This Week in Psychoactives - 10.18.19

CANNABIS

• Study finds endocannabinoid system regulates sperm development (Leafly)

• Canada Sold $1.1 Billion of Legal Weed in the First Year of Adult-Use Sales (MERRY JANE)

• Mexican Senate Committees Will Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bill Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Heavy Metal Poisoning May Be Causing the Vaping Illness Epidemic, Lab Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• How mainstream media botched the vape lung story (Leafly)

• New California Law Legalizes Medical Marijuana Use at K-12 Public Schools (MERRY JANE)

• Two More Studies Show Patients Are Replacing Prescription Painkillers With Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Issues a Massive Statewide Recall for Moldy Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Grading cannabis strength ‘will improve mental health of users’ (The Guardian)

• Parkinson's patients to receive cannabis oil in 'pioneering' trial to test drug's effectiveness (iNews)

• Weed Edibles Are Finally Legal in Canada, But They’re Still Not for Sale (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis extract may work as a treatment for cannabis addiction (New Scientist)

• Thailand Plans Inaugural “World Ganja Festival” for 2020 (MERRY JANE)

• CBD or THC? Common Drug Test Can't Tell the Difference (The New York Times)

• Recreational Marijuana Would Create More Than 100,000 Jobs in Florida, Study Says (Miami New Times)

• UK Government Approves the Country's First Legit Weed Grow for Medical Research (MERRY JANE)

• Presidential Candidate Wants To Let Americans Legalize Marijuana Through National Referendum (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Kacey Musgraves reveals she penned two songs while tripping and praises LSD for 'opening your mind' (Daily Mail)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Scientists Want to Try Using Shrooms to Revive People in Vegetative States (VICE)

• DEA Tracks Down Alleged Denver Mushroom Dealer Using News Articles (Westword)

• Magic mushrooms are a powerful way to treat depression, addiction, and anxiety (GOOD Magazine)

• How Magic Mushrooms Can Help Smokers Kick The Habit (NPR)

• Psilocybin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know (Heavy.com)

MDMA

• When ecstasy was dealt openly on the Dublin rave scene (The Irish Times)

DMT

• Scientists Solve the Crystal Structure of the Fumarate Salts of DMT and Psilocin (Psychedelic Science Review)

AYAHUASCA

• Taking Ayahuasca When You’re a Senior Citizen (The New York Times)

• Is Ayahuasca Made in the Laboratory or with Foreign Plants Just as Good? Enter Pharmahuasca. (Kahpi)

• The Commodification of Ayahuasca: How Can we do Better? (Chacruna)

• What's all the buzz about? Montreal woman seeks to demystify ayahuasca (Montreal Gazette)

5-MEO-DMT

• Psychedelic Toad Venom Is the New Trendy Hallucinogen (Addiction Center)

MESCALINE

• Unveiling mescaline’s history: A conversation with Mike Jay (The Daily Californian)

PEYOTE

• Peyote Harvesting Guidelines (Chacruna)

KETAMINE

• Why You Need to be Careful About the Ketamine Clinic You Choose (DoubleBlind)

• Openness to Experience Predicts Response to Ketamine Treatment (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Ketamine use on the rise among festival-goers: NDARC survey (The New Daily)

• Ketamine and Future Depression Treatments (Psychiatry Advisor)

OPIOIDS

• Combat troops at higher risk for opioid, heroin addiction, study says (Military Times)

• The Opioid Crisis Cost the US Over $600 Billion in Just 4 Years (MERRY JANE)

• Mindfulness May Benefit People on Methadone (Futurity)

• The Democratic candidates are calling for locking up opioid executives (Vox)

• Narcan, a life-saving anti-overdose drug, is now sold online in Tennessee (The Tennessean)

• The US could learn from how Italy tackled its own opioid problem (Quartz)

• Philadelphia high school students receive training on how to administer Naloxone (6ABC)

COCAINE

• Revealed: How much cocaine Londoners are taking every day (Sky News)

• The treatment of cocaine use disorder (Science Advances)

• Man Who Was Sentenced to 15 Years for Cocaine Released After it Turned Out to Be Powdered Milk (People)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• While millions are spent to fight the opioid epidemic, a meth crisis quietly grows in Wisconsin (MinnPost)

CAFFEINE

• Study: Caffeine use may increase risk of miscarriage (KWWL)

• Is mixing caffeine and alcohol bad? (Mic)

• Could coffee byproducts fight inflammation? (Medical News Today)

TOBACCO

• Judge puts Michigan’s ban on flavored nicotine vaping on hold (Detroit Metro Times)

