This Week in Psychoactives - 9.6.19

CANNABIS

• Vitamin E Suspected In Serious Lung Problems Among People Who Vaped Cannabis (NPR)

• The Mysterious Vaping-Induced Lung Illness Has Officially Killed Two People (MERRY JANE)

• Mexican Senator Files Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of Supreme Court Deadline (Marijuana Moment)

• Vape Pen Lung Disease Has Insiders Eyeing Misuse of New Additives (Leafly)

• Thailand Includes Low Level Cannabis And Hemp Extracts On Its Approved Medical Marijuana list (Forbes)

• Three million Americans tried weed for the first time last year (Rooster Magazine)

• Hemp Farming Quadrupled In The U.S. This Year, New Report Shows (Forbes)

• Medical marijuana laws impact use among sexual minorities differently than heterosexuals (Science Daily)

• Body Cameras for Cannabis Delivery Raise Concerns About Privacy in Mass. (Leafly)

• Oakland says big pot grow in homeless encampment is illegal — but leaves it alone (San Francisco Chronicle)

• Cannabis may hold promise to treat PTSD but evidence lags behind use (Science Daily)

LSD

• Meet the doctor behind historic New Zealand LSD microdosing experiment (Newshub)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• A multi-million dollar donation just created a bonanza of magic mushroom research (Quartz)

• Oregon Psychedelics Activists Clash Over Changes To Psilocybin Mushroom Ballot Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Do Magic Mushrooms Cause Nausea? (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• MDMA for Racial Trauma (DoubleBlind)

• Several Polk County high school students hospitalized after being exposed to MDMA (ABC Action News)

• Man who took MDMA had 300 mini-seizures and parents twice told to say goodbye (Mirror)

AYAHUASCA

• The 21 Best Scientific Papers About Ayahuasca (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca and the Problems of the World (Kahpi)

• Woman, 34, dies after taking psychedelic drug during ‘spiritual cleansing’ ceremony in Cyprus (ItzaGoal365)

5-MEO-DMT

• Inhaling Powdered Toad Secretions Just Once Is Linked to Feeling Happier For a Month (ScienceAlert)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine Use in New York Skyrockets (Leader Bulletin)

• Mum's heartbreaking plea to families after son, 25, found dead in bath (Birmingham Live)

PCP

• Casper PD: Man on PCP Left Teeth Marks in Patrol Car Door (K2 Radio)

OPIOIDS

• OxyContin maker prepares 'free-fall' bankruptcy as settlement talks stall (Reuters)

• Man Charged By Federal Prosecutors In Connection With Mac Miller's Death (NPR)

• DC is offering the overdose reversing drug Naloxone for free at these select pharmacies (WJLA)

• Researchers find alarming risk for people coming off opioids (UW Medicine)

• Treat the fentanyl crisis like a poisoning outbreak (Los Angeles Times)

• Liverpool's 40-year battle with heroin is reaching terrifying new levels (Liverpool Echo)

• Hidden History: Humans Have Been Using Opium For Millennia (WGBH)

• How Britain's opium trade impoverished Indians (BBC)

• Ben Westhoff's 'Fentanyl, Inc.' confronts horrible truths about America's opioid epidemic (USA Today)

• Law enforcement seizes enough fentanyl to kill 14 million people (WCVB)

COCAINE

• Chronic cocaine use modifies gene expression (Medical Xpress)

• Exercise can help beat cocaine addiction: Study (Times Now)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• NYC Meth Deaths Up Sharply in Recent Years (GayCityNews.com)

CAFFEINE

• Drinking This Much Coffee Could Protect Against Gallstones (Newsweek)

• Caffeine Headaches: Telltale Signs And Symptoms (Medical Daily)

TOBACCO

• Michigan becomes first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes (The Washington Post)

• Walgreens raises minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21 (WILX)

ALCOHOL

• A Rat Study Finds that Acupuncture Can Treat Alcohol Addiction... in Rats (Gizmodo)

• In Europe, people continue to consume more alcohol than in any other place in the world (World Health Organization)

• Daybreak app more than halves alcohol use in three months (Medical Xpress)

