This Week in Psychoactives - 6.21.19

CANNABIS

• New York’s Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Bill Is Dead (Leafly)

• Gene Increases Risk for Pot Addiction (Scientific American)

• Public Cannabis Consumption Now Allowed In Colombia: Is Full Marijuana Legalization Next? (Forbes)

• Congress Votes To Block Feds From Enforcing Marijuana Laws In Legal States (Forbes)

• Beijing says US legalization of marijuana is a 'threat to China' (CNN)

• Three New Studies Explore Link Between Medical Marijuana Dispensaries And Youth Use (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: Cannabis Safe and Effective in Fibromyalgia Patients (NORML)

• Maryland Regulators Warn of Possible Lead Contamination in Weed Vape Pens (MERRY JANE)

• 57% of Arthritis Patients Have Tried Cannabis. 90% Found It Helped (Leafly)

• House Passes Amendments Stripping DEA Funding And Pushing FDA To Regulate CBD (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Study Finds CBD Can Cause Liver Damage (Forbes)

• Public Sewage Revealed Shift Away From Illegal Weed After Legalization (Inverse)

• From Shortage to Surplus: Canada Could Have Too Much Weed by the End of the Year (MERRY JANE)

• Texas Governor Signs Bill To Expand State’s Medical Marijuana Program (Marijuana Moment)

• New Study Finds Cannabis May Be 'Unsafe' For Pregnant Women (WBUR)

• Ex-Novartis Pill Factory Gets a New Life Making CBD Products (Bloomberg)

• Cannabis Use Doubles Among Pregnant Women In The U.S., Study Finds (WBUR)

• Americans Want CBD Available Over-The-Counter, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Cincinnati: Council Members Vote to Eliminate Marijuana Possession Penalties (NORML)

LSD

• First controlled study of LSD microdosing finds few benefits — and some downsides (PsyPost)

• How long is acid detectable in the body? (Medical News Today)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Efforts To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms Beginning To Sprout Nationally (Forbes)

• Replication and extension of a model predicting response to psilocybin (Springer Link)

• Can a psychedelic drug save the terminally ill from their deepest fears of death? (The Age)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Liverpool's streets are littered with laughing gas canisters: the truth about nitrous oxide (The Sun)

KETAMINE

• The controversial ketamine-like drug that Trump is pushing on veterans (The Guardian)

• Why the New Ketamine-Like Nasal Spray Is Worrying Some Physicians (Healthline)

• Imports of ketamine into the Netherlands up to 800 kilograms from 2.6kg in two years (Mixmag)

• Ketamine center aims to help those with depression, PTSD, chronic pain (The Durango Herald)

PCP

• Woman shot at, stabbed after man becomes irate after smoking PCP, police say (KMOV)

OPIOIDS

• Drug addicts to be given free heroin as Home Office awards first licence (The Telegraph)

• Opiate addiction in UK in the over-40s triples in 12 years (The Independent)

• Cops bring addiction counselor on drug raids to fight opioid crisis (CBS News)

• Pharmacists hand out free naloxone spray on Edmonton's Whyte Avenue (CBC)

• Pharmacies may not stock naloxone, despite statewide orders (Reuters)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Alabama Man On The Lam Insists He Didn’t Give Meth To ‘Attack Squirrel’ (HuffPost)

• Meth In The Morning, Heroin At Night: Inside The Seesaw Struggle of Dual Addiction (NPR)

• Arrested While “Panicking on Meth”—An Hour Later, He Was Dead (Filter)

• Wexford deputy hospitalized after exposure to crystal meth (Cadillac News)

CAFFEINE

• Can You Drink Coffee While Doing Intermittent Fasting? (Healthline)

• Is decaf coffee harmful to health? (Medical News Today)

TOBACCO

• Global Forum on Nicotine Asserts Urgency of Tobacco Harm Reduction (Filter)

• CVS Shifts Anti-Tobacco Fight To E-Cigarettes (Forbes)

ALCOHOL

• The mysterious deaths in the Dominican Republic reportedly may be linked to illicit alcohol, and it wouldn’t be the first time (Business Insider)

• Women not aware enough of breast cancer link to alcohol (BBC)

• Germans thirsty for alcohol-free beer as brewers boost taste (The Guardian)

NOOTROPICS

• What Is The Effect Of Nootropics On Brain Health? (The Frisky)