• Ohio “Tobacco 21” law goes into effect today (WHIO)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• Lil Peep’s Mom Alleges His Manager Pressured Him to Abuse Xanax; They Deny It (Vulture)

ALCOHOL

• National focus on overdose prevention should include alcohol too, study suggests (Medical Xpress)

• Alcohol industry 'puts pregnant women at risk', researchers say (The Guardian)

KRATOM

• What is kratom? The popular herbal supplement has caught flak from the FDA (NBC News)

• Kratom In Indiana – The Legality, Effort, & Recent Update (Kratom Guides)

KAVA

• Why Australia is turning to psychoactive drink kava to make friends in the Pacific (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Fijians to have double allowance of Kava to Australia (FBC News)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Scotland’s Ruling Party Unanimously Backs Drug Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• '60 Minutes' segment explores psychedelics research at Johns Hopkins (The Hub)

• Two Presidential Candidates Voice Support For Drug Decriminalization At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• How Psychedelic Exceptionalism Harms Drug Users (Filter)

• Building the Infrastructure for Legal Psychedelic Therapy: Interview with Ronan Levy of Field Trip Psychedelics (Psychedelic Times)

• People of Color Making a Difference in Psychedelic Healing (Chacruna)

• Investors hope psychedelics are the new cannabis. Are they high? (The Economist)

• Portugal Mayor Supports Recriminalizing Public Drug Use (Filter)

• Stop teaching drug abstinence: Just say no to the era of ‘just say no’ (New York Daily News)

• How psychedelic drugs treat mental illness differently than traditional medicine (Mic)

• 10 Calls to Action: Toward an LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychedelic Therapy (Chacruna)

• My Years in the Florida Shuffle of Drug Addiction (The New Yorker)

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 - 6.28.19

CANNABIS

• Illinois just legalized marijuana (Vox)

• Oregon Is Now the First State That Can Export Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Oregon: Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Measure Into Law (NORML)

• House Resoundingly Approves Broad Marijuana Federalism (Reason)

• Hungry at the Pot Shop? Anchorage Just Legalized Edibles Consumption in Dispensaries (MERRY JANE)

• Hawaii: Governor to Let Marijuana Decriminalization Become Law (NORML)

• Access to cannabis for medical reasons is now allowed in Ireland under new law (TheJournal.ie)

• New Mexico: New Marijuana Decriminalization Law Goes Into Effect Next Week (NORML)

• N.Y. Lawmakers Pass Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana and Expunge 900,000 Arrests (TIME)

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

• Cannabis Ingredient CBD Could One Day Become an Antibiotic (Newsweek)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Hallucinogenic Fungi Turn Cicadas Into Sex-Crazed Zombies (VICE)

• Canadians Can Now Order Shrooms From This Dispensary (VICE)

• Zero Psilocybin Arrests in Denver First Month After Decriminalization (Westword)

MDMA

• Inside the multi-million dollar drug labs where your MDMA is made (SBS)

• Australians who use drugs like ecstasy are killing fish... in Holland (SBS)

• Preston teenager dies after taking MDMA and cannabis (BBC)

DMT

• A Natural Source of DMT Has Been Discovered in Mammal Brains (Inverse)

AYAHUASCA

• A Tribute to the Mother of Ayahuasca Research, Marlene Dobkin de Rios (1939-2012) (Kahpi)

IBOGA

• The Iboga Plant (The Third Wave)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Rotterdam to ban laughing gas at festivals, mayor says (DutchNews.nl)

KETAMINE

• Intranasal Ketamine for the Relief of Cluster Headache (Practical Pain Management)

• Ketamine Infusion Improves Abstinence in Cocaine-Dependent Patients (MD Magazine)

• Ketamine and dexmedetomidine combo requires close watch in surgical patients (Medical Dialogues)

• VA Imposes Strict Limits on Controversial Ketamine-Based Depression Treatment (Military.com)

• Lamar Odom Discusses How Ketamine Saved His Mental Health (The Fix)

• Ketamine Against Depression: Does the New Drug Work? (Interesting Engineering)

PCP

• Hartford Man Set House On Fire After Confrontation About PCP Use (Patch)

OPIOIDS

• Naloxone coprescription laws may lead to more than 7-fold increase in dispensing (Healio)

• How judges added to the grim toll of opioids (Reuters)

• Get "Dosed": New Doc Explores Psychedelics as an Antidote to the Opioid Crisis (MERRY JANE)

• Mexico is world’s No. 2 opium producer with 5.6% of production: UN (Mexico News Daily)

• New Jersey’s naloxone giveaway distributes 32,000 doses of opioid-reversing drug (WHYY)

