This Week in Psychoactives - 1.10.20

Cannabis

• Scientists Discover Two New Cannabinoids (VICE)

• Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine (Reuters)

• Most employers in Nevada can no longer utilize pre-employment drug tests for marijuana (KSNV)

• Federal Marijuana Reform Will Get Another Congressional Hearing Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• South Dakota: Adult-Use Marijuana Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Specialists warn about risks of cannabis edibles (Medical News Today)

• Don't Panic — Weed Edibles Are Just as Safe as We Thought, Actually (MERRY JANE)

• CBD for Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) (One World Herald)

• Marijuana Will Be Legalized in New York, Cuomo Vows (The New York Times)

• Nova Scotia is nearly out of edibles and other 2.0 products (Leafly)

• Illinois Dispensaries Ran Out of Weed During First Week of Legal Sales (Reason)

• More Than Half of Cannabis Tourists Bring Weed Home, New Survey Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Legal Pot Takes a Bite out of Beer Consumption in Canada (Bloomberg)

• Federal Reserve Bank Examines Marijuana Industry’s Growth (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Survey: 26% of young people have driven high or ridden with a high driver (Leafly)

• Legalizing Medical Marijuana Makes People Have More Sex, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• California’s Mushroom Decrim Campaign Cleared to Begin Voter Signature Drive (Filter)

• Shroom-Therapy Startup Edges Toward FDA Approval (Bloomberg)

• Dave Chappelle And Aziz Ansari Took Magic Mushrooms To Celebrate Comedy Award (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Shroom Dispensaries Become a Thing Anytime Soon? (DoubleBlind)

MDMA

• Use of ‘gateway drug’ MDMA on the rise among young Japanese (The Asahi Shimbun)

Ketamine

• Trump touted a new antidepressant as a solution for veterans. Only 15 have been treated (STAT)

Opioids

• Fentanyl deaths on the rise as drug is added to heroin, warns report (The Guardian)

• Black Americans Were Prescribed Opioids Less Frequently Because Of Racial Bias, New Analysis Shows (WBUR)

• Nasal spray found to be quickest, easiest way to deliver antidote naloxone for opioid overdose (News-Medical.net)

• What We Can Learn From a Tiny Baltic Country's Two-Decade Fentanyl Crisis (VICE)

Methamphetamine

• The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained (Vox)

Caffeine

• Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests (CNN)

Nicotine

• What if a Vaping Tax Encouraged Cigarette Smoking? (The New York Times)

• Juul Hits Deliver More Nicotine Than Cigarettes, Study Finds (Rolling Stone)

• Can 18-Year-Olds Still Buy Tobacco Legally in Arizona? AG Suggests Yes (Phoenix New Times)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines: Another Prescription Drug Problem (The Fix)

Alcohol

• U.S. Alcohol-Related Deaths Have Doubled, Study Says (NPR)

• 'Sober curiosity': Dry January a wellspring for booze-free beverages (The Washington Times)

• The real reason midlife women should give up booze: PROFESSOR DAVID NUTT reveals how alcohol increases risk of breast cancer, bad skin and hot flushes (Daily Mail)

GHB

• GHB: The drug used as a 'rapist's weapon of choice' (BBC)

• Britain’s “Most Prolific” Rapist Spurs Misguided GHB Crackdown (Filter)

Kratom

• Kratom, usually made use of as a replacement for many opioids, is currently prohibited in France (OBN)

Miscellaneous

• Medical University of South Carolina To Launch New Psychedelic Research Center (High Times)

• Transforming psychedelics into mainstream medicines (STAT)

• More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared amid drug war, officials say (The Washington Post)

• The 'psychedelics coach' with drug-fuelled career advice (BBC)

• People are seeing ‘Cats’ while high out of their minds. These are their stories. (The Washington Post)

• This D.C. Group Wants To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms And Some Psychedelic Plants (WAMU)

• Philly’s supervised injection site backers say they won’t delay opening while Justice Dept. appeals (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Addiction Treatment Facilities Fall Badly Short, Shows Federal Study (Filter)

• People Visiting Safe Injection Sites Are Less Likely To Die Compared To Other Drug Consumers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee Backs Decriminalizing Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

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.

