This Week in Psychoactives - 1.18.19

CANNABIS

• Governor Signs Bill Legalizing Medical Marijuana In The U.S. Virgin Islands (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis in Congress: Why Federally Legal Weed Could Soon Be a Reality (Rolling Stone)

• What Alex Berenson’s new book gets wrong about marijuana, psychosis, and violence (Vox)

• A Study Found That People Enjoyed Sex More When High Than When Drunk (Brides)

• Rhode Island Governor Proposes Legalizing Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Trinidad and Tobago to Decriminalise Cannabis, Consider Legalisation (Talking Drugs)

• Attorney General Nominee Commits To Leave State-Legal Marijuana Programs Alone (NORML)

• The technology behind the world's largest cannabis dispensary (Engadget)

• Now that Canada Legalized, What's Next for Marijuana Law Reform? (Civilized)

• Is CBD a Miracle Cure or a Marketing Scam? (Both.) (Reason)

• New Congressional Bill Would Enshrine Rescinded Marijuana Memo Into Federal Law (Marijuana Moment)

• All the Things the New Anti-Weed Crusade Gets Horribly Wrong (VICE)

• Surging Cannabis Use Drags Down Beer Sales To Its Lowest Ebb, Says Top Analyst (Forbes)

• Cannabis Business Booms But That Does Not Mean A Beverage Alcohol Bust (Forbes)

• Marijuana Legalization Will Be A Top Priority For Hawaii Legislature In 2019 (Marijuana Moment)

• How Dangerous is Marijuana, Really? (The Marshall Project)

• Lawmakers In Portugal Debate Two Marijuana Legalization Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• How Britain became the world’s largest expert in medical marijuana (The Spectator)

• Gubernatorial Report Card: Learn Where Your Governor Stands on Marijuana Policy (NORML)

• Now you can get weed delivered to you anywhere in California, even in cities that ban pot (Desert Sun)

• The mature stoner: why are so many seniors smoking weed? (The Guardian)

• New York Gov. Cuomo Releases Marijuana Legalization Details (Marijuana Moment)

• Is Legalizing Marijuana Too Risky? (The New York Times)

• Canadians Spent $1.6 Billion on Legal Weed in 2018: Report (VICE)

• New York City Cannabis Film Festival Spotlights the Hard Work Towards Legalization — And the Harder Work Still to Come (Civilized)

• Where Presidential Candidate Kirsten Gillibrand Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Julián Castro Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Don't Call It "Weed," and Other Tips from the Cannabis Media Summit (The New Yorker)

• Oklahoma Cops Jail Four Men for Transporting Legal Hemp (Reason)

• What Brooklyn's First Dispensary Says About Medical Marijuana in New York (Civilized)

• Illinois Governor Pledges To Legalize Marijuana In Inaugural Address (Marijuana Moment)

• Smoking cannabis just once can change a teenager's brain (The Independent)

• The Reasonable Way to View Marijuana's Risks (The New York Times)

• GOP Congressman Refiles Marijuana Research Bill With Important Changes (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis stocks fall after attorney general nominee's comments about marijuana (MarketWatch)

• It's Time To Unshackle Cannabis Research Efforts (Forbes)

• Senators Urge Federal Agency To Update Hemp Policies During Government Shutdown (Marijuana Moment)

• Where the (Legal) Weed At? More States Eye Cannabis Legalization (The Root)

• OPINION: Some growers complacent about using irradiation on cannabis (The GrowthOp)

• Kalamazoo pub looks to become cannabis club (WOOD-TV)

• Bob Marley brand of cannabis-infused drinks on the way (USA Today)

• What It's Like Running a CBD Company as a One-Woman Show (Civilized)

• Sen. Chuck Schumer Welcomes Major Cannabis Company To New York’s Hemp Industry (Marijuana Moment)

• White Rabbit High Tea is a 420-Friendly Wonderland for Grown-Ups (Civilized)

• The MBA graduate who fired up cannabis distribution (Financial Times)

• Marijuana Stock Aurora Cannabis Is Rising After It Bought Whistler Medical Marijuana (Barron's)

LSD

• Acid and the sexual psychonauts (Wellcome Collection)

• This guy wrote a short story about carrier sailors tripping on acid and it’s glorious (Navy Times)

• Doctors warn trippers of severe danger of using LSD-laden 'deadly stamps' (The Nation)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• A Melbourne Hospital Will Trial Magic Mushroom Therapy for Dying Patients (VICE)

