This Week in Psychoactives - 2.28.20

Cannabis

• Marijuana use is rising sharply among seniors over 65, study says, and there are serious risks (CNN)

• Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Officially Passes Vermont House Of Representatives (Marijuana Moment)

• Mexican Senate Committees Meeting This Week To Finalize Marijuana Legalization Plan (Marijuana Moment)

• Luxembourg’s government reportedly weighs plan to legalize recreational marijuana (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Presidential Candidates Clash Over Marijuana Legalization At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis for pain: Does medicating with marijuana increase abuse risk? (Leafly)

• Israel's Prime Minister To Explore Marijuana Legalization (Reason)

• Moldy, Yeasty Legal Weed Products Prompt Health Advisory in Nevada (MERRY JANE)

• Elizabeth Warren Has A New Plan For Legalizing Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Labor unions flex their muscle in fight with California cannabis industry (Los Angeles Times)

• Cannabis excellence: LSSU launches new chemistry facility (The Mining Journal)

• More Than 80% of Denver Teens Don’t Smoke Weed, New Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Henderson marijuana dispensary hosts cannabis-based blood drive (KTNV)

• Ohio Marijuana Legalization Measure To Be Filed For November Ballot This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Is Better at Preventing Cavities Than Most Toothpaste Brands, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Mississippi Lawmakers Attempt To ‘Kill’ Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative With New Strategy (Marijuana Moment)

• Capitol Confidential: THC bill would kill Arizona’s medical marijuana system (Leafly)

LSD

• This Is What Happens When You Take 550 Doses of LSD At Once (VICE)

• Microdosed LSD: Finally A Breakthrough For Alzheimer’s Disease? (Forbes)

Magic Mushrooms

• Could CBD and Psilocybin Treat Brain Injuries? This University Plans to Find Out (MERRY JANE)

MDMA

• Israel Makes A Big Move Toward The Acceptance Of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy For PTSD (Forbes)

• Belgian woman dies after taking sip of MDMA-laced wine (The Guardian)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• The Unintended Consequences of Prohibitionist Policies - Mephedrone (Drug Science)

Ketamine

• Lawsuit: Ketamine clinic caused psychosis (Albuquerque Journal)

Opioids

• In 2019 speech, Bloomberg mocked Brooklyn father and son who died from heroin as ‘not a good family’ (NY Daily News)

• Inside the Middlesbrough clinic where heroin users get a 'last chance' (BBC)

• Teaching Children How to Reverse an Overdose (The New York Times)

• Mother of dead heroin addict to Chicago Police Department: ‘Enforce the law’ (Chicago Sun-Times)

• What happens when naloxone expires (KUSA)

• Enhancing Rates Of Opioid Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution In Emergency Departments (Health Affairs)

Cocaine

• The World's Biggest Legal Coca Industry Might Get Shut Down (VICE)

• Why the FDA Approval Process Is Under Scrutiny Following Approval of ‘Numbrino’, a Cocaine-Based Nasal Spray (Grit Daily)

• U.S. drug deaths dipped in 2018, but cocaine and meth overdoses rose (Science News)

Methamphetamine

• Meth Still a Missouri Problem, but Now It Comes From Mexico (The New York Times)

• DEA labels North Texas a 'meth hub' after spike in drug seizures (WFAA)

Nicotine

• Inside the Philip Morris campaign to 'normalize' a tobacco device (Reuters)

• New Juul patent application hints at AI-powered vape to help users quit nicotine (The Verge)

• House tobacco bill revives talk of nicotine limits (Politico)

• A New Bill Would Ban The Sale of All Flavored Nicotine Products (Colorado Public Radio)

• Governor Cuomo pushing ban of flavored nicotine vaping products, restricting ads aimed at youth (INFORMNNY)

Benzodiazepines

• Understanding the link between nicotine use and misuse of 'benzos' (EurekAlert!)