KRATOM

• Oregon Lawmakers Decide Not To Regulate Kratom, For Now (Jefferson Public Radio)

• Kratom Dosage For Stimulating Energy (MyMMANews)

KAVA

• Auckland city set to get its first kava bar at Victoria Park Markets (Stuff.co.nz)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Movement To Decriminalize Psychedelics Spreads Nationally (Marijuana Moment)

• AOC's Amendment to Expand Psychedelics Research Shot Down by House of Reps (MERRY JANE)

• The Feds Want To Subject Every Burning Man Attendee to a Warrantless Drug Search (Reason)

• Woody Harrelson to play LSD guru Timothy Leary, a Springfield native and Holy Cross alum (MassLive)

• Evidence is mounting that psychedelic drugs can help treat diseases. Here are the most promising uses. (Business Insider)

• Cory Booker Proposes Thousands of Drug War Commutations If Elected President (Reason)

• How Portugal tackled its addiction epidemic to become a world model (CBC)

• 'I would put the son of a gun in jail': Joe Biden said in a 2001 hearing that he wanted to criminalize raves and 'lock up' rave promoters (Business Insider)

• Drugs are decriminalised in the UK—if you are a white, privileged MP (The BMJ)

• The Canadian revival of psychedelic drug research (University Affairs)

• A Change in Russia’s Draconian Drug Laws Could Be on the Horizon (The Moscow Times)

• Psychedelic Masculinities: Reflections on Power, Violence and Privilege (Chacruna)

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 - 5.17.19

CANNABIS

• Two Tiny Caribbean Islands Legalized Cannabis for Private and Adult Use (MERRY JANE)

• Arkansas: Licensed Medical Cannabis Sales Begin (NORML)

• Washington: Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Bill Into Law (NORML)

• Alabama Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (MERRY JANE)

• Nebraska Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Voters, Not Lawmakers, Will Decide On Marijuana Legalization In 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• Leafly Study Debunks Dispensary Myths Around Crime & Teen Use (Leafly)

• Illegal Marijuana Grows In Pacific Northwest Declined After Legalization, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Can CBD Really Do All That? (The New York Times)

• Legalized ‘Light Cannabis’ Linked With Drop In Pharmaceutical Sales, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Grandmother arrested for CBD at Magic Kingdom hires Ben Crump, threatens lawsuit against cops and Disney (Orlando Sentinel)

• Gov. Cuomo Bails on New York Cannabis Legalization (Leafly)

• Serious Injuries From Domestic Violence Dropped After Marijuana Decriminalization, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• America’s Longest-Serving Marijuana Prisoner Released After 39 Years (MERRY JANE)

• Joe Biden Endorses Marijuana Decriminalization And Rescheduling—But Not Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Half A Million Canadians Are Getting High at Work, According to New Report (MERRY JANE)

• Detroit Will Pay Out $60,000 to Woman Whose Dogs Were Shot on a Marijuana Raid (Reason)

• Texas Senate Unanimously Approves Hemp Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• No More Horsing Around: CBD Now Banned in Equestrian Competitions (MERRY JANE)

• New Congressional Bill Aims To Resolve Marijuana Industry Border Issues (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Study of Expecting Mothers Causes Social Media Controversy (Forbes)

• Canada Is Seeing Its Fair Share of Dab Lab Explosions, Too (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis kombucha, gluten-free edibles: weed companies jump on wellness trends (The Guardian)

• Oregon Senate Votes To Legalize Interstate Marijuana Imports And Exports (Marijuana Moment)

• Doctors and Teachers in Utah Can Now Smoke Medical Marijuana Without Fear (MERRY JANE)

• Where Presidential Candidate Steve Bullock Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois Survey That Supposedly Shows Support for Legalizing Marijuana Is 'Dwindling' Actually Shows It Is Rising (Reason)

• Medicinal cannabis users focus of new research (Scoop)

LSD

• Jeopardy Contestants Are Getting Tested On Their Marijuana And LSD Knowledge (Marijuana Moment)

• Inside the first placebo-controlled studies testing if microdosing LSD actually works (WIRED)

• The Sad Tale of Frank Olson, the US Government's Hallucinogen Fall Man (Pacific Standard)

• How LSD May Facilitate Communing With Nature (Medium)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Michael Pollan: Not So Fast on Psychedelic Mushrooms (The New York Times)