• Denver Could Become First City to Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms (Rolling Stone)

• Magic Mushrooms warning as foragers told mild winter has led to abundance of psychedelic fungi (The Telegraph)

• Fun with Anxiety: Why I’m Considering Becoming a Scofflaw (Portland Mercury)

MDMA

• Police dog went to rave and got high on ecstasy (Metro)

• The Future of MDMA: Phase 3 and Beyond (Psymposia)

• MDMA hospitalisation cases in NSW hit record (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• How will MDMA be rescheduled in the future? You may be disappointed. (Psymposia)

• Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian Admit to Doing Ecstasy After Kim Says Made Her Sex Tape While High (People)

• Rugby teenager held after boy fell ill 'taking ecstasy' (BBC)

AYAHUASCA

• Psychedelic drug ayahuasca could help treat diabetes (Rooster Magazine)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Media moral panic over ‘Monkey Dust’ (again) (AOD MEDIA WATCH)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• What is Synthetic Weed? Know the Side Effects, Street Names and More (Campus Safety Magazine)

• Intoxication from synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists often missed (MDLinx)

• Feds to seek 3-year prison sentence for Capitol Petro owner for selling synthetic marijuana (Madison.com)

• 'Concerning new trends' around synthetic drugs in New Zealand - report (TVNZ)

• Sheffield police 'in far better position' as war on spice drug abuse continues (The Star)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Crawley footballer caught with Sussex’s ‘biggest ever haul’ of laughing gas (Crawley Observer)

KETAMINE

• Crystal Meth, Ketamine 'Godfather' and Former Communist Party Chief Executed (Newsweek)

• Handcuffed, drugged with ketamine: Truth behind Thai cave rescue (news.com.au)

• Ketamine a Viable Alternative to Opioids for Severe Pain In ER (Pharmacy Practice News)

• Ketamine infusions could work better than antidepressants for patients with hard-to-treat depression, anxiety and substance abuse (Daily Mail)

PCP

• PCP-fueled burglar gets 10 years in prison (The Herald-Mail)

• Driver high on PCP has been charged with 5th DUI, New Castle police say (The News Journal)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• New App Uses Sonar to Detect Opioid Overdoses (Scientific American)

• Police dog given Narcan to reverse overdose at Port Canaveral (WFLA)

• Report: Americans Are Now More Likely To Die Of An Opioid Overdose Than On The Road (WBUR)

• The FDA Is Trying to Make It Easier for Drug Companies to Provide Over-the-Counter Opioid Overdose Antidote (TIME)

• Profiting From Death - The Naloxone Money Story (Psychology Today)

• Philly paramedics treated more overdoses last year — but used less Narcan (Billy Penn)

• Man Charged With Homicide For Sharing Drugs With Woman Who Later Died (The Appeal)

• Sacklers Directed Efforts to Mislead Public About OxyContin, New Documents Indicate (The New York Times)

• Exposure to fentanyl doesn’t kill but misinformation does (Philly.com)

• B.C. health official questions value of handing out free naloxone nasal spray (CBC)

• Are Narcan parties real? 'Sounds like something for Hollywood,' addiction expert says (The Enquirer)

• Jackson County deputy recovering from accidental Fentanyl overdose (WJHG)

• New bill would make Naloxone more available (Idaho Press)

• It Happened Here: North Yakima cracks down on ‘underground’ opium dens (Yakima Herald)

• Mass Overdose in California Kills 1, Injures 12 (TIME)

• He was a small-time heroin dealer in Virginia. Four women he dated have fatally overdosed. (The Washington Post)

• Madelyn Linsenmeir to Cops in Booking Video: 'I'm Very Ill Right Now' (Seven Days)

• Alternative Development Project in Laos enables former opium farmers to learn about Coffee Cultivation from experts (UNODC)

• Drop in Clallam County opioid deaths attributed to naloxone (Peninsula Daily News)

• What You Should Know About Using Naloxone (WBUR)

COCAINE

• Kings of cocaine: how the Albanian mafia seized control of the UK drugs trade (The Guardian)

• Coke dealers now selling cocaine in eco-friendly reusable packages (Rooster Magazine)

• Born to run: Just not on cocaine (Science Daily)

• Florida man chews up seat of police car after cocaine arrest, officials say (Fox News)

