill)

• Cannabis on Campus: A Deep Dive Inside Higher Education Pot Policy in Medical Marijuana States (Civilized)

• Proposed packaging regulations for cannabis edibles decried as excessive, wasteful (The GrowthOp)

• Where Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Alaska cannabis industry cites uncertainty with new governor (The Seattle Times)

• France's Softening Stance On Cannabis Opens Up Huge Economic Potential (Forbes)

• CBD Is Now Regulated and That May Be a Good Thing (Pain News Network)

• Lawmakers Push FDA To Allow CBD-Infused Food Products (Marijuana Moment)

• Medical marijuana is on the rise in Australia, but we still don't know a lot about how it works (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

LSD

• We Finally Have Evidence on Whether Microdosing LSD Can Help With Your Work (ScienceAlert)

• 4th USS Ronald Reagan Nuclear Electrician Pleads Guilty to LSD Posession (The Daily Beast)

• Tapping the Potential of LSD (Jewish Journal)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Psychedelic mushrooms just put Denver at the center of the national drug debate — again (The Denver Post)

MDMA

• Victorian MP Admits To Taking Drugs She Believed Were MDMA (Ten Daily)

• The dangers of taking MDMA when you’re on antidepressants (Metro)

• Decades ago, ecstasy — yes, MDMA — was used in marriage counseling (Big Think)

• MDMA Could Revolutionize Care for Trauma, a Social Worker’s Perspective (Psychedelic Support)

DMT

• From the Vasty Deep: The Reality of DMT Entities and Other Spirits (Psychedelic Times)

AYAHUASCA

• Plant Hallucinogen Holds Hope for Diabetes Therapy (Infosurhoy)

PEYOTE

• Tribal Law Exempts Peyote for Native American Church Members (Lakota Country Times)

IBOGA

• New Roots Ibogaine Addiction Treatment Clinic brings Ibogaine to California (Digital Journal)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Louella Michie trial: Drug that killed woman at Bestival 'makes trees look like demons and giant dinosaur creatures', court hears (The Independent)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• K2, a potent synthetic drug, is on the rise in Philly, challenging police and outreach workers (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Autopsy confirms OU student died of asphyxiation due to nitrous-oxide (The Athens News)

• The laughing gas parties of the 1700s — and how they sparked a medical breakthrough (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Boca Raton Regional Hospital offers nitrous oxide during childbirth (WFLX)

• Another Austin hospital offering laughing gas to help moms manage pain during labor (KVUE)

• Warnings issued over nitrous oxide 'drug abuse' after evidence of increasing use across Bromsgrove District (Bromsgrove Standard)

KETAMINE

• FDA Panel Endorses Johnson & Johnson Ketamine Nasal Spray For Treatment-Resistant Depression (KSRO)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Purdue’s Sackler embraced plan to conceal OxyContin’s strength from doctors, sealed deposition shows (STAT)

• For first time in Mass., male inmate will get methadone (The Boston Globe)

• 'Heroin buyers club' vision unveiled for legal heroin sales in B.C. (CBC)

• Intranasal naloxone now available in Australia (Australian Journal of Pharmacy)

• Blaming pharma alone for opioid crisis is shortsighted | Opinion (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Naloxone proposal for London facilities fails committee vote, decision left to council (Global News)

• Bill Filed in Maryland to Create Safe Opioid Injection Sites (WBOC)

• Sandoz Inc. launches authorized generic version of buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film (PR Newswire)

• FDA may recommend overdose reversal drug alongside opioid prescriptions (CNN)

• Trump “Most Excited” About China Executing People for Selling Fentanyl (Talking Drugs)

• A Tale of Two Cities in the Grips of the Opioid Crisis (The Nation)

• Indiana nonprofit will offer free naloxone, training in Muncie (Muncie Star Press)

COCAINE

• The Rumours Are True: Sydney Really Is The Cocaine Capital Of Australia (Junkee)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Mexican Meth Fuels an American Crisis (The Wall Street Journal)

• Meth's quiet resurgence (Columbia Missourian)

ALCOHOL

• Drinking contexts associated with early onset of alcohol intoxication among adolescents (ScienceDaily)

• Daniel Radcliffe says he used alcohol to cope with immense 'Harry Potter' fame (Fox News)

