This Week in Psychedelics - 11.5.21

Cannabis

• Voters In Seven Ohio Cities Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Ballot Measures, With Seven Others Defeated (Marijuana Moment)

• 3 Years Since the UK Legalised Medical Cannabis, and Only 3 NHS Prescriptions (Drug Science)

• New Congressional Report Provides Pathway for How the Biden Administration Can Deschedule Marijuana and Issue Blanket Pardons to Past Offenders (NORML)

• Pakistan Vows Cannabis Reform by End of Year (High Times)

• Strong Majority Of Americans Continues To Support Marijuana Legalization At Record High Level, New Gallup Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• California legalized weed five years ago. Why is the illicit market still thriving? (The Guardian)

• Philadelphia Voters Approve Marijuana Referendum Calling For Statewide Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Virginia: Election Outcomes Likely to Influence Marijuana Legalization Launch (NORML)

• DEA Emboldens Delta-8 Hemp Businesses By Signaling That The Cannabinoid Is Federally Legal (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Legalization Is Not Associated With Increased Mental Illness Or Suicide, New Study Finds, Despite Opposition Claims (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi Governor Stalls Medical Cannabis Bill (High Times)

• Legalizing Marijuana Reduces ‘Race-Based Arrests,’ American Medical Association Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis growers eye drought-resistant strains to cope with water shortage (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Arkansas Activists File New Marijuana Legalization Initiative For 2022 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Medical marijuana could ease anxiety, depressive symptoms, study shows (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Concentrates and vape products maintain dominance among heavy cannabis users (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Government-Grown Marijuana Is Genetically Closer To Hemp Than Cannabis Sold In Dispensaries, Another Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Edibles and beverages are popular choices with new cannabis users (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Army Recruits Who’ve Used Marijuana ‘Perform No Worse’ Than Other Soldiers, Military-Funded Report Finds (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• World-first trial of psilocybin therapy for anxiety disorders to begin in Australia (Happy Mag)

• Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy might help to reduce attachment anxiety (PsyPost)

• Microdosing Moms: Psilocybin & Postpartum Depression Relief (Truffle Report)

• COMPASS Pathways to launch phase II trial of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for PTSD (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psilocybe subaeruginosa: Australia’s Most Famous Magic Mushroom (DoubleBlind)

• A Case Study on Microdosing and Self-Care (The Third Wave)

• Psyched Wellness Announces That the Amanita Muscaria Mushroom Has Been Successfully Added to the Natural Health Products Ingredients Database (NHPID) of Canada (Psilocybin Alpha)

• The Missing Mushroom: Psychedelic Science and the Future of Psilocybin (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Braxia Scientific Graduates First Cohort of Medical Professionals from Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Training Program; Ready to Start Health Canada Approved Psilocybin Clinical Trial (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Filament Health Announces FDA Authorization of Clinical Trial with First-Ever Direct Psilocin Administration and First-Ever Psychedelic Botanical Drug Candidates (Psilocybin Alpha)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Establishes 6 hours as Optimum Treatment Period for DMT in Neuron Study (Psilocybin Alpha)

• PharmaDrug Advances Psychedelics Program with Analogue DMT Formulations to Treat Eye Diseases (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Understanding A DMT Trip: From The Experience To Potential Side Effects (Healing Maps)

Mescaline

• Mescaline Revelations: Hume, Buddhism, and the Illusory Nature of the Self (Sam Woolfe)

Peyote

• The Compounds in Psychedelic Cacti (Psychedelic Science Review)

Iboga

• Ibogaine and Iboga: Traditional Use, Conservation, and Ethical Considerations (DoubleBlind)

Morning Glory Seeds

• Forgotten Psychedelics: LSA — Also Known as Ololiuqui (Psychedelic Spotlight)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• atai Life Sciences Announces Supportive Interim Data from First 8-Patient Cohort of Phase 2a Trial for Novel Treatment of Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ketamine

• Ketamine rapidly improves cognitive function, making those in suicidal crisis less likely to harm themselves (Medical Xpress)

• Kernel’s Brain-Imaging Helmet Approved For Clinical Trial On Patients Using Ketamine (Forbes)