• Cocaine user didn’t know it was fentanyl. He died. Sheriff says the crisis has arrived (The Fresno Bee)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Cannabis convictions fall in New Zealand while meth still on the rise (Newshub)

• Call to Develop Meth Addiction Meds Mustn’t Obscure Woeful Lack of Access to Existing Tools (Filter)

ALCOHOL

• A new study says the CDC inflated women’s risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies (Quartz)

• How Prohibition Fueled the Klan (The New York Times)

• Genetic risks play part in fetal alcohol syndrome (UW Medicine)

• New study calls to end alcohol ads during sport (AdNews)

• As Americans Drink Less Alcohol, Booze Makers Look Beyond the Barrel (The Wall Street Journal)

• Tough booze ban for WA's Pilbara to reduce alcohol-related violence (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Wine is different from other alcohols, not responsible for binge drinking, French minister claims (Fox News)

• 7 states that have strict laws about how and when you can drink alcohol (INSIDER)

• How to know if an opened bottle of alcohol has gone bad (INSIDER)

KRATOM

• Case Study Report: Herbal Supplement Kratom Associated With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (Neurology Advisor)

• Kratom: Lawmaker pushing bill to make Utah first state to regulate the 'miracle cure' (ABC 4)

• Georgia may regulate popular herbal supplement (FOX 5 Atlanta)

• How To Market Your Kratom Business Legally (Kratom Guides)

• Local doctors warn parents about kratom (WHEC)

KAVA

• Cheers mate: Australia to allow kava imports to bolster Pacific ties (Reuters)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Singapore Creates New Drug Offences with Lengthy Sentences (Talking Drugs)

• The ‘war on drugs’ is ineffective and violates human rights, say researchers and NGOs (Equal Times)

• Overwhelming majority of voters support pill-testing – Guardian Essential poll (The Guardian)

• Former Premier calls for legislation of drugs to stop deaths (Perth Now)

• Psychedelics appear to have promising effects on human well-being — but rigorous research is lacking (PsyPost)

• Watch a Florida Cop Botch a Drug Field Test on Video, Then Arrest an Innocent Man (Reason)

• 'Evidence backs pill testing trials': physicians tell Berejiklian (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Meet the Painter Who Turns His Psychedelic Experiences Into Gallery Art (GQ)

• Denver Mayor Hancock Used To Support A Safe-Injection Site. Now It’s Not So Clear (Colorado Public Radio)

• Serotonergic Psychedelics LSD & Psilocybin Increase the Fractal Dimension of Cortical Brain Activity in Spatial and Temporal Domains (bioRxiv)

• Family of 'beautiful' teen plead for pill testing after suspected festival drug overdose (The Age)

• Drug-testing service in Durham highlights dangers of the illegal trade (Chronicle Live)

• Psychedelics: a lost and found weekend (Financial Times)

• Facing Our Fears With Psychedelic Meditation (Tam Integration)

• Creating While Clean (GQ)

• Four-letter word a flaw in anti-pill testing argument (news.com.au)

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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 - 1.11.19

CANNABIS

• Read Congress’s New H.R. 420 Marijuana Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Washington Governor to Pardon Thousands of People Prosecuted for Marijuana Prior to Legalization (Drug Policy Alliance)

• Marijuana Legalization Bills Already Filed In Half A Dozen Red States For 2019 Sessions (Marijuana Moment)

• Congress Just Legalized Hemp, but What Does That Mean for CBD? (VICE)

• Weed is safer than alcohol, people believe, yet they respect pot users less than drinkers (Rooster Magazine)

• Alcohol Sales Aren’t Impacted By Marijuana Legalization, Trade Association Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Pot company recalls cannabis product sold in Alberta over contamination concern (The GrowthOp)

• New York Bills Would Allow Medical Marijuana Smoking And Cannabis At Schools (Marijuana Moment)

• Vancouver approves city's first 3 cannabis outlets (CBC)

• Feds To Spend $1.5 Million On Research Into Marijuana’s Lesser Known Components (Marijuana Moment)

• What Advocates of Legalizing Pot Don’t Want You to Know (The New York Times)

• Is Marijuana as Safe as We Think? (The New Yorker)

• New Congressional Cannabis Caucus Takes Shape (Marijuana Moment)

• Cities Across Michigan Ban Legal Marijuana Sales (NORML)

• D.C. Lawmaker Files Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Despite Federal Concerns (Marijuana Moment)