• The Opioid Crisis: How the candidates would solve it (Big Think)

• They Mentioned 'Narcan' on HBO's Euphoria—What Is That? (Men's Health)

• In the midst of opioid crisis, Harrisburg dismisses evidence on treatment (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

COCAINE

• ONDCP Reports Cocaine Production in Colombia is Leveling Off (The White House)

• Kerry Katona admits ‘cocaine was my best friend’ at lowest point (The Sun)

CAFFEINE

• Coffee can help you lose weight, study finds (The Independent)

TOBACCO

• San Francisco Becomes First U.S. City to Pass a Ban on E-Cigarettes (TIME)

• Half of tobacco and vape shops don’t ID teens, undercover research finds (Fox 8)

• Scientists engineer low-nicotine tobacco to help combat nicotine addiction (Earth.com)

• Six months in, Philly assesses its smoking ban in inpatient rehabs (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Low rates of recommended treatment for tobacco dependence in patients hospitalized with SUDs (News-Medical.Net)

• Banning e-cigarettes, not tobacco products, is 'ludicrous,' some public health experts say (NBC News)

• Bryon follows other southern MN locations by raising tobacco age to 21 (KIMT)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol is third leading preventable cause of death in US (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

• Alcohol ranked most harmful drug in Australia, says report (SBS)

• Breaking The Booze Habit, Even Briefly, Has Its Benefits (NPR)

• Sam’s Club launches alcohol delivery through Instacart (TechCrunch)

• Alcohol-Free Bars Caught on in the U.S. and U.K. But Can They Go Global? (Yahoo! Finance)

KAMBÔ

• The Kambo Ceremony (The Third Wave)

KRATOM

• FDA issues warnings to companies selling kratom products for opioid addiction (NBC News)

MISCELLANEOUS

• How Previous Drug Use Can Stop You Getting Into America (VICE)

• Illegal drug classifications are based on politics not science – report (The Guardian)

• Dzulkefly: Govt to decriminalise drug possession for personal use (The Star)

• Psychedelics research at Imperial College enters a new phase (Felix)

• Drug dogs set to be used in schools and colleges (Daily Echo)

• Campaigners accuse Tory politicians of drugs hypocrisy (The Guardian)

• Attempts to Build a Safe Injection Site for San Francisco Drug Users Pushed to 2020 (Reason)

• If Everyone Tripped on Psychedelics, We’d Do More About Climate Change (VICE)

• What can we learn from studying psychedelics in special populations? (Chacruna)

• The science of roadside drug testing (stuff.co.nz)

• Dopey: ‘We needed somewhere to tell wild drug stories’ (BBC)

• Why is psychedelic culture dominated by privileged white men? (Aeon)

• What it’s like to test drugs for a living: inside the specialist unit that’s especially busy during festival season (inews.co.uk)

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 - 5.3.19

CANNABIS

• Oregon Has So Much Weed It’s Temporarily Freezing Cannabis Production (MERRY JANE)

• 'Getting Worse, Not Better': Illegal Pot Market Booming in California Despite Legalization (The New York Times)

• Cannabis cafes may appear in Alaska this summer (KVTA)

• New Report Says an Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Could Provide $4 Billion for New York State (Leafly)

• North Dakota: Lawmakers Pass Language Reducing Marijuana Possession Penalties (NORML)

• Illegal Toronto Dispensary Finds Legal Loophole to Keep Doors Open (Leafly)

• Ontario Pharmacists Must Now Complete Mandatory Cannabis Education Course (High Times)

• In Florida, You Can Purchase Cannabis Through a Drive-Thru (Forbes)

• Las Vegas Will Finally Get Weed Bars and Consumption Lounges (MERRY JANE)

• Hawaii Legislature Sends Marijuana Decriminalization Bill To Governor’s Desk (Marijuana Moment)

• Iowa: Lawmakers Approve Medical Cannabis Expansion Legislation (NORML)

• The Feds Officially Banned CBD From Booze (MERRY JANE)

• Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Senate won't pass bill to lower penalties for marijuana (The Texas Tribune)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Isn’t ‘Dead’ In Texas, Key Senate Chairman Clarifies (Marijuana Moment)

• Why medical cannabis is still out of patients’ reach—an essay by David Nutt (The BMJ)

• UK law on medicinal cannabis changed six months ago – what have we learned? (The Conversation)

• Massachusetts Gives Cannabis Delivery the Green Light (Leafly)

• Bills Allowing Marijuana Deliveries And Tasting Rooms Head Toward Colorado Governor’s Desk (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire: Lawmakers Advance Legislation Permitting Patients to Home Cultivate (NORML)