• Denver Psilocybin Decriminalization Activist Pushes Back Against Michael Pollan’s Criticism (Marijuana Moment)

MDMA

• Yorkshire police issue MDMA warning after death of 15-year-old girl (The Guardian)

5-MEO-DMT

• A statement regarding the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the study of 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelics Today)

MESCALINE

• The Fascinating History of Mescaline, the OG Psychedelic (VICE)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Canada Is Giving Prisoners Synthetic Weed, Not Real Medical Marijuana (MERRY JANE)

• Synthetic cannabinoid alert system to be in place by end of year (Newsie)

OPIOIDS

• Only One Major Ontario City Refuses to Let Police Carry Life-Saving Naloxone (VICE)

• 5 More States Sue Purdue Pharma and Other Drugmakers Over the Opioid Epidemic (TIME)

• Heroin Overdose Parties Are a Dehumanizing Myth (VICE)

• A new study backs up a lifesaving approach to the opioid epidemic (Vox)

COCAINE

• Global Drug Survey: Large Majority of Cocaine Users Would Pay More for Safer, “Fair Trade” Supply (Filter)

• Study may help prevent relapse in cocaine use disorder patients (EurekAlert!)

• Canada ranks second in the world for cocaine use (but feels conflicted about it): Report (National Post)

• 'The cocaine trade is booming': 54% of Irish people who use cocaine want to cut down (TheJournal.ie)

• Top health experts warn cocaine is ‘absolutely rampant’ in Ireland as Health Minster Simon Harris launches plans to tackle epidemic (The Sun)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• The Many Health Benefits of Meth (Pacific Standard)

CAFFEINE

• How Much Coffee Is Too Much? Drinking 6 Cups In A Day Is Bad For The Heart, Study Shows (Study Finds)

• This Cup of Joe Costs $75 and Is Being Touted as the World's Most Expensive Coffee (TIME)

TOBACCO

• Maryland raises legal tobacco purchasing age to 21 (The Hill)

• Campaign to raise minimum smoking age to 21 finds unlikely supporter: Big Tobacco (CNBC)

ALCOHOL

• Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Alcoholics Stop Drinking, According To New Study (IFLScience)

• Britons get drunk more often than 35 other nations, survey finds (The Guardian)

• Doctors turn to alcohol, food and drugs to cope with work stress (The Guardian)

• OU approves alcohol sales at sporting events (KTUL)

NOOTROPICS

• The Majority Of People Are Fine With Brain Doping, As Long As You Don't Call It That (Forbes)

KHAT

• New study shows chewing miraa bad for mental health (Tuko.co.ke)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Leading U.S. Prosecutors Visit Portugal To Learn About Drug Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Joe Biden once said a fence was needed to stop 'tons' of drugs from Mexico (CNN)

• Elizabeth Warren Knows What It Will Take to End the Drug War (The Slot)

• The Ethics of Taking the Drugs You Study (VICE)

• Bolsonaro Cuts Harm Reduction, Escalates Drug War (Filter)

• Queering Psychedelics conference aims to expand definitions, minds (48 Hills)

• Number of Women Arrested for Drugs Increases at Four Times the Rate of Men (Filter)

• Seeking a safe place: Vancouver’s story (The Boston Globe)

• Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics and Chronic Pain (Pain News Network)

• Booker Bill Would Protect Students With Drug Convictions From Losing Federal College Aid (Marijuana Moment)

• How the War on Drugs Kept Black Men Out of College (The Atlantic)

• Lawmakers Schedule Psychedelic Decriminalization Hearing In Oakland (Forbes)

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:

---

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)

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:

---

This Week in Psychoactives - 3.1.19

CANNABIS

• Vermont Senate Passes Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• San Francisco will remove more than 9,300 marijuana-related crimes from people’s records (Los Angeles Times)

• THC found more important for therapeutic effects in cannabis than originally thought (Science Daily)

• Portugal Rejects Recreational Cannabis, as Medical Becomes Legal (Talking Drugs)

• Cory Booker just reintroduced a bill that would legalize weed (Roll Call)

• Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids (Science Daily)

• New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Multistate Cannabis Operators Facing Unique Challenges (Forbes)

• Uh-Oh, California Could Run Out of Legal Cannabis by Summer (Leafly)

• Denver just made a big change on social-use cannabis: It will be permanent (The Denver Post)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Approved By Hawaii House Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Studies: Cannabis Exposure Not Associated With Significant Changes In Brain Morphology (NORML)