• MPs criticise NHS over failure to prescribe medical cannabis (The Guardian)

• Soda made from cannabis will soon hit store shelves (KOMO)

• Quebec cannabis retailers can't meet demand with limited supply (Montreal Gazette)

• Oregon grew three times as much cannabis as it smokes — and that could change the weed game forever (Rooster Magazine)

• Most Medical Marijuana Patients Stop Or Reduce Pharmaceutical Use With Cannabis, Survey Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Can CBD Support Fertility? (Civilized)

• Federal Officials Recognize How Marijuana’s Legal Status Blocks Research, Documents Show (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Companies Struggle To Become More Sustainable (Forbes)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers File Three Marijuana Bills Ahead Of Possible Full Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Massachusetts inching closer to licensing ‘cannabis cafes’ (Boston Herald)

• FDA Officials Confiscated CBD Edibles, Yuma Shop Owner Says (Phoenix New Times)

• Kamala Harris Calls For Legalizing Marijuana And Ending War On Drugs In New Book (Forbes)

• Virginia Lawmaker Adds Full Legalization To Growing List of Marijuana Bills Being Consideration (Marijuana Moment)

• Legalize marijuana to beat Pennsylvania’s opioid crisis (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• The Case for Legalizing Weed (Reason)

• Kansas lawmaker makes racist comments about African Americans, marijuana (The Kansas City Star)

• For racial justice, legalized marijuana must be taxed correctly (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

LSD

• Acid Farmers: The Original LSD Producers that Turned on the World (Prohbtd) 

• Man who drove on LSD convicted of homicide in fatal crash (Madison.com)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Psilocybin Decriminalization Backers Submit Signatures for May 2019 Ballot (Westword)

MDMA

• Can Santa Cruz MDMA Research Change Mental Health? (Good Times)

• 'What’s with the dumb warning?': Why young drug users do not believe the agony of ecstasy (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Cultivating Inner Growth: The Inner Healing Intelligence in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Frontier)

• Belarus MDMA Death Case Highlights Danger of Prohibition (Talking Drugs)

AYAHUASCA

• Where Do Ayahuasca Visions Actually Come From? (Kahpi)

• Ayahuasca Joined the Parliament of the World’s Religions (Kahpi)

IBOGA

• How One Ibogaine Clinic Has Learned From Its Mistakes (The Third Wave)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Monkey dust 'first of its kind' task force set up to tackle use of illegal substance (Staffordshire Live)

• Super-strength fake ketamine 50 times more potent arrives in UK for first time (Mirror)

• Calculating the fatal dose of novel psychoactive substances (The Pharmaceutical Journal)

• Testing shows Bath-Salt Laced MDMA Circulating Over NYE (Rave Jungle)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Slidell man sentenced to 30 years for death of teen who smoked Mojo (WNGO)

• UK to reconsider classification of synthetic drug spice (Financial Times)

• How The Wave Of Synthetic Cannabinoids Got Started (NPR)

NITROUS OXIDE

• New police warning over 'dangerous' laughing gas craze after used cannisters are found in Barwell (Leicester Mercury)

KETAMINE

• Dual studies highlight ketamine’s potential to treat anxiety and addiction (New Atlas)

• Intranasal ketamine as effective as fentanyl at relieving acute pain in kids (MDLinx)

• Harebrained Approach To Treating Depression With Horse Tranquilizer Turns 10 Years Old (PR Newswire)

• Ketamine shows potential in anxious treatment-resistant depression (Healio)

• A Survey of the Thriving Ketamine Infusion Therapy Industry in Denver, Colorado (MENAFN)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Former Insys CEO pleads guilty to opioid kickback scheme (Reuters)

• Despite an opioid crisis, most ERs don’t offer addiction treatment. California is changing that. (Vox)

• A White House Report on the Opioid Crisis Overlooks Gender Differences in Addiction (Tonic)

• Heroin vaccine to be tested in Syracuse (WRVO)

• This smartphone app can detect an opioid overdose and save your life (CNBC)

• Most With OD Can Be Discharged From ED an Hour After Naloxone (Medscape)

• D.C. police don’t carry the overdose antidote naloxone. Should they? (The Washington Post)

• I Was Injecting Heroin in the Bathroom While Working at One of the UK's Biggest Papers (VICE)

• Looking Into the Lifesaving Naloxone (The Link)