KRATOM

• Franklin becomes first municipality in state to ban sale of kratom (WMUR)

• Legislation filed that would regulate sale of kratom and CBD products in Pa. (The Indiana Gazette)

• Can Kratom be beneficial for MMA fighters and athletes? (Pro MMA Now)

• Organic Kratom can Improve Mental and Physical Health for an Active Lifestyle (Big Time Daily)

KAVA

• World's first kava tissue lab opens in Fiji (Radio New Zealand)

• Is kava legal in Australia? (Better Homes and Gardens)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Johns Hopkins Opens New Center for Psychedelic Research (The New York Times)

• Psychedelic Drugs Draw Some Investor Attention—and Much Skepticism (The Wall Street Journal)

• 'Treatment Facilities' Aren't What You Think They Are (The New York Times)

• And a million of us tried psychedelics last year, too (Rooster Magazine)

• Vaping May Hamper the Lungs' Ability to Fend off Infections (WIRED)

• Mexico’s new drug war may be worse than old one (Associated Press)

• How I Infiltrated a Chinese Drug Lab (VICE)

• U of M Medical School to host first Psychedelic Symposium (Detroit Metro Times)

• She spent more than $110,000 on drug rehab. Her son still died. (Vox)

• Tim Ferriss, the Man Who Put His Money Behind Psychedelic Medicine (The New York Times)

• The Science and Healing Benefits of Psychedelics (Chronogram)

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 - 7.28.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Senate Committee Passes Amendment To Protect Medical Marijuana (NORML)
• Colorado: Tax Revenue From The Legal Cannabis Industry Surpasses Half-Billion Dollars (NORML)
• Vote on Veterans' Marijuana Access Is Shut Down (ATTN:)
• Trump's DOJ gears up for crackdown on marijuana (The Hill)
• Marijuana is NORML: 45% of Americans Have Tried Cannabis (NORML)
• The Federal Government is Being Sued Over Marijuana (ATTN:)
• House Committee Blocks Veterans Equal Access Amendments (NORML)
• Sessions Boosts Forfeiture and Mandatory Minimums but Lets Pot Prohibition Collapse (Reason)
• Will cannabis be legalised in the UK, who supports it and where is marijuana already legal? (The Sun)
• Reefer Madness at The New York Times (Reason)
• AAA Is Fighting to Stop Legal Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Cannabis and goggles — the latest in concussion treatments and research (Miami Herald)
• Calgary debates where and how to sell cannabis, eyes liquor store model as template (The Globe and Mail)
• California Wants to Stop Pot Dispensaries from Branding Merchandise (Reason)
• On a Boat? Cannabis Is Still Illegal, US Coast Guard Says (Leafly)
• How Jeff Sessions Could Crack Down on Legal Marijuana (And Why He Might Not) (TIME)
• Sen. Positive Nelson Wants to Bring Medical Cannabis to the Virgin Islands (Leafly)
• GANJASANA: An Authentic Relationship With Cannabis Blooms Through Yoga (Dope Magazine)
• Is microdosing the future of marijuana? (VICE)
• Medical cannabis grow sites are now almost legal in West Berkeley (Berkeleyside)
• Pennsylvania Cities Continue to Embrace Decriminalization of Marijuana (NORML)
• Cannabis Impairment in the Workplace: Easy to Discuss, Difficult to Detect (Leafly)
• In Vermont, Students And Lawmakers Are Getting The Facts On Cannabis (Forbes)
• Why Weed Improves Sex For Some But Not Others (ATTN:)
• Maine Panel Mulls Doubling 10% Tax on Cannabis (Leafly)
• State's Billboard Got Major Backlash For Trying Tone Deaf Tactic To Stop Teen Pot Use (ATTN:)
• How Cannabis Is Used for Nausea and Vomiting Relief (Leafly)
• Online Portals Guide Australian Doctors Through Medical Cannabis Maze (Leafly)
• Medical Cannabis Education Tour launches Thursday in Philly (Philly.com)
• Vancouver pot activist calls for open cultivation of cannabis plants (Vancouver Sun)
• Inside Colorado's psychedelic Church of CANNABIS where chilled-out worshippers smoke joints in the pews while listening to rock music (The Sun)
• How To Smoke Cannabis Wax Without A Rig (Green Rush Daily)
• Cannabis Charges Decline in Canada, But Montreal Bucks Hard (Leafly)
• 5 Keys To Forecasting Sales Of New Products: Cannabis And Other Examples (Forbes)
• How to Trim Your Cannabis Plants for Beautiful Buds (Leafly)
• Smoke and Mirrors: Cannabis, Fashion, and How It All Connects to Rihanna (Leafly)