Alcohol

• 27,000 Mass. drunken-driving convictions may be tossed out due to faulty breathalyzer machines, lawyer says (The Boston Globe)

• Alcohol-Linked Deaths Soaring in U.S., Women Hit Hardest (U.S. News and World Report)

• Chicago Approves Earlier Start for Sunday Alcohol Sales (Eater)

GHB

• New report shows illicit drug GHB deaths could be prevented (Medical Xpress)

• Call for 'date rape' drug GHB to be reclassified (BBC)

Kratom

• Kratom at Risk in Colorado Without Legislation, Activists Say (Westword)

• Drug Tests Show Kratom Use Doubled in U.S. (Pain News Network)

Kava

• Utah's Attorney General hosts a kava ceremony in the Capitol (Fox 13 Now)

Miscellaneous

• Supervised-injection site in Philadelphia gets final green light from federal judge (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• South Philadelphia to become site of nation’s first supervised-injection facility next week, organizers say (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• DEA agent accused of conspiring with cartel (Associated Press)

• Europe’s psychedelic science renaissance has started (Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research)

• Beyond Mushrooms: The Mysterious, Magical World of African Plant Medicine (DoubleBlind)

• Should Breakthrough Psychedelic Research Make Us Question Our Assumptions About Mental Illness? (Psychedelics Today)

• End-to-end solution in psychedelic therapies establishes Numinus as leader in emerging space (Investing News)

• Scotland's drug death crisis in six charts (BBC)

• Psychedelics May Aid in Deprogramming Addiction (Psychedelic Science Review)

• They Fell In Love Helping Drug Users. But Fear Kept Him From Helping Himself (NPR)

• Podcast Host Joe Rogan Is Steadily Documenting A Psychedelic Record Of The 21st Century (Forbes)

• Vans Adds Psychedelic Tie-Dye To Their Iconic Checkerboard Print (Sneaker News)

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 - 2.21.20

Cannabis

• Leafly investigation: Vape lung injuries date back to 2007 (Leafly)

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

• New Study Claims Americans See Marijuana as the “Safest” Party Drug (EDMTunes)

• Mike Bloomberg Attacks Marijuana Legalization In Controversial Resurfaced Recording (Marijuana Moment)

• Everyone Scared of Legal Weed Was Freaking Out Over Nothing: Report (VICE)

• Kentucky House Approves Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Marijuana Money Funds Cleaner Highways And Anti-Bullying Programs (Marijuana Moment)

• There's a New Synthetic Weed Drug Coming That's Basically Marinol Chewing Gum (MERRY JANE)

• Medical Marijuana Patients With ADHD Use Fewer Prescription Drugs, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Utah marijuana bill clarifies that private employers don’t need to allow its use (Deseret News)

• NFL Would End Marijuana Suspensions In Deal Approved By Team Owners (Forbes)

• Marijuana May Have Caused 12-Hour Erection, Doctors Say (Marijuana Moment)

• Pregnant Women with Anxiety or Depression More Likely to Smoke Weed, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Flying high: Are cannabis drone deliveries the future or merely fantasy? (Leafly)

• Mike Bloomberg Calls For Marijuana Decriminalization And Expungements In New Plan (Marijuana Moment)

• The cannabis industry's next big threat: Hacks and fraud (CNN)

• New Arizona Bill Attempting to Limit Medical Marijuana to 2% THC (Arizona Marijuana)

• Hemp Is For Horses? New Study Examines CBD’s Calming And Painkilling Effects In Animals (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• Mushroom Advocates Eyeing Boulder As Next Decriminalization Target (Westword)

• Man Magically Regains His Sense of Smell Using Psilocybin Mushrooms (DoubleBlind)

• DC mom leads effort to decriminalize magic mushrooms after treating postpartum depression (WJLA)

• Can A Legal Magic Mushroom Industry Avoid the Pitfalls of Recreational Weed? (East Bay Express)

• Therapists Are Fighting for Psilocybin Mushroom Legalization in Canada (Euro Weekly News)

DMT

• DMT and the Psychedelic Underground in Mainland China—An Insider’s Story (Kahpi)

Ketamine

• Use of ketamine among partygoers could be underreported (UPI)

• Ketamine Could Be Useful Alternative for Pain Relief, Sedation in ICU (MD Magazine)

• Ketamine use can prevent postanesthetic shivering without severe side effects (Medical Dialogues)

Opioids

• Insurance companies can’t penalize people with prescriptions for life-saving opioid overdose medication, state says (The Denver Post)

• Opioid vending machine opens in Vancouver (The Guardian)

• Johns Hopkins Will Test Epidiolex to See If It Can Help with Opioid Withdrawal (MERRY JANE)

• Naloxone Administration to Be Used as “Probable Cause” for Drug Charges in Indiana (Filter)

• Progress Slows In Massachusetts: Death Rates Flat In Opioid Crisis (WBUR)