COCAINE

• Eco-friendly drug dealers are now selling cocaine in reusable plastic vials (Metro)

• Cocaine overtakes opioids as drug-related killer for first half of 2018 (CBC)

• Why Crack Cocaine Sentencing Reform Could Mean Mean Thousands Out of Prison — Including Cannabis Convicts (Civilized)

• Model claims social media influencers use cocaine to stay thin (Courier Mail)

• Cocaine Prevalent Among Footballers In England According To Expert (Pundit Arena)

Benzodiazepines

• How benzos and Xanax culture propel the opioid crisis (CBC)

KRATOM

• Is the Kratom Nature’s Answer to Opioids? (The New York Times)

• Bill prepared to keep kratom legal in Utah (KUTV)

• Does kratom kill? (AlterNet)

• What is American Kratom Association (aka kratom)? (Kratom Guides)

• A Guide of Preparing Kratom Tea (Endo Nurse Magazine)

• Elephant Kratom: What Is Up With This Mysterious Plant Strain? (Kratom Guides)

MISCELLANEOUS

• The extraordinary therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs, explained (Vox)

• UK Drug Checking Study Shows How Coachella Should Do Harm Reduction (Inverse)

• Music festivals are offering to test the safety of people’s drugs, and police increasingly like the idea (The Washington Post)

• Pill testing at festivals leaves room for potentially fatal error (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Rally in support of festival pill testing organized in Sydney (Mixmag)

• While law makers squabble over pill testing, people should test their drugs at home (The Conversation) 

• How the Sinaloa Cartel is using Chinese chemicals to fuel America's opioid crisis (VICE)

• Democrats Faked Online Push to Outlaw Alcohol in Alabama Race (The New York Times)

• Safehouse hires leader to open Philly’s supervised injection site (WHYY)

• Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret Of Freemasonry (Graham Hancock)

• Psychedelics and Blockchain: Two Technologies Key to Our Future (Chacruna)

• A Journey in Sound: Music in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Support)

• Best Psychedelic Videos of 2018 (The Daily Psychedelic Video)

• Ian Hamilton: Dry January is no match for the growing harms of alcohol consumption (The BMJ)

• Overdoses Prompt Policy Change in Vermont Prisons (Seven Days)

• Four reasons medication-assisted treatment may not help inmates (CommonWealth Magazine)

• Trump’s Border Wall Won’t Block the Drug ‘Pipeline’ (Reason)

• Two Ayurvedic Tips to Support Winter Psychedelic Integration (Tam Integration)

• Why Drug Traffickers Laugh at Trump's Border Wall (Reason)

• Experience: I manage the drug service in the ‘drug death capital’ of Europe (Medium)

• Traveling High & Tripping Hard by Joseph Davida (Psychedelic Press UK)

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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 - 1.4.19

CANNABIS

• Israeli Parliament Passes Bill Allowing Export Of Medical Marijuana (Forbes)

• The New Congress Just Started And There’s Already A Bipartisan Marijuana Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Analysis Explores Relationship Between Medical Marijuana And Opioid Overdoses (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis 'twice as strong as a decade ago' (Sky News)

• Study: Festival Attendees Use Different Drugs Based On Music Genre, But They All Love Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Companies Expect Big Growth After Trump Legalizes Hemp (Forbes)

• The Government Shutdown Is Preventing Farmers From Growing Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• New laws ban ‘fake weed,’ create certification requirement for pot workers (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Federal Marijuana Prosecutions Are Dropping In Era Of Legalization, Chief Justice Reports (Marijuana Moment)

• Public banking plan for California’s marijuana industry takes big hit (San Francisco Chronicle)

• Terpenoids In Marijuana Also Help Reduce Inflammation, New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• First study to track EU cannabis products finds increased price and potency (The GrowthOp)

• New York Gov. Cuomo Pledges Marijuana Legalization In Inaugural Address (Marijuana Moment)

• Protecting Your IP Is (No Surprise) Even Harder in the Cannabis Business (San Antonio Express-News)

• What Makes a Hotel 420-Friendly? Portland's Jupiter Hotel Might Have the Answer (Civilized)

• Where Presidential Contender Elizabeth Warren Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• 2018: The Year Politicians Realized People Love Cannabis Reform (Forbes)

• Will a New Democratic Congress Help Make Marijuana Dreams a Reality? (Civilized)

• Top New Hampshire Lawmaker Says Marijuana Could Be Legalized Despite Governor's Opposition (Forbes)