• Washington: Lawmakers Pass Legislation Facilitating Expungement Of Past Marijuana Convictions (NORML)

• Wisconsin City Officials Trying to Stop Church From Distributing Cannabis (High Times)

• Trump Administration Opposes Bills On Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Facebook's New A.I. Tech Can Distinguish Weed From Fried Broccoli (MERRY JANE)

• Florida Is the Nation's Fastest-Growing Medical Marijuana Market (Miami New Times)

• New Brunswick Considering Privatization After Cannabis NB Loss (Leafly)

• This Mom Entrepreneur Is Developing Medicinal Cannabis to Treat Kids With Autism (CT Post)

• Harvard and MIT Receive $9 Million Donation to Expand Cannabis Research (MERRY JANE)

• 7Investigates: Marijuana Anonymous (WHDH)

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

• Where Presidential Candidate Michael Bennet Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Once An Alcoholic, I Lost My Desire To Drink After Taking LSD (Reset.me)

• Air station sailors facing LSD charges (Navy Times)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Denver Could Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms on Tuesday (Leafly)

• Decriminalize Nature! Interview with Matthew Kahl about the Denver Psilocybin Ballot Measure (Psychedelic Times)

• 'It makes me enjoy playing with the kids': is microdosing mushrooms going mainstream? (The Guardian)

• A Growing Movement Wants To Loosen Laws Around Psilocybin, Treat Mushrooms As Medicine (KUNC)

• The First Psychedelic Mushroom Con Was a ’Shroom School for the Serious (Dallas Observer)

• The Magic of Mushrooms (Psychology Today)

• Psilocybin Helped Me Process The Sudden Deaths of My Mom and Close Friend (Reset.me)

MDMA

• Local Non-Profit Pushes for Medical Use of MDMA (KNWA)

• Otago rates high on MDMA use (Otago Daily Times)

• Drug researcher says MDMA shouldn't be included in wastewater testing (Newstalk ZB)

• MDMA: Why it's 'impossible' to know how the drug affects you (BBC)

• Boy, 13, died after taking 'Donkey Kong' ecstasy tablets (Mirror)

AYAHUASCA

• Meet the Person Serving Ayahuasca to Inmates in Brazil: An Interview with Edilsom Fernandes (Kahpi)

• How the "Ayahuasca Diet" Can Maximize Your Psychedelic Experience (MERRY JANE)

MESCALINE

• 100 years of mescaline (Springer Link)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Acquired synaesthesia following 2C-B use (Springer Link)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Illegal drug lab manufacturing synthetic cannabis explodes in Texas; four injured (The GrowthOp)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Researchers use nitrous oxide to unravel rapid function of antidepressant mechanisms (News-Medical.Net)

• Ohio University expels fraternity chapter after student's death (The Athens News)

• Whippits don’t belong in smoke shops (Los Angeles Times)

KETAMINE

• Team finds ketamine alleviates acute pain during ambulance rides (Medical Xpress)

• Visions to Heed: Ketamine’s Breakout In Psychedelic Therapy (Psychedelic Support)

• Costa Rica Sees Growing Demand for Ketamine, Synthetic Drugs (Insight Crime)

• Columbia Ketamine Program helps patients with treatment-resistant depression (Healio)

PCP

• Were Cast and Crew on the Film ‘Titanic’ Sickened by PCP-Laced Seafood Chowder? (Snopes)

• Man Allegedly High On PCP Attempts To Grab OKC Officer's Gun (KWTV)

• HPD: Man tosses PCP out car window while leading Houston police on chase (Chron)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Fentanyl use could end the opium era in Mexico: 'the only crop that paid’ (The Guardian)

• NJ has naloxone 'deserts' in opioid hotspots (Futurity)

• UK online pharmacies accused of 'aggressive' tactics to sell opiates (The Guardian)

• Missouri students push for opioid overdose antidote in dorms (San Francisco Chronicle)

• “Liquid Handcuffs”—A Documentary to Free Methadone (Filter)

• Drug-Injection Sites Are Battleground in Fight Against Opioid Overdoses (The Wall Street Journal)

• Why Aren’t More People Taking Naloxone Overdose Reversal Training? (Observer)

• 5 things responsible for the opioid crisis — besides Big Pharma (Deseret News)

COCAINE

• Cocaine deaths up in US, and opioids are a big part of it (Lowell Sun)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• As Meth Use Surges, First Responders Struggle To Help Those In Crisis (NPR)

CAFFEINE

• Caffeine, an alternative for traditional solar cells (The Asian Age)