Film Review - Psychonautics: A Comic's Exploration of Psychedelics

The documentary Psychonautics: A Comic’s Exploration of Psychedelics, featuring stand-up comedian Shane Mauss delving into the fascinating world of psychedelic drugs, debuted at the Dances With Films festival last June but wasn’t released to the general public until just last month. I was waiting with eager anticipation to watch this film from the moment I first heard about it, and now that I’ve watched it a few times since its release, I figured I’d share my thoughts on it.

Unless you’re already familiar with him, you might be asking yourself, “Who is Shane Mauss?” Well, as I mentioned earlier, Shane is a stand-up comedian with a wacky sense of humor. He’s also the host of the comedy science podcast Here We Are and a fellow psychonaut. After spending the last few years exploring psychedelics in a lot of his work, Shane was inspired to make a documentary about the topic in order to show the world that these drugs aren’t necessarily as scary as someone who is psychedelically-naïve might expect.

Psychonautics starts off mighty strong—and fast. The film opens up with a shot of Shane painted from head to toe in glow-in-the-dark body paint made from the MAOI Peganum harmala (also known as Syrian rue), right as he’s about to smoke DMT on camera. He looks at the camera in a slightly creepy way, ignites his lighter, and then leans in to take a hit.

Before he has a chance to inhale the DMT vapor, the film cuts to a stand-up comedy routine where Shane is telling the crowd that he was just let out of a psych ward two weeks earlier because he overdid it with psychedelic drugs. So much for trying to show the world the psychedelics are completely harmless!

A proper introduction follows these two opening scenes, and Shane shares a few stories about his upbringing in Wisconsin, his relationship to drugs, and his career as a comedian, Next, some of his fellow comics talk about him for a little while. Then the movie starts to talk about some of the scientific research concerning psychedelics before launching into the first section of the film: psilocybin mushrooms.

During the mushrooms portion, Shane accompanies Eric Osborne (the founder of a legal psilocybin retreat center in Jamaica at MycoMeditations) as they go hunting for mushrooms in an undisclosed location somewhere in Kentucky and talk shop about everything related to psilocybin mushrooms. This is a pretty laid back part of the movie and it’s chock-full of humor and silliness, just like the rest of the film.

After the mushrooms section, the film goes over a few other classic psychedelics: MDMA, LSD, ketamine, DMT, and ayahuasca. As Shane progresses through the various drugs, things start to get more and more intense until he reaches the mental breakdown that was foreshadowed in the beginning of the film.

So what were my overall impressions of the film? Well, first off I should mention that I’m a pretty big fan of Shane’s work. I saw his psychedelic-themed comedy routine called A Good Trip a few years ago when he came to Raleigh, NC and laughed my ass off for two hours straight. That’s where I found out his podcast Here We Are, which blends together the odd bedfellows comedy and science, two things that I definitely enjoy. After going home, I started listening to his podcast, and have kept up with it ever since.

Psychonautics is engaging and well-polished. The narrative arc is tight and easy to follow, it keeps the viewer’s attention the whole way through, and it supplies a fairly thorough overview of everything related to psychedelics, including the relevant scientific research, the history of the drug war, and the harms of prohibition. If you’re a hardcore psychonaut like me, a lot of the material might be familiar, but reviewing what you have learned over and over again is a tried and true method that can help you really internalize the information, so it’s still well worth a watch. And if you’re brand-new to psychedelics or want to introduce someone else to them in a lighthearted (and somehow serious) way, this is a solid option for those purposes too. Mixing science with humor can make new information a bit easier for some people to swallow, after all.

A bunch of well-known leaders in the psychedelic movement are featured in the film, including Rick Doblin, Dennis McKenna, James Fadiman, David Nichols, Emanuel Sferios, and some of the world’s top psychedelic researchers and comedians. No psychedelic documentary would be complete without a few super trippy visual representations of psychedelic experiences that can be had with the different drugs discussed in the film, and fortunately Psychonautics doesn’t disappoint. Each psychedelic drug has a unique visualization style that is similar to what you could expect from taking said drug, which certainly helps keep things interesting.

Shane is currently on a stand-up tour across America (dates can be found on his website, linked above) so he might come somewhere near you soon, and you should go see him if you get the opportunity. But if that’s not an option, then you can at least watch Psychonautics to get a feel for what he’s all about.

Bottom line: if you’re into psychedelics and have a sense of humor, you should definitely check out this documentary.