• A Portland Inventor Has Come Up with a Crazy New Cannabis Device That Turns Any Pipe into a Vaporizer (Willamette Week)

• Medical Marijuana Protected Under Democrats' Spending Bill, But DC Blocked From Legalizing Sales (Forbes)

• Oregon Marijuana Could Be Exported Across State Lines Under Proposed Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Is More Dangerous Than You Think (The Wall Street Journal)

• DEA Says It’ll Get Around To Approving Marijuana Cultivator Applications… Eventually (Marijuana Moment)

• Ex-top cop Bratton says legalizing weed would be 'opening up Pandora's box' (New York Daily News)

• 15 Of The Best Marijuana-Related Tweets From Politicians In 2018 (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psychedelic Mushroom Supporters Push For Oregon Legalization — With Caveats (OPB)

AYAHUASCA

• They See Me Pourin’, They Hatin’: Interview with Kentucky Ayahuasca Shaman Steve Hupp (Psychedelic Times)

• A practical guide to starting a spiritual journey, like reiki and ayahuasca (Quartz)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• ESR offers testing in fight against synthetic drugs (Scoop)

• 'Monkey dust' users are turning to drug as 'cheap alternative' to heroin and cocaine (Staffordshire Live)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• New law bans synthetic cannabinoids in Illinois (WICS)

• Parc Prison inmate who became delirious because of the drug spice hanged himself in shower room (WalesOnline)

• What you must do if you see someone who has taken zombie drug spice (Hull Daily Mail)

KETAMINE

• I Battled Depression for 20 Years and This Is the Treatment that Finally Worked (Reader's Digest)

• 5 Things to Know About Ketamine for Depression (MedShadow)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• US National Trends in Pediatric Deaths From Prescription and Illicit Opioids, 1999-2016 (JAMA Network)

• In Rehab, 'Two Warring Factions': Abstinence vs. Medication (The New York Times)

• Adamis Pharmaceuticals (ADMP) Submits NDA for Naloxone Pre-Filled Syringe (StreetInsider)

• Her husband invented naloxone, her son died from overdose, now she advocates for harm reduction (CBC)

• The opioid epidemic is a disease of the spirit (The Laconia Daily Sun)

COCAINE

• Deaths from opioid-cocaine cocktails have surged since 2010 (Washington Examiner)

• Colombia coca production: US 'deeply concerned' by rise (BBC)

• Brit who snorted cocaine off Pablo Escobar's grave receives death threats (Mirror)

KRATOM

• Can Herbal Drug Kratom Kill? (HealthDay)

• 5 Greatest Facts About Kratom You Need To Know Right Now! (NB Post Gazette)

KHAT

• Embu miraa farmers fight tag of khat variety as bhang (The Standard)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Saudi Arabia Begins 2019 with Three Executions for Drug Offences (TalkingDrugs)

• The Big Trip: How psychedelic drugs are changing lives and transforming psychiatry (CBC)

• A Journey of the Mind and Soul | Alan Badiner on Buddhism and Psychedelics (VICE)

• Overdoses, Riots, and Escapes Roil a Rural Kentucky Jail (The Appeal)

• New ‘Church’ Wants To Save Lives — By Offering A Safe Place To Shoot Up (HuffPost)

• Psychedelic Stories (The Third Wave)

• From Facebook: Harahan police would like to test the public’s crystal meth (WAFB)

• 'Dangerous orange pill' prompts Australia festival warning (BBC)

• What's really inside illegal New Year's party drugs - horrific cocktail revealed (Mirror)

• Editorial: Testing drugs for safety can send the wrong message (New Zealand Herald)

• I-Team: As 'Microdosing' Explodes in Popularity, New Look at Benefits, Side Effects of Daily Psychedelics Use (NBC New York)

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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 Psychedelics - 8.17.18