LSD

• You're not tripping: LSD is making a comeback (USA Today)
• How microdosing psychedelics like LSD could boost your leadership skills (Quartz)
• Albert Hoffman [sic]: Looking Back At LSD Inventor's First Strange Trip (Worldcrunch)
• Officer Used 'Reasonable Force' When Shooting Man On LSD: State's Attorney (Grayslake Patch)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• At Johns Hopkins, clergy try mind-altering drugs for scientific research (The Washington Post)
• Hallucinogenic mushroom blooms in the Nilgiris (The Hindu)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Could MDMA Save Your Relationship? (Elle)
• What are the dangers, effects, and laws when it comes to Molly (or MDMA)? (Metro)
• The six-month search for a $10-20 million ecstasy lab in Canberra (Newcastle Herald)
• Charlize Theron admits to taking cocaine and ecstasy in her 20s – but now goes to bed at 8:45pm (The Sun)
• 'Five friends go out and take ecstasy, one doesn't come home': the rise of super-strength pills (The Guardian)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Study Shows Psychedelic Plant Medicine Ayahuasca Stimulates The Birth Of New Brain Cells (Collective Evolution)
• Ayahuasca: The Dark Side and Dangers (The Recovery Village)
• Peruvian Ayahuasca Retreat Creates Annual Cash Scholarship Award to Bring Awareness to Amazonian Plant Medicine (Press Release Rocket)
• Global Ayahuasca Project: how nothing is the same after taking 'The Tea' (ABC)
• My night on ayahuasca: the Amazonian hallucinogen known as the 'rope of death' (The Times)
• Incredible pictures show an Amazonian witch doctor introducing his new apprentice, 13 to a sacred and hallucinogenic brew and teaching him the secrets of the forest (Daily Mail)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• What is Peyote? (The Recovery Village)
• Watch: Rare Event: Psychoactive San Pedro Cactus Flower Blooming (Awesome Time-lapse) (EnviroNews)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Tips for success: Ibogaine therapy success rate for substance dependency and addiction. (iBogaine-Thailand)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Synthetic cannabis: New Zealand police issue warning after spate of deaths (The Guardian)
• Friends of teen who died from synthetic cannabis warn others (Newshub)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine proven to treat depression among older Australians in 'revolutionary' pilot program (ABC)
• Govt. bans abuse of nitrous oxide (The Korea Herald)
• Bismarck Clinic Treats Pain, Depression With Ketamine (U.S. News & World Report)
• Ketamine as an adjunct to opioids for acute pain in the ED (American Pharmacists Association)
• Ketamine for depression encouraging, but questions remain around long-term use (Medical Xpress)
• What is Wet Weed? (Green Rush Daily)
• Oklahoma Vice: Woman tossed baby into stranger's car after smoking PCP (NewsOK)
• Man Accused of Fleeing, Ramming Cop Cars While High on PCP (U.S. News & World Report)

Opiates/Opioids

• How Much More Vicious Will the War on Painkillers Get? (Reason)
• Another record year for opioid and fentanyl-related deaths (Indianapolis Star)
• Yes, Poppy Seeds Contain Opiates, And Here's What You Need To Know (The Huffington Post)
• The Female Warlord Who Had C.I.A. Connections and Opium Routes (The New York Times)
• Take a Trip Into the Absurd at This Anti-Drug Museum in the Land of Opium (OZY)
• Heroin highs: Afghani, Pak smugglers use Punjab route (The Times of India)
• The answer to opioid overdose: Naloxone (The Richmond Register)
• What it's like to spend 14 years undercover as a heroin addict (Metro)
• Six overdose deaths linked to two heroin brands, officials say (The News Journal)