This Week in Psychoactives - 4.12.19

CANNABIS

• Israel Decriminalizes Adult Use Cannabis During CannaTech Conference In Tel Aviv (Forbes)

• FDA Is Taking Public Comments On CBD. Here’s How To Make Your Voice Heard (Marijuana Moment)

• Police across the UK are given green light to let cannabis users off scot-free and suggest they get treatment instead of punishment (Daily Mail)

• Alex Berenson and the Last Anti-Cannabis Crusade (The New Republic)

• Georgia: Lawmakers Advance Bill To Regulate Low-THC Oil Production (NORML)

• Mother of girl with epilepsy has supply of medical cannabis confiscated (The Guardian)

• New York City: Lawmakers Advance Bills Limiting Drug Testing for Cannabis as a Condition of Employment, Probation (NORML)

• Nova Scotia Woman Plans Constitutional Challenge of Roadside Cannabis Test (Leafly)

• Hawaii Senate Committee Approves Bill To Decriminalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Senate Bill Would Let Marijuana Businesses Store Profits In Banks (Forbes)

• California bill to block home delivery of cannabis sidelined for year (Los Angeles Times)

• Another Connecticut Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Will the European legal cannabis industry prosper? (Health Europa)

• GOP Congressman’s Bill Would Let Medical Marijuana Patients Possess Guns (Marijuana Moment)

• Mergers And Acquisitions Light Up The Cannabis Sector (Forbes)

• Indiana Lawmakers Amend Hemp Bill To Allow Smokeable Flower (Marijuana Moment)

• People of Color Were Targeted by the War on Drugs. They Must Benefit from Marijuana Legalization (Newsweek)

• Can Cannabis Help You Get Off Adderall? (Civilized)

• Where Presidential Candidate Tim Ryan Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis stocks lower as investors await the fate of the States Act (MarketWatch)

LSD

• ‘SNL’ Introduces a Hilarious Film Critic Who Sees Movies on Acid So You Don’t Have To (IndieWire)

• T.C. Boyle’s new novel takes a trip with LSD evangelist Timothy Leary (Los Angeles Times)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• China Enters Magic Mushroom Industry – Wuhan, MJMedTech, and M2BIO (Psilocybin Technology)

• Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects (ScienceDirect)

• Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee Is Open To Decriminalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms (Marijuana Moment)

• Seth Rogen Talks About Taking Magic Mushrooms At Cirque du Soleil (Marijuana Moment)

• I went to a chic fundraiser for Denver's psilocybin mushroom vote (Rooster Magazine)

• The return of the 'stoned ape' theory (Big Think)

• Sacred Mushrooms of the Mazatec Tradition: Transforming the Inner Landscape of the Human Psyche (Chacruna)

• How Psilocybin Reset My Suicidal Thoughts And Taught Me To Love Myself (Reset.me)

MDMA

• Inside an Innovative Study of MDMA Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder (Filter)

• MDMA helps adult mice socialize like their adolescent selves (Quartz)

• Cate Faehrmann: Why a lawmaker admitted to taking MDMA (BBC)

• Teenager dies after taking six times the 'safe' level of Ecstasy (Your EDM)

• 'She didn't get the chance to learn from her mistake': Father's anguish after his daughter, 18, died from her first hit of liquid ecstasy - as he reveals the tragic final words she spoke to him (Daily Mail)

• Illinois man dies after taking ecstasy; parents now educate others on dangers of drug (WTKR)

• Psychedelic Drug MDMA May Help Treat PTSD (Tech Times)

AYAHUASCA

• Translating Ayahuasca Shamanism and Western Medicine (Kahpi)

• Global Ayahuasca Community Joins Together to Defend Ceremony Leader (Talking Drugs)

5-MEO-DMT

• Study: 5-MeO-DMT May Rapidly Improve Anxiety and Depression (Reset.me)

PEYOTE

• Why one cactus is being criminalized to death, and why it should be saved (The Massachusetts Daily Collegian)

IBOGA

• Dutch natural healer gets 8 years for death of Swedish woman (NL Times)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Ireland: Controversial ban on new psychoactive substances succeeds in reducing health problems (Scottish Legal News)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• State forensics lab identifying new synthetic cannabinoids (WLOX)

• A Bunch of Dutch People Smoked Fake Weed for Science (Civilized)

• Leeds outreach workers devise revolutionary treatment for Spice addiction (Leeds Live)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Melbourne researchers trial laughing gas to treat severe depression (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Deadly risk of breathing in laughing gas for kicks (Express)

• Laughing gas found in car after Fountain Valley crash, police say (Los Angeles Times)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine May Relieve Depression By Repairing Damaged Brain Circuits (NPR)