• Cannabis May Pose a 'Long-Term Risk' to the Alcohol Industry (Fortune)

• These 52 celebrities don't drink alcohol (Midland Reporter-Telegram)

• Alcohol is getting expensive - and other reasons why you should drink less (Health24)

ABSINTHE

• Spoiler: Absinthe isn't trippy (PGH City Paper)

NOOTROPICS

• The Best Nootropics for Productivity, Focus, and Cognitive Performance (Better Humans)

KRATOM

• Poison Control Calls for Kratom Rose Sharply, but the Caveats Are Crucial (Inverse)

• Backlash continues following Kratom ban (WCBI)

• Kratom Imported by Denver Company Seized by the Feds (Westword)

• Kratom: A Nationwide Ban Will Be Deadly (71 Republic)

• Benefits of Buying Kratom Powder Online vs Capsule Form (WORLDHAB)

• Is Kratom a Performance Enhancer or a Lethal Opioid? (Outside Magazine)

• Health Benefits of Kratom Powder and Why You Should Buy It (Kerala News 24/7)

• What to know about kratom capsules and how to stay best informed (Augusta Free Press)

KHAT

• Researchers find ties between Africa’s khat use and liver disease (Africa Times)

• Somali traders say no to Kenyan khat (CGTN)

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit (Slate)

• El Chapo's Lawyers Are Pushing for a New Trial After Report Jurors Read News Stories About Him (TIME)

• El Chapo Highlighted Mexican Corruption, but Drug Money Also Lubricates U.S. Border (The New York Times)

• Phony Houston Drug Warrant Prompts FBI Investigation and Review of 1,400 Cases (Reason)

• Decades before the pill testing debate these little bins caused an uproar (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• How I Started South Carolina’s Only Formal Syringe Exchange (Filter)

• How to Think about Weird Psychedelic Beings (Kahpi)

• Study of Microdosing Psychedelics Finds Mixed Bag of Effects (PsychCentral)

• MAPS Canada charts the way for psychedelic therapy (The McGill Tribune)

• New Zealand university students offered free drug-testing in 'harm-prevention' first (The Guardian)

• Australia drug use: Meth and cocaine up, MDMA and heroin down (Infosurhoy)

• Democratic 2020 Candidates on Cannabis and Other Drug Policy (Talking Drugs)

• The Harvard Science of Psychedelics Club (The Harvard Independent)

• Kitty Flipping, Nexus Flipping and other dangerous drug mixtures (Rave Jungle)

• COLUMN: New medical research shows benefits of psychedelic drugs (Daily Toreador)

• What IF psychedelics can heal? (Purdue University)
  

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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:

---

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 - 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 - 2.8.19

CANNABIS

• World Health Organization Recommends Reclassifying Marijuana Under International Treaties (Forbes)

• The Most Efficient Way to Smoke Cannabis? Study Says Dabs (Leafly)

• Jury Convicts Church Of Cannabis Founder On Public Consumption Charges (Colorado Public Radio)

• Most Strains of Weed Are More Alike Than People Think (Men's Health)

• Hawaii Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• A New Study Says Pot Smokers May Have Higher Sperm Counts. But There’s a Catch (TIME)

• Patients Frequently Substituting Cannabis For Anti-Anxiety Drugs (NORML)

• CBD-Infused Food Banned by Health Department at NYC Restaurant, Owner Says (Eater)

• After A Decade Of Testing, Israeli Medical Cannabis Comes To The US (Forbes)

• Republican Senator Pitches Weird Conspiracy Theory About Weed Legalization, Menthol Cigarettes, and the FDA (Reason)

• Science Backs Most Medical Cannabis Treatment, Study Finds (Leafly)

• Medicinal cannabis legalisation opens gateway for psychedelic research (Small Caps)

• Traffic fatalities on a high after cannabis legalisation (Medical Xpress)

• Nebraska Could Vote On This Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure In 2020 (Forbes)

• Congressional Democrats Plan Hearing And Vote On Marijuana Business Banking (Marijuana Moment)

• Pot for pets: Cannabis products for our furry friends increasing in popularity (The GrowthOp)

• A Hemp Company Sues After Police Mistake Their Product for Weed (Reason)

• Trump Allies Consider Using Hemp Concrete To Build Border Wall With Private Funds (Marijuana Moment)