Absinthe

• A One-Stop Explainer For Drinking Absinthe (Essence)

Kava

• Kava study unearths new take on reaction times (Radio New Zealand)
• What is Kava? (The Recovery Village)
• Across the Pacific Islands, the price of kava is surging (Newshub)
• One strong mix; kava and prayers (The Fiji Times)
• Cultural clash over medicinal kava (Newshub)

Khat

• Once a Killer Drug, Qat Is Now a Dropout Drug, If You Believe The New York Times (Reason)
• Remove miraa from harmful drugs list, Munya tells Bett (Citizen TV)
• For Ethiopia's Underemployed Youth, Life Can Center on a Leaf (Nazret)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Police Body Camera Appears to Catch Baltimore Officer Planting Drugs for a Search (Reason)
• Psychedelic medicines can help heal the trauma of mass incarceration (Psymposia)
• When Do Prescription Drugs Really Expire? (ATTN:)
• Meeting McKenna in His Jungle (The Huffington Post)
• An Introduction to Shamans of the Global Village (Psychedelic Times)
• How technology can help government fight the war on drugs (The Hill)
• We Are All On Drugs... (Collective Evolution)
• Vigilante Psychopharmacology: An Interview with Psychedelic Comedian Adam Strauss (Reality Sandwich)
• If Jared Kushner Wants to Reform Federal Drug Sentences, Here's What He Should Keep in Mind (Reason)
• England's new psychedelic renaissance (PRI)
• Psychedelics and Normality (The Huffington Post)
• Reasons to Consider Trying Psychedelics (Fox Weekly)
• Healing the Hurt at the Center of Addiction (Reality Sandwich)
• Another Day, Another Article About Psychedelics in an Incredibly Mainstream Publication (Disinfo)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 7.21.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Uruguay pharmacies start selling cannabis straight to consumers (The Guardian)
• Cops Conducting Fewer Traffic Searches Following Marijuana Legalization (Freedom Leaf)
• Smoking Marijuana While Black (The New York Times)
• Analysis: Criminal Justice Referrals Driving Youth Marijuana Treatment Admissions (NORML)
• How Weed Interacts With Popular Prescription Drugs (ATTN:)
• New Hampshire: Marijuana Decriminalization Measure Signed Into Law (NORML)
• Colorado Hits Another Cannabis Milestone With Half A Billion In Tax Revenue (Forbes)
• Psychiatrists Say Cannabis Medicine Has Psychedelic Properties (The Marijuana Times)
• Should We Reclassify Marijuana as a Hallucinogen? (Big Think)
• Cannabis cigarettes are being sold legally at this supermarket chain (USA Today)
• 5 Differences Between the United States' and Canada's Medical Cannabis Programs (Leafly)
• Massachusetts: Medical Marijuana Patients' Afforded Workplace Protections, High Court Rules (NORML)
• Could Cannabis Be A Tourist Attraction For Nevada? Officials Want To Find Out (Civilized)
• San Francisco Creates Centralized 'Office of Cannabis' (Leafly)
• WATCH: Marijuana in the Halls of Congress! (NORML)
• Nonmedical Marijuana Use Is (Mainly) Recreational, So Why Not Call It That? (Reason)
• What Jeff Sessions is getting wrong about legal weed (CNBC)
• When To Use Cannabis as a Substitute for Pharmaceuticals (ATTN:)
• Marijuana Legalization Is Another Reason Dogs Should Not Issue Search Warrants (Reason)
• Tell AAA To Stop Lying About Legalization (NORML)
• Nearly Half of All Americans Have Tried Cannabis, Poll Finds (Leafly)
• The High Cost of Being a Medical Marijuana Patient (ATTN:)
• The Stages of Cannabis Plant Growth (Leafly)
• Activists Plan Marijuana Ceremony Inside D.C. Basilica During Eclipse (U.S. News & World Report)
• Ohio's Aspiring Cannabis Growers: A Closer Look (Leafly)
• Video Footage Offers Glimpse of Australia's Secret Medical Cannabis Crops (Leafly)
• Spot-On Memes Highlight Undeniable Facts About Weed Everyone Should Know (ATTN:)
• The Future of California Cannabis Depends on Rain (Leafly)
• What Is 'Larf' Cannabis and What Is It Good For? (Leafly)
• Watch This: The Guy Who Won't Shut Up About Cannabis (Leafly)
• Oregon Town Cracks Down on Pot-Selling Robotic Blonde Mannequins (Reason)