• Thai boys trapped in cave were sedated with ketamine (The Independent)

• Ketamine vs. Esketamine for Depression (Psychology Today)

• Emily Atack reveals she was offered ketamine in a nightclub toilet...as she recalls losing her knickers after an all night romp after the BRIT Awards (Daily Mail)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• DOJ Charges UK Firm With Conspiracy, Fraud Over Opioid Withdrawal Drug Suboxone Film (Gizmodo)

• After three years of controversy, CDC clarifies its opioid prescribing guidelines (STAT)

• More than 10,300 Canadians lost their lives to opioids in less than 3 years (CBC)

• Poppy Cultivation and Potential Opium Production in Afghanistan (The White House)

• In poll season, Punjab debates legalising poppy seed and opium farming (Down To Earth Magazine)

• Public urged to keep free naloxone overdose kits on hand (The London Free Press)

• Family Dog Survives Eating Five Bags of Heroin (The Epoch Times)

• Naloxone available at UNT pharmacy without a prescription (North Texas Daily)

• Alabama school staff trains to administer naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses (CBS News)

• Forcing treatment and tying the hands of physicians won’t solve the opioid crisis (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Big Pharma’s Millions Won’t Solve the Opioid Crisis (Tonic)

• Rajasthan farmers caught in ‘opium crisis’ (The Times of India)

• How eating four slices of multigrain bread at a airport lounge led a fly-in-fly-out miner to failing a drugs test - and him stood down from his job (Daily Mail)

• Hanover deputy released from hospital following possible fentanyl exposure (WWBT)

COCAINE

• The United States' 'War on Drugs' Really Did Make Things Worse, New Research Finds (ScienceAlert)

• Heather Yakin: Cocaine making comeback with new, lethal forms (Times Herald-Record)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Meth Mania: From Biker Gangs to the Psych Ward, How Speed Came of Age in California (KQED)

• Family's dog tests positive for meth, molly after walk in park (WKRG)

CAFFEINE

• Caffeine could boost exercise performance (Reuters)

• TEEN SCENE: Vaping caffeine (The Guardian)

• Caffeine addicted? Just seeing coffee stimulates the brain (Digital Journal)

• Caffeine slows down water molecules (Physics Today)

TOBACCO

• Illinois Becomes First State in Midwest to Adopt 'Tobacco 21' (NBC Chicago)

• Delaware House approves raising age to buy tobacco products (Delaware Online)

• Iowa Senate bill would increase age to buy all tobacco, vape products from 18 to 21 (KGAN TV)

• Temple University takes major step in becoming tobacco-free: 'It's incredibly important' (KYW Newsradio 1060)

• Texas could soon increase the legal age to buy tobacco, though active military members might be exempt (The Texas Tribune)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol use disorder: Brain damage may progress despite sobriety (Medical News Today)

• No, moderate drinking can't protect against stroke. It actually increases risk, study says (USA Today)

• There's new evidence for why we get the 'drunchies' after a night of heavy drinking (INSIDER)

• Penn study finds genetic differences between heavy drinkers and alcoholics (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• A gene linked to alcohol habits may influence who you choose to marry (New Scientist)

• Ethiopia passes tough law regulating alcohol sales, adverts (Africanews)

• Proposed Federal Alcohol Labeling Revisions Retain Constitutionally Suspect Review Standards (Forbes)

• The Big Number: 17.6 million Americans suffer from alcoholism (The Washington Post)

• Australian Instagram personalities found to be under influence of alcohol industry (The Guardian)

• First-Ever Female Libido Pill Gets Relief on Alcohol Warning (Bloomberg)

• Lawmaker aims to lower blood alcohol limit (WIVB)

• Does Red Wine Help You Live Longer? Here's What the Science Says (TIME)

• April is National Alcohol Awareness Month (Marietta Daily Journal)

KRATOM

• An Herbal Drug Called Kratom Has Been Linked to Almost 100 Overdose Deaths, the CDC Reports (TIME)

• Castle Rock steps out front on regulating kratom, the popular but controversial herbal extract (The Denver Post)

• Oregon Lawmakers Could Pass a Law Regulating Kratom (The Portland Mercury)

• Kratom ban pushed by Pa. parents of son who fatally OD’d on ‘herbal heroin’ (PennLive.com)

• FDA Report Finds Heavy Metals in Kratom – Is It Really That Bad? (Kratom Guides)