• Klarisana's Newest Ketamine Study Shows IM Ketamine Therapy Comparable to IV Administration (PR Newswire)

• Study: Mixing CBD With Ketamine Might Be Great For Depression (Forbes)

• Ketamine Users Can Ensure Safety with DanceSafe’s New Testing Kit (Lucid News)

• Parents Are Very Open to Ketamine Therapy for Kids, Study Finds (Psychedelic Spotlight)

DXM

• ‘Robotripping’: Perth teens creating cough syrup cocktails as they chase a cheap high (The Age)

Miscellaneous

• Detroit Voters Decriminalize Psychedelics, Joining Ann Arbor (DoubleBlind)

• FDA Approves First Clinical Trial Using Naturally Sourced Psychedelics (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• The False Promise of Psychedelic Utopia (VICE)

• Classic Psychedelics Aren’t Addictive (Discover Magazine)

• Psychedelic Therapy Is Hyped, But It’s Not Risk-Free: How Therapy Abuse Can Retraumatize Clients (Forbes)

• New Orleans shoeshine man wins legal battle over $30,000 seized by DEA agents (NBC News)

• Washington D.C.’s 1st Year of Psychedelic Decrim (Truffle Report)

• Statewide Psychedelic Decriminalization Efforts Are Growing Across the Nation (Lucid News)

• PharmaTher Provides Research Update on Microneedle Patch Delivery Technologies for Psychedelics (Yahoo!)

• Wonderland: Miami Takes Shape as the Largest Psychedelic Medicine Business Event (High Times)

• Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Has Raised Over $300 Million for Treatment and Services (Filter)

• ‘I’ve experienced states of consciousness beyond this life’: The people turning to psychedelics on their deathbeds (The Independent)

• How the Psychedelic Community Should Respond to Sexual Abuse (Lucid News)

• Psychedelic Research Beyond Depression & Trauma Part II (Truffle Report)

• Science Has Shown Me the Way Ahead with Psychedelics (Chacruna)

• We must address and deconstruct the stigma of psychedelics (The Michigan Daily)

• How Psychedelics Help with Parenting (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 Psychedelics - 8.21.20

Cannabis

• Maine Marijuana Sales Can Finally Begin, Officials Announce Four Years After Voters Legalized It (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Customers Can Now Buy Marijuana From Vending Machines In Colorado (CBS Denver)

• South Dakota Could Pass Two Marijuana Ballot Measures In November (Marijuana Moment)

• Mexican President Says Marijuana Legalization Will Advance Through Congress As Session Approaches (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: After-Hours Marijuana Use Doesn’t Negatively Impact Job Performance (NORML)

• Federal Court Denies DEA Request To Dismiss Marijuana Rescheduling Case (Marijuana Moment)

• The Future Is Here: Weed Vending Machines Are Coming to Massachusetts (MERRY JANE)

• Local Marijuana Bans In California Keep Illicit Market Alive And Block Revenue, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Vermont: Bicameral Committee Meets in Effort to Finalize Marijuana Sales Measure (NORML)

• Marijuana Activists Ask Supreme Court To Hear Their Case Against DEA (Marijuana Moment)

• Trump Voices Concern That Putting Marijuana On The Ballot Makes Republicans Lose (Marijuana Moment)

• Poll: Republicans Like Marijuana Legalization, Too (Even If It’s Kamala Harris’s Idea) (Forbes)

• Parents of toddler with severe epilepsy seek legal review of cannabis oil guidelines (The Guardian)

• DEA Proposes Hemp And CBD Rules To Comply With Crop’s Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• That Study Linking Prenatal Weed Use to Autism Has a Few Serious Flaws (MERRY JANE)

• This Is Weighing Down Multi-State Cannabis Operator Profitability (New Cannabis Ventures)

• AAA gives grants to police, non-profits to combat marijuana-impaired driving (WAND-TV)

• The FDA Is Now Hiring People to Study Thousands Cannabis Products (MERRY JANE)

• Drive to Free Black Woman With Marijuana Life Sentence Exposes “Habitual Criminal” Laws (Filter)