• Police Scotland officers set to trial drug overdose spray (BBC)

• U.S. states reject $18 billion proposal to settle opioid lawsuits, discussions ongoing: sources (Reuters)

Methamphetamine

• Meth is back and flooding the streets of Ohio and Kentucky, and it's uglier than ever (Cincinnati.com)

Caffeine

• From khat to coffee: revitalising an age-old Yemeni crop (The Guardian)

• How natural caffeine compares to synthetic caffeine, according to health experts (MSN)

Nicotine

• Journal Retracts Study That Falsely Associated E-Cigarettes With Heart Attacks (Filter)

• Could tobacco cure coronavirus? Don’t laugh. (Politico)

• The great vape debate: are e-cigarettes saving smokers or creating new addicts? (The Guardian)

• Study Researches Whether Nicotine Patch Can Help People With Memory Loss (NBC4 Washington)

• Governor Cuomo Launches Campaign to Ban Flavored Nicotine Vaping Products and Restrict Vaping Ads Aimed at Youth (NY.gov)

• Why One of the World’s Largest Tobacco Companies Is Struggling (The Wall Street Journal)

• Teen vaping is bad. Nicotine makes it worse, says researcher (Science)

• Foods That Flush Nicotine Out of Your Body (Thrive Global)

Alcohol

• Higher alcohol taxes to fund NHS would benefit poor – study (The Guardian)

• Beer goggles: the truth about alcohol and romantic judgment (The Guardian)

• A Utah bill could prevent offenders from buying alcohol at state stores (The Salt Lake Tribune)

GHB

• New report shows illicit drug GHB deaths could be prevented (UNSW Newsroom)

Kratom

• Missouri House passes bill requiring more kratom regulation (KSDK)

• Michigan debates future of kratom, an herbal remedy linked to 9 state deaths (Bridge Michigan)

• Oregon House Moves to Ban Underage Sales Of Kratom, A Botanical Used For Pain Or Fun (The Lund Report)

• Popular Kratom Vendor Shows How Kratom Is Manufactured (Benzinga)

• Reports of Kratom Causing Acne: Is That True? (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous

• Ballot Language Approved For Washington, D.C. Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• A quarter of street drugs are fake and dangerous to users (The Guardian)

• Drug use will change significantly in the 2020s – here’s how (Dazed)

• #ThankYouPlantMedicine Creates Wave of Gratitude for Ayahuasca, LSD, and Mushrooms (The Third Wave)

• Business gets ready to trip: How psychedelic drugs may revolutionize mental health care (Fortune)

• Virtual Reality Can Replicate Mystical Psychedelic Experiences, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• The influence of drugs on murder rates is being overstated (TalkingDrugs)

• Psychedelic drugs have lost their cool. Blame Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop (The Guardian)

• Rampaging Vikings were fuelled by hallucinogenic herbal tea that made them feel less pain and become 'highly aggressive' say scientists (Daily Mail)

• First Psychedelics-Centered PR Agency Launches In Toronto (Benzinga)

• Psychedelics for systems change: could drugs help us save the planet? (openDemocracy)

• The Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group: driving reform in the UK (Health Europa)

• Study shows Dublin hospital has third highest number of drug-related medical emergencies (Irish Examiner)

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 - 2.14.20

Cannabis

• Top Mexican Senator Says Marijuana Legalization Bill Will Be Approved This Month (Marijuana Moment)

• Trump Budget Proposes Ending State Medical Marijuana Protections And Blocking DC From Legalizing (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Senate Committee Rejects Marijuana Legalization Bill Days Before Session Ends (Marijuana Moment)

• USDA Won’t Increase THC Limit On Hemp Despite Requests From Farmers And Lawmakers (Marijuana Moment)

• Croatia Introduces Bill to Legalize Recreational Marijuana: MP Mirela Holy (Total Croatia News)

• Students at a Colorado university can soon major in cannabis (Mashable)

• Kentucky Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Bill In Committee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Pro Tip: Don't Ever Inject Marijuana (MERRY JANE)

• Scotland’s first medicinal cannabis clinic to open ‘soon’ prescribing marijuana for chronic pain, depression and anxiety (The Scottish Sun)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Approved By Virginia Senate And House (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed and AI Can Help Us Find New Ways to Get Stoned (VICE)