• Here’s Where Ontario’s First Private Cannabis Stores Could Open (Leafly)

• More Seniors Are Using Marijuana and It May Decrease Their Opioid Use (Green Entrepreneur)

• New Hampshire Considers Legalization, but Gov. Sununu Vows to Veto It (Leafly)

• Maryland Lawmakers Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• Latest Medical Marijuana Bill Proposes Full Use Of Cannabis Plant In Tennessee (WPLN)

• Reports Claim Bisexuals Smoke the Most Cannabis. Is There Any Truth to It? (Leafly)

• Why do so many Americans now support legalizing marijuana? (The Conversation)

• Study Reveals Little-Known Trick To Make Marijuana Plants Grow More Bud For Less (Marijuana Moment)

• Toronto Maple Leafs Suing Snoop’s Cannabis Brand Over Logo (Leafly)

• Smoke without fire: Cannabis for the observant Jew (ynetnews)

• Where Presidential Candidate Cory Booker Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• A Patient’s Guide to Using Cannabis for Cancer (Leafly)

• Cannabis in Small Commonwealth States: Turning a New Leaf? (Talking Drugs)

• How To Invest In Cannabis IPOs (Forbes)

• Why We Should Treat Cannabis like Organic Food or Fine Wine (Civilized)

LSD

• LSD allows more information to flood into the brain by altering activity in the thalamus (PsyPost)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Denver Will Vote on Psilocybin Decriminalization in May (Westword)

• The Push to Legalize Magic Mushrooms for Depression and PTSD (WIRED)

• Shrooms Are the Safest Drug You Can Take (VICE)

• Oregon "Psilocybin Services" Ballot Measure Has Significant Support, Poll Shows (PR Newswire)

• 'Magic Mushrooms' May Soon Be Decriminalised in Parts of The US (Science Alert)

• Magic Truffles in Amsterdam and the Monastic Path: Interview with Chi of Truffles Therapy (Psychedelic Times)

MDMA

• MDMA users more empathetic than people who take other drugs, study finds (The Independent)

• Parents whose son died after taking ecstasy want to educate others on dangers of drug (WGN-TV)

• Antisocial Species Of Octopus Becomes Friendlier On MDMA, Study Finds (Study Finds)

DMT

• Why Do Jesters and Tricksters Appear in the DMT Experience? (Sam Woolfe)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Man filmed dying girlfriend at festival after taking 2C-P instead of helping her (Rave Jungle)

• First National Study on Flakka Finds Disturbing Trend Among Teens (Psychedelics Daily)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Synthetic cannabis may stop colorectal cancer from growing, study suggests (Daily Mail)

• K2 Overdose Calls Reach Lowest Numbers since 2014 (Spectrum News)

• Natural and synthetic cannabinoids for agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s disease: A meta-analysis (MDLinx)

• 'Spice turns you into a zombie': Battling an addiction with synthetic cannabis (Shropshire Star)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Longmont United Hospital Offers New Pain Management Option for Laboring Mothers (Longmont Observer)

• Laughing gas now available for women in labor (WGME)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine Could Be the Key to Reversing America’s Rising Suicide Rate (Bloomberg)

• New variation of ketamine to be approved by FDA for treatment of depression (Mixmag)

• Ketamine Noninferior to Fentanyl for Traumatic Injury Pain in Children (Clinical Pain Advisor)

• Kansas City woman credits controversial depression treatment with saving her life (Fox 4 Kansas City)

• Can ketamine help depression? (WTSP)

• Fears grow that Ketamine use by young is on the rise in England (The Guardian)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• U.S. Prosecutors Sue To Stop Nation's First Supervised Injection Site For Opioids (NPR)

• Family Behind OxyContin Made Billions By Pushing to Keep Patients on Drug Longer, Filing Shows (TIME)

• Study: Illicit opioid deaths to rise by 147 percent by 2025 (UPI.com)

• Fentanyl Overdoses Spike on Mexico’s Northern Border But Remain Invisible (Filter)

• #MSLeg: 'Parker's Law' would punish drug dealers for death or injuries (Clarion Ledger)

• Struggling to Compete with Fentanyl, Mexico’s Poppy Farmers Ask for Legalization (Filter)

• Naloxone boxes to be placed in Downtown Cincinnati in new bid to stem overdose deaths (Cincinnati.com)