• This ER doctor is about to launch the first marijuana breathalyzer, and it could completely upend how we do drug testing (Business Insider)

• Maryland Sets Sights on Cannabis Bills—18 of Them (Leafly)

• Florida Senator Wants To Let Voters Decide On Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Delaware: Attorney General Calls For Expanding Use Of Civil Penalties For Marijuana Violations (NORML)

• This Anti-Vaping Bill Bans Everything But Edibles Indoors and Outdoors (Civilized)

• GOP Congressman Files Bill To Protect Native American Tribes That Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Weston-super-Mare cannabis centre to show 'safe use' (BBC)

• Federal Reserve Head Calls For Clarity On Marijuana Banking Issues (Marijuana Moment)

• As Expected The UN Delays Voting On Cannabis (Forbes)

• USDA Gives Farmers A Status Update On Hemp Legalization Plans (Marijuana Moment)

• Rhode Island: Gov. Raimondo’s Proposed Marijuana Legalization Budget Plan (NORML)

• Elizabeth Warren Talks Marijuana In New Hampshire Presidential Campaign Stop (Marijuana Moment)

• Don't Expect A Big, National Cannabis Brand Anytime Soon (Forbes)

• Oregon Lawmakers Weigh Bill Allowing Marijuana Lounges And Cannabis Business Tours (Marijuana Moment)

• Legalized Cannabis Remains a Burning Topic for Employers (Workforce Management)

• FDA Head Reveals New Details About Agency’s CBD Regulation Plans (Marijuana Moment)

• Behind The Scenes With Cannabis Charities (Forbes)

• Marijuana Tax Revenue Should Fund Subway Improvement, New York’s Cuomo And De Blasio Say (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Bootsy Collins Explains How LSD Played A Role In His Split With James Brown’s Band (Live for Live Music)

• Life inside notorious cult The Family where children were starved, tortured and given LSD is revealed by former member (The Scottish Sun)

• A trip with the acid countess: Amanda Feilding and the medical case for drugs reform (New Statesmen)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Sub-Acute Effects of Psilocybin on Empathy, Creative Thinking, and Subjective Well-Being (Taylor and Francis Online)

• Denver Voters Could Decriminalize Psilocybin Mushrooms in May (Psychedelic Times)

• Psychedelic revolution: Initiative to legalize psilocybin in 2020 sprouts in Oregon (Daily Emerald)

• Australia’s psychedelic drug trial (The Saturday Paper)

MDMA

• Capsule v zip lock bag: How the law views the way party drugs are carried (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• What It’s Like to Treat a Psychopath with MDMA Therapy: Interview with Luna (Psychedelic Times)

• Wedded Ecstasy: The Couples Using MDMA to Fix Their Marriages (Fatherly)

• Brit died plunging into Amsterdam canal after taking MDMA and 'behaving strangely' (Daily Star)

• Teen placed in juvenile facility for providing fatal dose of MDMA (The Intelligencer)

• Homicide rap filed against boyfriend of Cebu teen who died of ecstasy overdose (ABS-CBN News)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• What is 2-CP, what does it do and where does it come from? (Mixmag)

• Remembering the Great British Mephedrone Craze (VICE)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Milton bans synthetic marijuana, opiates after teen incidents (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

• Is Synthetic CBD the Future of Cannabis Pharma? (Cannabis Investing News)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine Seems to Ease Depression. We’ll Soon See What Else It Does. (Bloomberg)

• Psychedelic Afterlife? Researchers Determine Which Hallucinogenic 'Trip' is Most Similar to the Near-Death Experience (Daily Grail)

• Ketamine is becoming increasingly popular under clubbers in the Netherlands (Rave Jungle)

• Ontario clinic treating depression with ketamine (CTV News)

• Old drug with racy history is a new suicide prevention weapon (Standard-Examiner)

PCP

• PCP smoker gets prison time for assaulting ex-girlfriend and trying to set her apartment door on fire (Hartford Courant)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Opium-Addicted Parrots Keep Raiding Poppy Farms in India (VICE)

• Allegations Against the Maker of OxyContin Are Piling Up. Here’s What They Could Mean for the Billionaire Family Behind Purdue Pharma (TIME)

• US Quietly Ends Anti-Opium Airstrikes Amid Taliban Peace Talks (Breitbart)