Cannabis

• Study: Medical Cannabis Access Laws Associated With Fewer Workplace Fatalities (NORML)
• Massachusetts Cannabis Activists Warn Against Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Worker Behavior in Industry (Psychedelic Times)
• 5 Reasons Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Are Essential in the Cannabis Industry Business (Entrepreneur)
• Seed-To-Sale Tracking And Compliance: If Coffee Was Regulated Like Cannabis (Forbes)
• New UMass Medical School study on mice helps explain why cannabis reduces symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (MassLive)
• UN Launches First-Ever Full Review Of Marijuana’s Status Under International Law (Marijuana Moment)
• Multiple sclerosis patient calls medical cannabis trial 'a miracle' (Montreal Gazette)
• Can Article V Federally Legalize Cannabis? (Forbes)
• Employers In Medical Marijuana States Can Still Drug Test Employees, Federal Judge Rule (Marijuana Moment)
• Trump Tariffs Set To Hit Cannabis Industry (Forbes)
• Marijuana Emerges As Key Issue In Nevada U.S. Senate Race (Marijuana Moment)
• Legalization Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot in North Dakota (NORML)
• More Americans want legal medical marijuana than legal alcohol or cigarettes, polls say (Rooster)
• Marijuana Policy Project Welcomes New Executive Director (Marijuana Moment)
• Texas Medical Marijuana Ad Launched (NORML)
• New Congressional Bill Would Automatically Seal Marijuana Records (Marijuana Moment)
• 'I don't think I look like a stoner': the women changing the face of the cannabis industry (The Guardian)
• Scientists Discover You Can Use Espresso Machines To Make Marijuana Extracts (Marijuana Moment)
• Working With Pot: Marijuana Job Searches Spike in Canada Ahead of National Legalization (Newsweek)
• Marijuana-Friendly Gubernatorial Candidates Win Big In Tuesday’s Primaries (Marijuana Moment)
• Cannabis Now Magazine CEO Eugenio Garcia Talks Marijuana, Publishing And The Future Of It All (Forbes)
• Anti-Marijuana Group Wants Campaign Finance Transparency, Kind Of (Marijuana Moment)
• Canadian Cannabis Debut Delayed In Ontario (Forbes)
• Marijuana Ballot Measures Could Affect Key U.S. Senate Election (Marijuana Moment)
• Utah’s medical marijuana ballot measure would violate Mormons’ religious beliefs, opponents say in new court filing, which initiative supporters call a ‘Hail Mary’ (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• One In Four Young Americans Consume Marijuana, Survey Finds (Marijuana Moment)
• A New Way of Getting High Is as Easy as Applying Deodorant (Tonic)
• Dogs With Arthritis Benefit From Cannabis Oil, Study Says (Marijuana Moment)
• Legal Weed: How Republicans Learned to Love Marijuana (Newsweek)
• DEA Wants More Marijuana Grown And Fewer Opioids Produced In 2019. Really. (Marijuana Moment)
• Policing of cannabis possession is largely accidental – and many officers don’t think it makes a difference (Policing Insight)
• Cypress Hill Rapper Who Opposed California Legalization Opens A Marijuana Store (Marijuana Moment)
• At Weed for Warriors, Military Veterans Harness the Healing Powers of Marijuana (MERRY JANE)
• South By Southwest Fans Choose From Dozens Of Marijuana-Themed Panels For 2019 (Marijuana Moment)
• Cannabis Mega Deal Sets Stage for Global Weed Empire (Bloomberg)
• The Company Behind Corona Beer Is Investing Nearly $4 Billion in Legal Pot (TIME)
• I’m Mandela not Al Capone — my cannabis speakeasy helps the sick (The Times)

LSD

• Pro jiu-jitsu fighter says LSD helps him whoop ass (Rooster)
• 9 Facts About LSD Everyone Should Know (Psychedelics Daily)
• Microdose Acid in 7 Easy Steps (Psychedelics Daily)
• Naked man high on LSD pees on security vehicle, fights officers in east Lincoln, police say (Beatrice Daily Sun)
• Student who took LSD, cocaine and alcohol before being found nude outside shopping centre 'mortified' at video, court hears (Independent.ie)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Microdose Mushrooms in 7 Easy Steps (Psychedelics Daily)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Ecstasy dealer faces jail after selling deadly dose to schoolgirl, 14, who fell ill after taking two tablets (Mirror)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• DMT Models the Near-Death Experience (Frontiers)
• The Connection Between Ayahuasca, Your Stomach, and Your Mind (Tonic)
• Ayahuasca Healed My Autoimmune Disorder and Depression (Reset.me)
• The fatal thirst for Peru’s Ayahuasca drug (Channel 4 News)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Huachuma– The Healing Visionary Cactus From Peru (Reset.me)
• Carlos Castaneda Was Right: High Dose Peyote Initiation (Medium)