• Northeast Mississippi counties continue conversation on Kratom (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

• 'Kratom literally saved my life' (WGRZ)

MISCELLANEOUS

• The World’s Biggest Dark Net Market Has Shut – What Next? (VICE)

• Sciencing the mystical: the trickery of the psychedelic trip report (Taylor and Francis)

• California tests if addiction treatment can be incorporated into primary care (Politico)

• Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Walks Back Pledge To Pardon All Non-Violent Drug Offenders (Marijuana Moment)

• Rejected Depression Drug Could Provide Relief For Opioid Withdrawal (The Fix)

• Inside the Legal Struggle Over Safe Consumption Spaces (Filter)

• The new science of psychedelics: How hallucinogens provide a tool for changing our minds (AlterNet)

• Psychedelic Plants in a Time of Ecological Crisis (Adventures Through The Mind)

• How drugs got on the metric system (Rooster Magazine)

• To Address Addiction, Confront Racism in Our Health and Justice Systems (Filter)

• Proposal to allow needle exchanges statewide heads to House floor (Tampa Bay Times)

• How Helpful—Or Harmful—Are Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs? (Filter)

• Overdose prevention sites can help cities like Philadelphia save lives (STAT)

• Psychedelic Research and You. Well, Maybe, not You (Chacruna)

• Vindictive Drug-Induced Homicide Charges Are Set to Surge in Chicago (Filter)

• LSD, shrooms, and psychiatry: Penn summit highlights clinical applications of psychedelics (The Daily Pennsylvanian)

• Law enforcement are not drug experts (AOD Media Watch)

• Playlist for Psychedelic Restoration (Tam Integration)

• How Open Relationships and Psychedelics Have Shaped This Entrepreneur's Mindset (Entrepreneur)

• Acetaminophen crisis bigger than opioid epidemic? (Drug WarRant)

• There’s a way to stem the increase in HIV infections (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Microdosing psychedelics may improve mood and productivity (ZME Science)

• Psychedelic club emphasizes benefits of shrooms (Rocky Mountain Collegian)

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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.

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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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Why Do Jesters and Tricksters Appear in the DMT Experience?

Sam Woolfe:

The prevalence of jesters and tricksters in the DMT experience is quite curious. Why do so many people come to meet them? I believe that the ideas of psychologist Carl Jung can shed some light on this phenomenon. I propose that the jester-type DMT entities are archetypal; manifestations of the collective unconscious. However, a Jungian perspective on the DMT experience may be able to explain why these entities exist, but it may not resolve the mystery of why DMT – as a specific substance – has a propensity to bring these entities to the surface, and in such a peculiar, idiosyncratic fashion. Of course, other archetypes may appear in the DMT experience but when jesters make their showy entrance, there must be a reason they do so.

The ultimate explanation for the appearance of jesters in the DMT experience is unclear to me. Nonetheless, I posit that – since they are archetypal in some sense – we can learn from these jesters. We can understand the trickster aspect of ourselves and find immense value in that if we dig deep enough. So let’s explore the meaning of the trickster. But first, we need to illuminate Jung’s ideas on the archetypes so we can better understand what the trickster is.

A brilliant and impressively deep piece.

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Post Permalink

This Week in Psychedelics - 11.16.18

Cannabis

• Will 2019 be the Year of Federal Marijuana Law Reform? (The Marijuana Times)

• Thai lawmakers back legalizing medical marijuana (Associated Press)

• Study Finds CBD Alleviates Psychotic Disorder Symptoms (Psychedelic Times)

• Pot approved for research, medical use (Bangkok Post)

• Medical cannabis: Death sentence prompts Malaysia to re-think harsh laws (BBC)

• Why Women Support Legal Marijuana Less Than Men, According To A New Study (Marijuana Moment)

• The Complicated Relationship Between IP Law & Cannabis (IPWatchdog)

• Marijuana Use Doesn’t Affect Outcome Of Kidney Transplants, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Michigan law push Indiana toward cannabis? (South Bend Tribune)

• Mitch McConnell Guarantees Industrial Hemp Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Why people love CBD — the cannabis product that won't get you high (CNBC)

• If Chris Christie Becomes Attorney General, Pot Advocacy Could be Set Ablaze (Reason)

• VA Will Explore Medical Marijuana, But Only If Federal Law Changes, Secretary Says (Marijuana Moment)