• Las Vegas dispensary offers free joints to Nevada primary voters (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Can Treat Vomiting and Pain Linked to GI Disorders, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Texas Researchers Say They Found A Way To Help Cops ID Pot With 100% Accuracy – Using Lasers. (KUT)

• Cans suck the THC buzz out of pot drinks. Where does that leave Canopy Growth? (Yahoo! Finance)

• Study: Medical Cannabis Access Associated with Fewer Workers’ Comp Claims (NORML)

• New Hampshire: Home Cultivation Legislation Advances (NORML)

Magic Mushrooms

• Denver Makes History With First Meeting of Psychedelic Mushroom Panel (Westword)

• The Top Psilocybin Mushroom Stocks to Watch in New Year 2020 (Baystreet)

• Cybin Partners With Toronto Centre For Psychedelic Science For Psilocybin Research Project (Benzinga)

MDMA

• UK Teen Dies After Consuming MDMA and Reportedly Being Denied Access to Water (EDM)

• Ira Glass Talks High Maintenance and What Taking Ecstasy Taught Him (GQ)

DMT

• How DMT Switches the Brain’s Reality Channel (Kahpi)

Ketamine

• UK Assessment Agency Rejects Spravato Ketamine Nasal Spray (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Another Round of Research Shows Ketamine May Help Alcoholism (Medscape)

PCP

• Houston is the largest metro area with significant PCP problem, report says (Houston Chronicle)

Opioids

• Study: Opioid Substitution Meds, Not Detox, Prevent Overdose (Filter)

• Injected Heroin Use Still Near All-Time Highs in U.S., May Explain Hepatitis-C Rise (The New York Times)

• What an 1890s opioid epidemic can teach us about ending addiction today (STAT)

Cocaine

• UC researchers develop antibody to neutralize cocaine high (WKRC)

Methamphetamine

• Will “Sobering Centers” Help People Who Use Methamphetamine? (Filter)

• What meth does to your body and why it makes people so manic (Cincinnati.com)

Caffeine

• Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Cravings (And Why You Don't Have To Quit) (NPR)

• New Research Suggests Drinking Coffee Can Help Make Bones Stronger (CBS Philly)

• Is Coffee Good For You? (The New York Times)

Nicotine

• Trump doesn’t want the FDA to regulate tobacco (STAT)

• Dismantling NY Mag’s Disgraceful Hit-Job on Vaping (Filter)

• House committee OKs bill to put nicotine and tobacco purchase age in line with federal law (The Neighbor)

• Proposal would raise legal age to buy tobacco in Idaho to 21 (Twin Falls Times-News)

Benzodiazepines

• Author Jordan Peterson is recovering from physical dependence to benzodiazepine in Russia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

GHB

• Banning GHB at Raves Is Dangerous (TalkingDrugs)

Nootropics

• If You’re Going to Use Nootropics, Shouldn’t You Know Exactly What You’re Taking? (Futurism)

• Are Nootropics And Brain Supplements Side-Effects Free? (KHTS)

Kratom

• Missouri lawmaker proposes bill to ban kratom (KFVS)

• The 7 Dangers of Vaping Kratom You Might Not Know (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous

• Move Over, Pot: Psychedelic Companies Are About to Go Public (Bloomberg)

• Trump Again Applauds Death Penalty For Drug Offenses (Marijuana Moment)

• Everything You Should Know About the Campaign to Decriminalize Naturally Occurring Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• Eleusis Benefit Corp: Taking the “Psychedelic” Out of Psychedelics (Psymposia)

• The Emergence of a New Market: Psychedelic Science Conferences (Chacruna)

• Conservative Indiana Adopted Needle Exchanges But Still Faces Local Resistance (Kaiser Health News)

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 Month in Psychoactives - January 2020

In order to really get the new year and new decade started right, I’ve decided to add monthly drug news recaps to my publishing calendar here at Think Wilder. I plan to use this column to cover the hottest drug news from each month in more detail than I’m able to get into with my weekly link roundups, and it will serve as a companion to the monthly recaps that are published every month on my YouTube channel.

This month happened to be way busier than I expected it to be, and so this month’s inaugural column features some top-notch news that I think you’re going to love. If you do end up digging what you see here, please let me know on Facebook or Twitter and share it with a friend so they can stay up-to-date with the latest psychoactive drug news too.