LSD

• Young woman left screaming, fitting and gasping for breath after drink spiked with LSD on night out (Mirror)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Religious leaders rebuked for taking psychedelics to be more 'effective' (WND)
• The 'Stoned Ape' Theory Might Explain Our Extraordinary Evolution (Inverse)
• Two dose investigation of the 5-HT-agonist psilocybin on relative and global cerebral blood flow (ResearchGate)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• New UK Study Treats Alcoholism with MDMA Therapy (Psychedelic Times)
• Medical Researchers Are Steps From Legalizing Ecstasy. Here's How They Did It. (Reason)
• Ecstasy Tablets Shaped Like Donald Trump's Head With High MDMA Floods UK Streets (India.com)
• Friend blames ecstasy for woman's death after night out in Fife (BBC)
• Boy (16) in State care died due to MDMA toxicity, inquest hears (The Irish Times)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• How Our Santo Daime Church Received Religious Exemption to Use Ayahuasca in Canada (Chacruna)
• The alkaloids of Banisteriopsis caapi, the plant source of the Amazonian hallucinogen Ayahuasca, stimulate adult neurogenesis in vitro (Beckley Foundation)
• Avicii Takes Part In Ayahuasca Ceremony And Continues To Tease New Music (EDM Sauce)
• DMT: Living in an alien world and we don't even know it (Boulder Weekly)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Bill in congress would rein in abuse of religious freedom act (Gay Star News)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Ibogaine for Opiate Addiction Treatment: Miracle Cure or Illegal and Dangerous? (iBogaine Thailand)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• New psychoactive substances: How to know if someone is taking the new trend of drugs (Devon Live)

Dissociatives

• The Ketamine Breakthrough for Suicidal Children (Scientific American)
• Ketamine clinic opens in Bismarck (The Bismarck Tribune)
• Researchers dispute the therapeutic mode of action of a ketamine metabolite (The Pharmaceutical Journal)
• Spanaway man high on PCP rams deputies twice during wild chase, prosecutors say (The News Tribune)

Opiates/Opioids

• Violence over opium crops plagues Mexico's Guerrero state (TRT World)
• Discarded Syringes from Heroin Crisis Create Health, Environmental Problems (NBC)
• Woman Shares Graphic Photos to Show What Addiction Really Looks Like (ATTN:)
• Afghanistan's Opium Trade: A Free Market of Racketeers (The Diplomat)
• Study Finds Opium Cultivation On The Rise In Balkh (TOLONews)
• How a Reddit forum has become a lifeline to opioid addicts in the US (The Guardian)

Absinthe

• Absinthe and Jazz Party Dispels the Green Fairy's 'Strange, Outlandish Reputation' (Bedford + Bowery)

Kratom

• Congress Wants More Power To Ban Drugs—Kratom Could Be Next (Psychedelic Times)
• Christopher Miller Sets Legal Precedent In Tennessee Kratom Case (Inquisitr)