• The Opioid Crisis Isn’t White (The New York Times)

• “Mom, When They Look at Me, They See Dollar Signs” (Mother Jones)

• Bus Driver Overdosing on Heroin Crashes Bus With 12 Students Aboard, Police Say (TIME)

• FDA May Recommend Naloxone Be Co-Prescribed With Opioids (The Fix)

• Carfentanil found in heroin siezed in Uxbridge (Worcester Telegram)

• Naloxone in Maryland schools (WMDT)

• Pain patients on opioids also are getting rescue drug naloxone to prevent overdose (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

COCAINE

• Woman calls police, complains drug dealer sold her sugar instead of cocaine (Newshub)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• KTLA Anchor Chris Burrous Dies After Putting Crystal Meth In Anus (Hip-Hop Wired)

• North Koreans reportedly use crystal meth as casually as cigarettes and are shipping the drug to China (INSIDER)

ALCOHOL

• The Alcohol Crisis In America Has Been Overshadowed By Opioids, But Can No Longer Be Ignored (Forbes)

• Mothers return to pre-pregnancy drinking within five years: study (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Arkansas county sells alcohol after 70-year ban (KLFY)

• New bill would lower blood alcohol content limit for some drivers (ABC 13)

• Smoking and alcohol: Double trouble for the brain? (Science Daily)

• Online poll finds Chinese university students favour alcohol ban on campus (The Drinks Business)

• India toxic alcohol: At least 130 tea workers dead from bootleg drink (BBC)

• Liver transplants tied to alcohol use in the US doubled since 2002 (Health24)

• Is alcohol consumption more helpful than harmful? It depends on your age (EurekAlert!)

• Increasing alcohol limits in Utah beer gets Senate support (AP News)

NOOTROPICS

• Nootropics Found to be Useful Memory Aid (The Avion)

KRATOM

• Can You Drive on Kratom? Is It Safe To Drive After Taking Kratom? (Kratom Guides)

• Poison reports related to herbal drug kratom soar, new study says (USA Today)

• Is kratom nature’s answer to opioids? (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

• Some patients use Kratom to fight opioid addiction (WESH)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Home Office gives green light to first drug testing clinic (The Guardian)

• Is Scanning Inmates' Mail To Stop the Spread Of Drugs Legal? (The Fix)

• Has the decade-old war on drugs in Asia succeeded? (Al Jazeera)

• Psychedelic therapy — the metamorphosis of mental health care (Medium)

• Legal Weed Did More to Stop Drug Smuggling Than Any Wall (Reason)

• To Fight Addiction, Neronha Calls For Reclassifying Simple Drug Possession From Felony To A Misdemeanor (The Public's Radio)

• Pharma execs offer Senate ideas to lower drug costs – except actually cutting prices (CNBC)

• Joe Biden’s Drug War Record Is So Much Worse Than You Think (Leafly)

• Peganum Harmala, the “Ayahuasca” of North Africa and Eurasia (Kahpi)

• Climax Is The Scariest Movie About Drugs You Will Ever See (Refinery29)

• Magic in the Margins: Interview with an Underground Psychedelic Therapist (Psychedelic Times)

• New study claims microdosing improves focus and fights depression (Mixmag)

• Psychedelics: A Historical Account of Use and Rejection (71 Republic)

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On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

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Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychoactives - 2.8.19

CANNABIS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Maryland Lawmakers Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bills (Marijuana Moment)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• How To Invest In Cannabis IPOs (Forbes)

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

LSD

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

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

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

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

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

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

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

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

MDMA

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

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

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

DMT

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

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

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

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

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

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

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

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

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

NITROUS OXIDE

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

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

KETAMINE

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

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

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

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

• Can ketamine help depression? (WTSP)

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

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• The Third Opium War (Manitoba Post)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COCAINE

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

METHAMPHETAMINE

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

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

ALCOHOL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ABSINTHE

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

NOOTROPICS

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

• The future's getting smarter (Mashable)

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

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

KRATOM

• Kratom Now Banned in Columbus (WCBI)

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

• Residents seek Kratom ban in Lowndes (The Dispatch)

MISCELLANEOUS

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

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

• How the Drug War Eats the Poor (VICE)

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

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

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

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

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

• Is Permatripping Real? (Gizmodo)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Psychedelics could treat mental disorders (4BC)

---

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

---

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.