And here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

Without further ado, let’s get into the news:

Two New Cannabinoids and Fighting Superbugs

Kicking things off this month is a story about two new cannabinoids that were recently discovered by scientists. The first cannabinoid is called THCP and it is allegedly 30 times more potent than THC, and the second is called CBDP, which is a cousin to CBD, the popular wellness additive.

And cannabinoid research didn’t stop there. An already-known cannabinoid called CBG was found to be particularly potent at killing MRSA, which is one of the most common superbugs found in hospitals. This has led some people to speculate that cannabinoids like CBG might be effective at fighting other superbugs as well.

Cannabis Reforms in Hawaii and Mexico

As of this month, cannabis users in Hawaii no longer face jail time for a small amount of marijuana because the state’s decriminalization law has officially gone into effect. As a result, people possessing three grams or less will be fined $130 instead. The reform bill was not signed by Governor David Ige, who opted to allow the law to go into effect without his signature.

Mexico’s lawmakers have been debating about how to go about legalizing marijuana for several months, and an amended bill that would allow adults to possess up to 28 grams for personal use and grow up to six plants is currently under consideration. The legislature will go back into session next month and it hopes to pass a legalization bill before the end of April.

Follow-Up Study Finds Psilocybin Can Reduce Anxiety For Nearly Five Years

You might recall that back in 2016 a study found that a single dose of psilocybin was able to significantly reduce terminally-ill cancer patients’ fear of death. Now a follow-up study found that those benefits have been sustained nearly 5 years later.

Compared to traditional prescription medications, a single dose of any drug that can improve one’s life for that amount of time is completely amazing and just speaks to the incredible potential that psychedelics have for healing the world.

Compass Pathways Gets a Patent for Its New Crystalline Psilocybin Formulation

In a scientific paper published last October, researchers announced a new crystalline form of the psilocybin derivative 4-HO-DPT. This groundbreaking discovery indicated that pharmaceutical psychedelics could be right around the corner.

And so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to discover that the Peter Thiel-backed mental health care company Compass Pathways was granted a patent covering its new crystalline formulation of psilocybin for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression.

I think it’s really only a matter of time and a change in the laws before we start seeing pharmaceutical psychedelics becoming available for patients around the world. Let’s just hope they don’t cost an arm and a leg to access.

Company Trademarks the Word ‘Psilocybin’

In an unexpected twist, a company selling non-magical chocolates trademarked the word “psilocybin”. In fact, the company is named Psilocybin™ even though they don’t sell any psilocybin-containing products at this time.

I have to admit that I was pretty shocked to see this news but after looking into it a bit I discovered two other companies that submitted requests to trademark common terms for drugs.

A company named Weed Cellars trademarked the word “weed” last year and another company named MedMen attempted to trademark the word “cannabis” a couple years ago, but they weren’t successful and it would’ve only applied to printing the world on clothing anyway.

All of this begs the question: will these companies attempt to enforce their trademarks in the future, and if so, how? We’ll have to stay tuned to see how this whole “trademarking common drug terms” thing goes, but it’s a little strange, to say the least.

FDA Grants Expanded Access to MDMA Therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made it a lot easier for patients with PTSD to use MDMA to treat their condition. A new FDA program known as Expanded Access will allow 50 patients to receive the drug under doctor’s supervision at 10 sites across the country.

Although only this small number of patients and sites will be enrolled at the beginning, this could mark the beginning of a more widespread availability of MDMA and give real-world examples that back up the idea that the drug works as effectively as previous studies have suggested.

Ayahuasca Afterglow Increases Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility

Ayahuasca is well-known for treating a wide range of issues, and a new study in the journal Psychopharmacology found that drinking the Amazonian brew is capable of generating lasting increases in mindfulness and cognitive flexibility. This has led some to speculate that the so-called “ayahuasca afterglow” is at least partially responsible for ayahuasca’s ability to help people suffering from mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Canadian Company Offers Microdosing Kit

A Canadian company called Microdelics is breaking new ground by offering ready-made kits of 1P-LSD that people can use to experiment with microdosing. Considering this drug was just found to be a prodrug of LSD, this is kind of the world’s first commercially-available LSD microdosing kit.

Microdelics is able to ship within Canada and to countries that don’t have analogue or prodrug laws that make drugs like 1P-LSD illegal. That means you currently can’t order this product if you live in the United States, the UK, continental Europe, Japan, or other locations that have such laws.