• A cannabis Coke and a smile? Colorado companies hoping to tap infused beverage craze (The Denver Post)

• Here’s Where The Next House Speaker Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Canada: officials urge action to keep edible marijuana away from children (The Guardian)

• Legal Marijuana Would Generate Hundreds Of Millions For Illinois, New Analysis Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Congress: New House Rules Chairman Pledges To Allow Floor Votes On Marijuana-Related Amendments (NORML)

• The Feds Want Researchers To Study ‘Minor’ Cannabinoids And Terpenes In Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• If This Bill Passes, Possessing Pot in Texas Will Be Treated Less Harshly Than Distributing Straws in San Francisco (Reason)

• Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Three Medical Marijuana Bills For Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Local Officials From Across US Call For Federal Marijuana Rescheduling (Marijuana Moment)

• Police drugs lead 'impressed' by cannabis clubs (BBC)

• The DEA Just Got Scolded Over Its Marijuana Eradication Program (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis and the brain: Recent studies shed new light (Medical News Today)

• The Feds Are Hiring Professional Marijuana Joint Rollers…Kind Of (Marijuana Moment)

• For a Buck and Sometimes a Buzz, Brewers Are Putting Cannabis Into Cans (The New York Times)

• Feds Seek New Growers To Produce Thousands Of Kilograms Of Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas NORML: Midterm Elections and the 86th Texas Legislature (NORML)

• Indiana NORML: Midterm Elections Shakeup State Legislature (NORML)

• Here’s How Much Legal Marijuana Supporters And Opponents Spent Per Vote In Last Week’s Election (Marijuana Moment)

• Could Pot Help Solve The Opioid Crisis? (BuzzFeed News)

• Michelle Obama Talks Smoking Marijuana In New Memoir (Marijuana Moment)

• The UK's Biggest Legal Weed Producer Has Ignited Fresh Criticism (VICE)

• Cali judge protects right to grow cannabis (The Leaf Online)

• Holiday Gift Guide 2018: The Ultimate Luxury List For Cannabis Connoisseurs (Forbes)

• American cannabis expert warns UK government ‘relax laws or be left behind’ (Metro)

• ‘Walking Dead’ Actor Raises Money For Kids Who Use Medical Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Alfie Dingley: Mum's fresh medicinal cannabis campaign (BBC)

• Texas Lawmaker Files Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Is the stigma of cannabis preventing more seniors from using it? (WTVF)

• Mormon Church Faces Potential Lawsuit Over Medical Marijuana Opposition (Marijuana Moment)

• NORML Chapters Participate in Las Vegas’ First Business-to-Consumer Cannabis Conference (NORML)

• TV Stations Pulled Anti-Legalization Ads Ahead Of Midterm Marijuana Votes, Advocates Say (Marijuana Moment)

• Here's What Marijuana Stock Aurora Cannabis Is Saying About Its Future (The Motley Fool)

• Colorado Governor Touts Marijuana Legalization’s Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Throwback Thursday: Understanding “South Pacific” With a Little Help from LSD (Dope Magazine)

• Man ‘gouged’ PCSO’s face while on LSD at Bexhill party (Bexhill-on-Sea Observer)

• Navy Sailors Dealing LSD in Nuclear Reactor Department of Aircraft Carrier (Citizen Truth)

• Drug with therapeutic effect: How LSD affects the brain (Infosurhoy)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Could Be Legal for Therapy by 2021 (Rolling Stone)

• FDA Gives Stamp of Approval for Clinical Psilocybin Trials (Psychedelic Times)

• Driver on psychedelic mushrooms crashed vehicle on Beltine, walked into traffic, police say (Channel 3000)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• How long will it be until we see the legalisation of MDMA? (The Student)

• Teenage boy with epilepsy died after secretly taking MDMA on night out (Metro)

• Girl, 18, died 'after taking "double-strength" ecstasy at Mutiny music festival' (Mirror)

• Woman, 29, died after taking heroin, ecstasy and cocaine in strip club (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Can Toad Venom Unlock The Mystery Of Neurogenesis? New Insights on 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Times)

• How I drank my way from the Amazon to the Himalayas (Condé Nast Traveller)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• In The Only State Where Selling Peyote Is Legal, The Cactus Is Threatened And Still Controversial (Texas Public Radio)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Holy War – A Tale of Bwiti Iboga Initiation, Part 2 (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• ‘Testing prisoners for cannabis led to the Spice epidemic,’ says former government adviser (talkRADIO)