• Ohio doctors must now offer overdose antidote naloxone to some pain patients (The Columbus Dispatch)

• Cops Claimed She Set Up A Drug Deal. Now She's Being Prosecuted for Manslaughter. (The Appeal)

• Alphabet's Verily is opening an opioid addiction center in Ohio (Engadget)

• Trump Decries Unjust Crack Sentences but Wants to Repeat the Mistake With Fentanyl (Reason)

• The Third Opium War (Manitoba Post)

• New bill clarifies who can dispense, administer Naloxone (KIVI-TV)

• Program trains high school officials to give naloxone (Tuscaloosa News)

• Myanmar's opium farmers cling on to lucrative crop (Mail and Guardian)

• IN PICTURES: Myanmar, the second biggest source of opium in the world (The Courier)

• Why we need to talk about take-home naloxone (Australian Journal of Pharmacy)

• How to Get and Use Fentanyl Testing Strips (Lifehacker)

• Let's define terms to understand the opioid crisis (Murfreesboro Post)

COCAINE

• This Is Why Cocaine Dealers Should Fear Venezuelan Unrest (OZY)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• DEA testing shows meth is running rampant in New Jersey (New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio)

• Iowa sees increase in methamphetamine use (Sioux City Journal)

ALCOHOL

• Richer, older men more likely to drink to excess, figures show (The Guardian)

• Heavy Drinking in Teens Causes Lasting Changes in Emotional Center of Brain (Neuroscience News)

• Utah lawmaker wants to scrap low-alcohol beer rule (KUTV)

• Some Super Bowl ads seem to suggest that some kinds of alcohol are better for you. Health officials say it's better to punt on the drinking altogether (Deseret News)

• Alcohol related deaths in England and Wales rocket in past decade (Yahoo! Sports)

• Know how alcohol is harming your teeth! (Times of India)

• 10 things that can happen to your body when you give up alcohol (INSIDER)

ABSINTHE

• This Maine-made absinthe won’t make you hallucinate (Bangor Daily News)

NOOTROPICS

• Nootropic spearmint extract may improve reactive agility, according to new study (Nutritional Outlook)

• The future's getting smarter (Mashable)

• Nootropics: A Necessary Mental Aid in Modern World? (The Frisky)

• Are ‘smart drugs’ all they claim to be? (ZME Science)

KRATOM

• Kratom Now Banned in Columbus (WCBI)

• Advocate: Kratom 'should be regulated,' not illegal (The Dispatch)

• Residents seek Kratom ban in Lowndes (The Dispatch)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Does microdosing improve your mood and performance? Here’s what the research say (The Conversation)

• GOP Lawmaker’s Bill Would Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms And MDMA For Medical Use (Marijuana Moment)

• How the Drug War Eats the Poor (VICE)

• El Chapo Jury Begins Deliberation in Bombshell Drug Trafficking Trial (TIME)

• This is what psychedelic mainstreaming looks like…in Arizona (Psymposia)

• Houston Narcs Were 'Clearly Labeled' During Deadly Drug Raid, Police Spokesman Says (Reason)

• Why More and More People Are Leaning Toward Microdosing for Depression (Civilized)

• Are Electronic Cigarettes Facilitating Illicit Drug Use? (News-Medical.net)

• Is Permatripping Real? (Gizmodo)

• Should I Drug Test My Kids? Why the Experts Say No (Filter)

• Sri Lanka to begin hangings within months, ending 43-year stay on executions (The Guardian)

• Cory Booker Invites Former Drug War Prisoner To Trump’s State Of The Union (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Privilege: Report from the Women and Psychedelics Forum (Chacruna)

• The GOP Needs A Better Drug Policy to End HIV (Medium)

• Drug Reform Campaigner Calls For Legal MDMA, Cannabis & Pill Testing in Australia (Your EDM)

• Meet the Artists Designing Clothes For Businesswomen Who Micro-Dose LSD (Interview)

• Nine pill testing myths (Australia's Science Channel)

• This is why you should vote to make drugs safer (The Bristol Cable)

• I took daily doses of magic mushrooms to improve my performance and mental health. Here’s what happened (news.com.au)

• Psychedelics could treat mental disorders (4BC)

---

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:

---

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.