So if you’ve always wanted to try microdosing and you live in an area where you can receive this product, maybe it’s worth giving it a try!

Nitrous Oxide for Depression

The psychedelic dissociative that has undoubtedly received the most media attention as of late has been ketamine, which earned a Breakthrough Therapy designation for treatment-resistant depression last March. However, it turns out that another drug in this category might be effective for treating depression as well.

A pilot study found nitrous oxide capable of easing symptoms of depression within just two hours of administration. More research will need to be conducted before we can claim that the drug is actually effective at treating depression, but it’s great to see scientists exploring this avenue of research.

Cocaine Nasal Spray Receives FDA Approval

Medicinal cocaine has been in use since the 1800s but a new form of it was just approved by the U.S. government. The FDA approved a cocaine nasal spray called Numbrino, which works as a local anesthetic for surgeries in the nose cavities, and it’s only for adults.

So if you’re having nasal surgery anytime soon you might be getting a dose of cocaine too!

FDA Plans to Ban Nicotine Flavors

The war against e-cigarettes continued to rage on, with the FDA announcing its plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette vape pods. The ban won’t impact two flavors—tobacco and menthol—but other flavors will be restricted.

Thankfully, the restriction will not affect e-liquids that are used in refillable vaporizers, instead focusing solely on nicotine cartridges.

This caused an uproar from harm reduction advocates around the country who argued that vaping is the most effective way to ease smokers off of cigarettes and that bans like this one don’t make anyone safer. In fact, bans and proposed added taxes might actually end up encouraging people to choose smoking over vaping, which would not be a step in the right direction.

Alcohol Statistics Show Increased Harms

Alcohol consumption in the United States has become increasingly worrisome over the last few years, even though younger Americans have expressed a growing distaste for getting blackout drunk, often reaching for alcohol-free options instead.

However, even though twenty-somethings have glommed onto the idea of virgin beverages and sober nights out, adults who are 35 and over have been experiencing severe repercussions. It turns out that alcohol-related deaths have doubled and while fewer people are binge drinking, those who do are drinking more than in previous years.

GHB Crackdown After Its Used in Sexual Assaults

It’s extremely rare for GHB to show up in the mainstream media so I was quite shocked to see articles about it showing up all over the web this month. Unfortunately the drug was getting attention because it was used by a gay rapist who was convicted for hundreds of sexual offenses, which catalyzed what harm reductionists have described as a “misguided GHB crackdown”.

New South Carolina Psychedelic Research Center

A new psychedelic research center is expected to open up at the Medical University of South Carolina in mid-2021.

Last year there were three psychedelic research centers that opened up, and it’s awesome to see that the trend is continuing in 2020.

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get enough of psychedelic research!

Plant Medicine Movement Asks People to “Come Out” on Social Media in February

Even with all of the recent psychedelic research showing the healing potentials of psychedelic drugs and the relaxing of laws relating to them, there is still plenty of stigma about psychedelics out there in the mainstream culture.

However, a casual conversation between two friends last summer ended up being the catalyst for a global plant medicine movement that is aiming to raise awareness about the healing potential of psychoactive plant medicines and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Dubbed “Thank You Plant Medicine”, the grassroots movement is encouraging psychonauts around the world to come out of the psychedelic closet on social media on February 20th, 2020.

So if you have a story of personal healing and transformation that you’d like to share on your social media profiles next month, be sure to use the hashtag #ThankYouPlantMedicine to add your voice to the movement.

The goal is to have more than 100,000 people come out of the psychedelic closet next month, which will hopefully help reduce stigma surrounding psychedelics and inform people about the immense good they can do for the world.

Santa Cruz Decriminalizes Psychedelics

Santa Cruz became the third city in the country to rollback police efforts to investigate and arrest people for possessing or cultivating psychedelic drugs when the city council unanimously approved a decriminalization measure this month.

The wave of psychedelic decriminalization started last May in Denver when voters narrowly approved a ballot measure to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms and Oakland’s city council unanimously voted to make a range of natural psychedelics among the city’s lowest law enforcement priorities.

These three cities join New Mexico and Louisiana in having psychedelic decriminalization laws on the books, but the psychedelic law reform movement isn’t likely to stop there. In fact, activists in Oakland are actually working toward creating a legal market for psychedelics later this year.

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this month’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.

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

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)

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.