Salvia Divinorum

• 5 Important Tips For New Salvia Users (Psychedelics Daily)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• The Truth About 'Monkey Dust', UK Media's Latest Drug Obsession (VICE)
• In hours, about 20 people overdosed in same park. Police say they found the culprit (Miami Herald)
• New batch of MDMA and ecstasy pills being made with potentially lethal chemical (Metro)
• Federal Drug Cops Conflate Synthetic Cannabinoids With Marijuana (Deliberately?) (Marijuana Moment)
• Microdose 4-AcO-DMT in 7 Easy Steps (Psychedelics Daily)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine shows potential in teens with treatment-resistant depression (Healio)
• Lufkin police: Man possibly high on PCP said white wolves chased him, his family (KTRE)

Opiates/Opioids

• Fentanyl Used to Execute Nebraska Inmate, in a First for U.S. (The New York Times)
• Does Smoking Heroin Really Cause Brain Damage? (Tonic)
• Norway to test free heroin for drug addicts (Channel NewsAsia)
• Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017 (The New York Times)
• Facebook cracks down on opioid dealers after years of neglect (TechCrunch)
• Sending Your Kid to College? Send Them With Fentanyl Testing Strips and Naloxone. (Slate)
• New report shows increasing trend of EMS-administered naloxone for overdoses (Medical Xpress)
• Nevada’s Opioid Task Force Continues to Explore Options (NORML)
• The Western War on Afghan Farmers (Beckley Foundation)
• Could a Name Change Increase Support for Safe Injection Sites? (Pacific Standard)
• Ignoring the benefits of supervised injection facilities isn’t just callous. It’s deadly (The Boston Globe)
• What the media gets wrong about opioids (Columbia Journalism Review)
• How law enforcement is taking action on the opioid crisis (The Boston Globe)
• Man dies after swallowing heroin following raid targeting gang with Chicago connections (Chicago Tribune)
• 81-year-old Woman Tried to Smuggle 92 Lbs. of Heroin Across US-Mexico Border: Police (People)

Kratom

• Kratom Association Calls FDA Review of Drug ‘Junk Science’ in Scathing Report (Rolling Stone)
• New Kratom Death Reports Still Leave More Questions Than Answers (HuffPost)
• How Often Can You Take Kratom (Kratom Guides)
• Salmonella scare prompts Kratom recall (Washington Examiner)
• Herbal supplement sold at gas stations and smoke shops kills Arvada man (9News)
• What Is Kratom? (Civilized)
• List of 5 Best Kratom Capsules: Benefits, Dosage & Legality (Kratom Guides)
• Who Sells The Best Kratom Capsules – 20 Top Kratom Vendors Online (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Kava Business Launched In Canada (Fiji Sun)
• Kava Demand Creates Trade Opportunity Between Fiji, Madang (Fiji Sun)

Khat

• Farmers protest proposal to outlaw Khat (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
• Somali women divorce violent husbands addicted to chewing narcotic leaf Khat (Radio Ergo)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• How America Convinced the World to Demonize Drugs (VICE)
• These Psychedelic Drugs Show Promise for Treating Mental Health Disorders (Live Science)
• People With Depression and Anxiety Could Benefit From Hallucinogens (Teen Vogue)
• The Long Burn: A 30-Day Sananga Challenge (Psychedelic Times)
• The New Wave of Psychedelics in Buddhist Practice (Lion's Roar)
• Beyond Psychedelics 2018: Listening, Talking, Filming – Review Of A Psychedelic Forum in Prague (Maps Of The Mind)
• The War on Drugs Is Inseparable from US Imperialism (VICE)
• Psychedelic Drugs Shown To Promote Neural Plasticity (Psychedelics Daily)
• Psychedelics Reduce Violence Against Intimate Partners (Psychedelics Daily)
• Top 5 Myths About Psychedelics You Need To Know (Psychedelics Daily)

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.

What is Monkey Dust?

Alex Matthews-King, writing for The Independent:

Police officers in the West Midlands are warning of a “public health crisis” over a new synthetic drug known as monkey dust that can be bought for as little as £2.

The drug causes hallucinations and paranoia, and users have been known to climb trees and buildings and will lash out at members of the emergency services who approach them. [...]

Monkey dust is also known as MDPV and comes as an off-white powder which can be swallowed, injected or snorted.

I can't say that I know much about MDPV, but I did enjoy Steve Rolles' tweet thread takedown of this article published by The Independent. 

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