Dissociatives

• Hospital Injected Intoxicated Woman with Ketamine, Enrolled Her in Clinical Trial Without Consent, Lawsuit Says (Newsweek)

• ‘It’s the PCP’: Man wearing only a towel arrested at shopping center (FOX2Now.com)

• Ketamine For Depression (Healthy Magazine)

• Man accused of causing deadly crash was high on PCP, officials say (KOCO)

• Judge rules woman accused of setting fatal Springfield fire was too high on PCP to confess (MassLive.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• As if heroin weren’t dangerous enough, it may come with lead poisoning (Ars Technica)

• 'Dozens' of underground heroin-injection sites operating now in King County (KIRO)

• Some pharmacies fail to offer easy access to naloxone, or to stock it, despite anti-opioid initiatives (STAT)

• The Hell of Getting Methadone When You’re Away from Home (Tonic)

• Philly may require all pharmacies to stock overdose-reversal drug naloxone (WHYY)

• Growing concern for 'pink death' drug and pure fentanyl (KMSP)

• Why Some Pharmacies Still Fail To Carry Naloxone (The Fix)

• Life After Heroin Is Beautiful and Boring (VICE)

• Find Out the Rate of Opioid-Related Overdoses in Your Town (NBC Chicago)

• Toronto man sounds alarm about 'drastic need' for naloxone training to battle opioid overdoses (CBC)

• Viewpoint: Big Pharma didn't drive up the cost of naloxone, 'opportunity has' (Becker's Hospital Review)

Kratom

• Kratom herbal supplement may cause withdrawal symptoms in newborns (MyNDNow.com)

• HHS recommended that the DEA make kratom a Schedule I drug, like LSD or heroin (STAT)

• The U.S. May Ban Kratom. But Are its Effects Deadly or Lifesaving? (Discover Magazine)

• A ruling is imminent on the legality of a controversial drug that's used to treat addiction — but some have called it a 'dangerous opioid' (Business Insider)

• Kratom for Fitness, Pre-Workout & Bodybuilding (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom Plants & Kratom Seeds for Sale Online (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Vanuatu continues push for quality standard for kava (Radio New Zealand)

• The New Criterion: say 'bula' to the world's first listed kava producer (Livewire Markets)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The DEA and ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights (Quartz)

• Egypt MP Proposes Law to Decriminalise All Drug Use (Talking Drugs)

• Teenagers boil sanitary pads to get high (The Jakarta Post)

• My Relationships With Drugs Vary Wildly: We Must Recognize Spectrums (Filter)

• Drug-Law Violations Account for Over a Quarter of Women Incarcerated in the US (Filter)

• Greece Health Ministry Plans Drug Consumption Rooms (Talking Drugs)

• Secret CIA Document Shows Plan to Test Drugs on Prisoners (ACLU)

• Psychedelic Ethics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Psymposia)

• Is Psychedelic Science Reaching A Breaking Point? (The Third Wave)

• Microdosers Are More Creative With Happier Emotions, Study Finds (VICE)

• The Psychedelic Renaissance Will Be Decided By Access (Chacruna)

• Get Up, Stand Up, Speak Up (Psymposia)

• What It's Like to Run the Biggest Drug Encyclopedia in the World (VICE)

• A New Documentary Shows How Vets Are Using Weed and Ayahuasca to Treat PTSD (Tonic)

• Ayahuasca for PTSD: Interview with "From Shock to Awe" Producer Janine Sagert (Reality Sandwich)

• This comedian tried to explain what drugs feel like and it went strangely (Rooster Magazine)

• Competitive Psychedelic Users Are Chasing 'Ego Death' and Losing Their Sense of Self (VICE)

• The Global Drug Survey wants to have an honest conversation about your drug habits (Time Out)

• Can Psychedelics “Cure” Gay People? (Chacruna)

• The Life and High Times of Psychedelic Bard, Terence McKenna (Kahpi)

• Oiling the Hinges of the Doors of Perception – Microdosing with Psychedelics (Beckley Foundation)

• Service workers say supervised injection facilities could cut restroom overdoses (Business Insider)

• The Island: Recovering Self, Culture and Place through Plant Medicine (Chacruna)

• Personal drug use should be decriminalized, addictions expert says (CBC)

• Chris Selley: On safe injection sites, why can't conservatives just let people not die? (National Post)

• Confirmation Bias And Misreporting Plague Psychedelic Research (The Ticker)

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

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.