• Texas Ban On Selling Smokeable Hemp Temporarily Lifted By Judge (Marijuana Moment)

• County Will Let Marijuana Offenders Off the Hook If They Get a Card After Arrest (Phoenix New Times)

LSD

• Director Oliver Stone admits lacing 'up-tight' dad's drink with LSD to loosen him up (Mirror)

Magic Mushrooms

• The Mystical Experience is Critical for the Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Why the DEA Went After a Small-Time Mushroom Dealer in Denver (Lucid News)

• Mydecine™ Launches World’s First Natural-Sourced cGMP Psilocybin for Global Research, Sales, and Distribution Enterprise (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Investigation launched after Home Office psilocybin rescheduling response (Health Europa)

• Johns Hopkins Wants To Hear About Your Psychedelic Journeys For New ‘Real-World’ Study (Marijuana Moment)

• How to Make Shroom Tea: The Ultimate Mushroom Tea Guide (DoubleBlind)

• Magic Mushrooms, Memory and Resistance in the Sierra Mazateca (Chacruna)

MDMA

• Can Taking MDMA with LSD Help Prevent a ‘Bad Trip’? New Clinical Trial Investigates (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelics Group Raises $30 Million From Execs At GoDaddy, SpaceX And Others For MDMA Study (Marijuana Moment)

• Buddhist University Partners with MAPS to Offer MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Training (Lucid News)

• Police issue warning about Donald Trump-shaped ecstasy pills (The Guardian)

DMT

• Reports of positive encounters with autonomous entities after taking DMT suggest drug may have therapeutic potential (PsyPost)

Ayahuasca

• Remembering Dr. Jordi Riba, Ayahuasca Research Pioneer (1968–2020) (Chacruna)

• Psychedelic brew ayahuasca produces therapeutic benefits lasting up to six months, study finds (PsyPost)

• Russian Jailed for 11.5 Years Over Ayahuasca Bottle From Peru (The Moscow Times)

• Tripping on Ayahuasca has always been fun, but now it might be good for you (GOOD)

Ketamine

• Ketamine response biomarker may help tailor antidepressant treatments (Healio)

• How Ketamine Infusions Helped Me (Pain News Network)

Miscellaneous

• Plant Medicine Church in Oakland Gets Raided by Local Police Department (DoubleBlind)

• Advocates Unveil Guide For Psychedelic Healing Ceremonies They Hope To Legalize In Oakland (Marijuana Moment)

• This Dot-Com Guru is Asking Trump to Legalize Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• After the pandemic, could psychedelic treatment help us heal? (Mic)

• Psychedelics Could Help People with Addiction and Anxiety (CBS News)

• Canada takes step to decriminalize drug possession amid opioid crisis (The Globe and Mail)

• A plan to overhaul the UK’s unjust drugs policy is just around the corner (LabourList)

• The Phoenix Effect: Reversing Mental Age With Psychedelics (qwerky science)

• Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. Expands Stateside With Psychedelic-Enhanced Psychotherapy Clinic in New York City (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Watch The First Ad For Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Ballot Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Breaking Down a Model Bill to Decriminalize All Drugs (Filter)

• From pot to shrooms: What's next for decriminalization? (Toronto Sun)

• This is Your Brain on Ego Death (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Beckley Psytech Reveals Scientific Advisory Board Consisting of Renowned Psychedelic Experts (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Inside the Work of a New York Psychedelic Trip Guide (Filter)

• What Psychedelics Could Mean for Eating Disorders (Lucid News)

• The Role of the Claustrum in the Psychedelic Experience (Psychedelic Science Review)

• IntelGenx Enters into Feasibility Agreement with ATAI Life Sciences to Develop Pharmaceutical-Grade Polymeric Film-Based Psychedelics (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Higher Profile: Madison Margolin, Co-Founder, DoubleBlind Magazine (High Times)

• Spiritual Politics with Ismail Lourido Ali (Chacruna)

• CFN Enterprises Inc. Adds Cybin Corp. to Growing Psychedelics Client Roster (Yahoo! Finance)

• Nutritional High Completes Acquisition of Psychedelic Science Corp (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelic drugs heighten perception, but do they foster creativity and inspire art? (MEAWW)

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 catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

The Dalai Lama on Why We Need to Fight Coronavirus With Compassion

The Dalai Lama with another uplifting message regarding the COVID-19 pandemic:

This crisis shows that we must all take responsibility where we can. We must combine the courage doctors and nurses are showing with empirical science to begin to turn this situation around and protect our future from more such threats.