• Consumers are drinking more caffeinated beverages nationwide, study finds (Consumer Affairs)

• Why do people love coffee and beer? It's the buzz, not the taste, study finds (NBC News)

• Researchers study connection of adolescent caffeine consumption and substance abuse (Medical Xpress)

• This Portland Coffee Brand Is Creating Zero Waste Cafes (Forbes)

• Coffee Shops Build Employee Loyalty, According to Science (Inc)

• Ask the Pharmacist: Caffeine is a natural option for ADHD (Marco News)

TOBACCO

• A Device That Heats Tobacco, But Doesn't Burn It, Can Now Be Sold in the U.S. Here's What to Know About IQOS (TIME)

• Why Big Tobacco and Big Vape love comparing nicotine to caffeine (The Verge)

• US lawmakers push bipartisan bill to raise the federal minimum buying age for tobacco to 21 (CNBC)

• AHA backs federal efforts to raise tobacco sale age to 21 (Cardiovascular Business)

• Doctors Speak On Proposal to Raise Tobacco-Buying Age (Spectrum News 1)

ALCOHOL

• The Average Person In New York City Spends More Than $120000 On Alcohol In A Lifetime (The Daily Caller)

• Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Deaths Rise Sharply (KUNM)

• New York City bans alcohol ads on city property (ABC News)

• A Brewery in Peru Ran For Centuries, Then Burned After One Epic Ancient Party (Discover Magazine)

• More than 15 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse (KMOX)

• Deprogramming From AA—When a Fellowship Resembles a Cult (Filter)

• State lawmaker pushing to ban powdered alcohol in Texas (KVII)

• Has new alcohol law changed drinking habits? (BBC News)

• Texas lawmakers consider earlier Sunday alcohol sales: “This is freedom” (The Takeout)

• No Amount Of Alcohol Is Safe During Pregnancy: Study (Tech Times)

• Hangover-free alcohol could be on store shelves in next 5 years (Fox 13 News)

• Yes, Buying Alcohol Is Still Illegal in Parts of the U.S. (The Daily Beast)

KRATOM

• Gov. Ducey signs bill regulating the sale of kratom products in Arizona (KTAR)

• Bill to Criminalize Kratom in Louisiana Under Consideration (Big Easy Magazine)

• Herbal supplement kratom is tied to more US deaths (Fox5NY)

KHAT

• Farmers raise concerns over high levies on khat transport (The Standard)

DATURA

• Scientists examine the ethnobotanical uses of stramonium (Phys.org)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Scientists want to give psychedelics to people in vegetative states (Rooster)

• Teens tune out zero tolerance of substance-use talk: UBC study (Vancouver Sun)

• Cocaine, ketamine and banned pesticides found in UK river wildlife, study reveals (The Independent)

• World-first Centre for Psychedelics Research launched in UK (New Atlas)

• Profound experiences linked to mental health benefits (The Hub at Johns Hopkins University)

• Australia's second pill testing trial in Canberra 'overwhelmingly successful' (SBS)

• New Study: Syringe Service Providers Could Have Prevented the Scott County HIV Outbreak (Filter)

• Police drug detection dogs encourage festivalgoers to preload, study finds (The Guardian)

• Former Philly officer sentenced to 9 years for selling drugs stolen by corrupt Baltimore police squad (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• 6 months old and still unauthorized, ‘Church of Safe Injection’ expands (Bangor Daily News)

• Make America Trip Again (Current Affairs)

• Getting 'California Sober' Showed Me a Kinder, Gentler Way to Do Drugs (Broadly)

• Why does the psychedelic community keep platforming abusers? (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Sri Lanka President Uses Easter Attacks to Fuel Duterte-Inspired Drug War (Filter)

• El Paso County residents turn to Denver or Pueblo for clean syringes (Colorado Springs Independent)

• Teen drug-dealing convictions up two-thirds in five years in England and Wales (The Guardian)

• Life-saving needle exchange started with a UM med student. Now it’s legal statewide. (Miami Herald)

• How the World’s Oldest Drug Checking Service Makes High-Risk Pills “Unsellable” (Filter)

• A Guide to Starting a Community Psychedelic Integration Circle (Psychedelic Support)

• Why Worldwide Drug Policy Progress Is Driven From the Ground Up (Filter)

• Why 'Microdosing' LSD & Other Hallucinogens May Be The Saving Grace For People With Severe Depression & Anxiety (YourTango)

• Psychedelic Communities, Social Justice, and Kinship in the Capitalocene (Kahpi)

• The government won’t pay for research into psychedelic drugs. Cody Swift will. (KNKX)

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:

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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)

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Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

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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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