Kava

• Regional kava standard proposed (The Fiji Times)
• Fiji youth group hopes to take farming to the next level (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Confusion as Health ministry lists miraa as dangerous drug (Standard Digital)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Can Psychedelics Be Therapy? Allow Research to Find Out (The New York Times)
• Oregon Set to Make Psychedelics a Misdemeanor (Disinfo)
• No, Oregon Isn't Decriminalizing Heroin & Cocaine – But It Should (Refinery29)
• Cop Suspended After Body Camera Video Shows Him Planting Drugs (TIME)
• This magical drug mansion in Upstate New York is where the psychedelic '60s took off (Timeline)
• Donald Trump Admits Border Wall Won't Stop Drugs From Mexico (Reason)
• Teenagers are using a secret emoji code to buy drugs online (Metro)
• What Happens When You Eat Psychedelic 'Mad Honey'? (Inverse)
• Downtown Atlanta's Lost Psychedelic Theme Park (Atlas Obscura)
• Psychedelic drugs could tackle depression in a way that antidepressants can't (Business Insider)
• Selling the Silk Road Soap Opera (Reason)
• Exactly How Addictive Are Party Drugs? (The Debrief)
• How a techie turned into the 'drug king' of Hyderabad (Asianet Newsable)
• Police make first major drug bust using app popular with dealers (The Jerusalem Post)
• Should drug dealers face murder charges for overdoses? State Attorney Melissa Nelson thinks so (The Florida Times-Union)
• Book review: Examination of psychedelic drug therapy a timely read (Vancouver Sun)
• Quitting alcohol cold turkey could be deadlier than kicking heroin (New York Post)

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.

Weekend Thoughts - 8.29.15

Image by Tina Sbrigato, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Health information researcher, writer, and teacher Deane Alban wrote a brilliant article on Reset.me that covers the topic of how processed foods hijack the brain. Among the shocking tidbits included: the United States ranks last among developed countries in life expectancy and overall health and modern wheat is an addictive substance that produces a high similar to heroin, morphine or Oxycontin (in fact, administering naloxone, which is normally used during heroin overdoses, will eliminate the withdrawal process from wheat!). People don't often think of foods as drugs, but they certainly behave as drugs in the body, often producing undesirable psychoactive and physiological effects as well!

2. This article from Psychology Today suggests that mere exposure to conspiracy theories can make you less pro-social and less likely to accept established scientific principles. Dubbed the "Conspiracy Effect", the author argues that it isn't necessary to believe in the conspiracy theory; it is sufficient to have simply come in contact with the theory itself. According to his research, this can lead to a paranoid delusional worldview and a distrust of science. This part really got me: "...studies have shown that people who believe in conspiracy theories often espouse mutually contradictory explanations about the same event and are even eager to endorse entirely made-up conspiracy theories. In sum, it's not really about the actual evidence but rather about whether a theory is consistent with a larger conspiratorial worldview." At any rate, it's definitely worth assessing your current reality-tunnel, a concept that Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson often used to describe individual worldviews.

3. I found an article titled It is Time We Discussed Abolishing the Police from Counter Punch to be interesting. Especially this part: "There are many people who think the police exist to fight crime. The reality is that the police exist to maintain the status-quo with the rich on top and everyone else fighting for scraps. During the uprising in Ferguson last year comedian Chris Rock commented, 'If poor people knew how rich rich people are, there would be riots in the streets.' The police represent the first line of defense between the rich and the rioters. Those involved in the Black Lives Matter movement—the latest challenge to the racist status-quo—learn quickly the true function of the police as they are shouted at and insulted by police in riot gear who hem in their marches, as they have their photos taken by police surveillance teams for further investigation, as they deal with the never ending stream of plain-clothes cops intimidating, monitoring, sowing seeds of distrust. Knowing the political role of the police perhaps it is time to stop hoping for reform and start imagining a world without the police." There are certainly legitimate situations where it seems like we would need official enforcement, such as a volatile hostage situation or a burglar attempting to escape on foot. But the ongoing trend of police groups infiltrating Left-leaning political reform movements certainly does seem like the law enforcement organization is positioned between the haves and the have-nots, as the author has described.

4. Cop Shoots and Kills Man Threatening Him With a Spoon—Although the cop had a body camera available, it was not turned on. Although it is upsetting that a man with a spoon was murdered by a cop, it does make sense though: cops prefer foods that don't require utensils, like donuts.

5. Some great videos on The Real History of Drugs have been making the rounds this week. The videos are short and take a look at some of the racist underpinnings of the drug war. The drugs featured include cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, opium, and LSD. I highly suggest giving them a watch—you may even learn something that you didn't know beforehand!

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.