In this time of great fear, it is important that we think of the long-term challenges—and possibilities—of the entire globe. Photographs of our world from space clearly show that there are no real boundaries on our blue planet. Therefore, all of us must take care of it and work to prevent climate change and other destructive forces. This pandemic serves as a warning that only by coming together with a coordinated, global response will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face.

We must also remember that nobody is free of suffering, and extend our hands to others who lack homes, resources or family to protect them. This crisis shows us that we are not separate from one another—even when we are living apart. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to exercise compassion and help.

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Book Review - Living Buddha, Living Christ

“When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. And vice versa.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

I first added Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ to my “Want to Read” list on Goodreads ten years ago but didn’t actually get around to reading it until earlier this year. I’m not sure exactly what enticed me about the book the first time I came across it, but something in me knew that I needed to eventually read it. I’m glad I followed that calling and gave it a try, even if it took me a decade to finish.

Living Buddha, Living Christ provides a high-level overview of the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity. The book certainly isn’t a deep dive into either tradition, so if that is what you’re looking for then you should move on and continue your search.

But if you want to read a respectful, highly-digestible, thought-provoking take on the two spiritual paths, then look no further.

In the book, Hanh (the bestselling author of Peace Is Every Step) explores the teachings and practices brought to us by two of the most influential figures in the history of humankind. Jesus Christ and the Buddha have helped shape the lives of people and cultures for two millennia. Yet their followers do not always agree. Have you ever wondered what Buddha and Jesus would say (or do) to each other if they met on the road?

Something tells me that they wouldn’t kill each other, despite the sage advice from Zen master Linji Yixuan that is often repeated in Buddhist centers and temples throughout the world:

If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

Instead, it’s likely that the two would engage in a friendly discussion similar to the one that Hanh has been having with Christians for several decades, where he has tried to build a bridge between the two contemplative traditions. Thankfully, the wisdom from that discussion has been skillfully translated for readers in Living Buddha, Living Christ.

The book explores several striking similarities between Buddhism and Christianity, like how the Buddhist idea of reincarnation lines up perfectly with “pre-incarnation”, a teaching from the third-century Christian theologian Origen that you’ve probably never even heard of. Or the ways that Buddhism’s notion of nirvana echo the sentiment of Jesus’ description of the Kingdom of God.

This book will help you see both Buddhism and Christianity in a different light, but also more clearly than you ever have before.

My completion of Living Buddha, Living Christ marks the 10th book by Thich Nhat Hanh that I have read. His books are incredibly simple yet they serve as powerful guides to live a better life, and this book is no exception. If you want to learn more about the intersections where Buddhism and Christianity overlap as well as where they diverge, I can honestly recommend that you give this book a read.

However, as one last note, I wouldn’t suggest Living Buddha, Living Christ as your introduction to Thich Nhat Hanh. Personally I think that Peace Is Every Step, The Art of Communicating, Being Peace, and Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames are much better places to start. But if you’re really into the concept behind Living Buddha, Living Christ, then you surely won’t be disappointed.

Either way, be sure you check out Hanh’s body of work; it has the potential to change your life.

Click here to buy the book.

Disclaimer: Think Wilder is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

A Special Coronavirus Message from the Dalai Lama

Solid advice from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama:

No matter how difficult the situation may be, we should employ science and human ingenuity with determination and courage to overcome the problems that confront us. Faced with threats to our health and well-being, it is natural to feel anxiety and fear. Nevertheless, I take great solace in the following wise advice to examine the problems before us: If there is something to be done—do it, without any need to worry; if there’s nothing to be done, worrying about it further will not help.

The entire message is well thought-out and concise, and it is certainly worth a read. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there.

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