Weekly Psychedelic Links - September 2022

9.2.22

Cannabis

• Oklahoma Supreme Court Gives Marijuana Activists Temporary Win As They Fight For Legalization Ballot Placement (Marijuana Moment)

• Pharmaceutical Industry Suffers Billions In Losses After States Legalize Marijuana, New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Harvard Grad Student Dies in Bali From Police Brutality Over Cannabis Arrest (High Times)

• Poll: South Dakota Legalization Initiative in Danger of Failing (High Times)

• More Americans Now Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes, For The First Time Ever, Gallup Reports (Marijuana Moment)

• Largest ever independent study into cannabis use (BBC)

• Cannabis researchers say it’s high time to drop ‘lazy stoner’ stereotype (The Guardian)

• Pennsylvania: Governor Launches Effort to Issue Mass Pardons to Those with Low-Level Marijuana Convictions (NORML)

• Ghana's Legal Cannabis Hits a Constitutional Roadblock (TalkingDrugs)

• Joseph Schooling: Singapore Olympic star suspended for taking cannabis in Vietnam (BBC)

• Cannabis industry inches toward sustainability (Chemical and Engineering News)

• New Study Shows Evidence That Low-Dose THC Could Help Treat Veteran PTSD (High Times)

• U.S. Air Force And Space Force Reviewing ‘Common Sense’ Marijuana Drug Testing Policy Change For Recruits (Marijuana Moment)

• Qualitative Study Reveals Medical Students’ Attitudes Toward Medical Pot (High Times)

LSD

• LSD decreases binge-like drinking in a rodent model of alcoholism, but only temporarily (PsyPost)

• Is the Color of LSD an Indicator of Purity? (Lucid News)

MDMA

• Boy, 16, dies in suspected ecstasy-related incident at Leeds Festival (The Independent)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• DEA Backs Off, Won’t Criminalize Two New Psychedelics (Psychedelic Spotlight)

Nitrous Oxide

• Why Some New York Stores Will Require You to Show ID to Buy Whipped Cream (Newsweek)

• Doctors warn of rise in nerve damage linked to nitrous oxide (The Guardian)

Ketamine

• This New, Legal Cannabis and Ketamine Therapy is Designed to Heal Trauma in the Body (DoubleBlind)

• They’re Pushing Cut-Rate Ketamine Therapy on TikTok (Rolling Stone)

• Yukon woman paid $7K for private ketamine treatment, only to learn that the Yukon gov't covers it (CBC)

Miscellaneous

• An Inside Look at the Lawsuit that could “Legalize Psychedelics in Canada” (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• MindMed Completes 1-for-15 Reverse Share Split (Psychedelic Alpha)

• Student Loan Forgiveness Limited By the War on Drugs (High Times)

• Aspen, Colorado Activists Pursue Psychedelics Decriminalization For 2023 Ballot As Voters Prepare To Decide On Statewide 2022 Legalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Advocate Facing Charges Calls for Help, Law Reform in New York (High Times)

• Is the Psychedelic Therapy Bubble About to Burst? (WIRED)

• In the Wake of Decrim, Police Continue to Target Psychedelics (Lucid News)

• How Psychedelics Might Fuel a Paradigm Shift (DoubleBlind)

9.9.22

Cannabis

• California: Governor Signs Bill Prohibiting Doctors from Discriminating Against Medical Cannabis Patients (NORML)

• Nobody knows how widespread illegal cannabis grows are in California. So we mapped them (Los Angeles Times)

• UK Government Blocks Bermuda From Legalizing Marijuana On Same Day New Prime Minister Takes Office (Marijuana Moment)

• Afroman’s Ohio Residence Raided by Local Law Enforcement (High Times)

• Minnesota Arrests Black People For Marijuana At Much Higher Rates Than White People, State Data Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Cannabis Banking Legislation (High Times)

• Companies Turn to THC Beverages as Next Growing Legal Cannabis Market (High Times)

LSD

• LSD-assisted therapy induces rapid and lasting reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms, according to new research (PsyPost)

Magic Mushrooms

• Placebo-controlled study suggests that the benefits of psilocybin microdosing can be explained by expectancy effects (PsyPost)

• Psilocybin Study To Investigate the Serotonin System in Autism (Technology Networks)

• Optimi Health Completes Largest Legal Natural Psilocybin Harvest in Canadian History (Psychedelic Alpha)

• 'Flesh of the Gods': The Trippy History of Magic Mushrooms (VICE)

MDMA

• MDMA Enhances Fear Extinction Learning: From Models to Mechanisms (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Police issue MDMA warning after man dies from suspected drug overdose (Radio New Zealand)

Ayahuasca

• Why Are Scientists Dosing Fish with Ayahuasca? (DoubleBlind)

5-MeO-DMT

• As Use Of The World’s Most Potent Psychedelic Skyrockets, New Site F.I.V.E. Fills An Education Void (Forbes)

Peyote

• Conspiracy and Antisemitism in the Debate Over Peyote Decriminalization (Psychedelic Spotlight)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• New Psychedelic Entactogens: Designer Drugs Produce Designer Effects (Psychedelic Science Review)

Nitrous Oxide

• Laughing gas: 'A 20-second high is not worth losing your life over' (BBC)

Ketamine

• Scientists Discover That a Surprising Factor Improved The Effects of Ketamine in Mice (ScienceAlert)

• Low-dose ketamine is safe and effective to treat children with ADNP syndrome, study suggests (News-Medical.net)

Miscellaneous

• San Francisco decriminalizes psychedelics (Leafly)

• Drug Executions in Iran Are Back on the Rise (TalkingDrugs)

• This Psychedelic Company is Leading the Way on Reciprocity and Holistic Approaches to Healing (DoubleBlind)

• WOC-led psychedelics conference champions gender equality with all-women speakers (Leafly)

9.16.22

Cannabis

• Killings, robberies, extortion. California can’t stop its booming illegal cannabis stores (Los Angeles Times)

• New Zealand Approves Domestic Medical Cannabis Products (High Times)

• World Anti-Doping Agency Set To Keep Marijuana On Banned Substance List, Saying U.S. Didn’t Back Its Removal (Marijuana Moment)

• Biden To Meet With Family of Brittney Griner (High Times)

• Study: CBD Oil Safe, Effective for Autism Patients (High Times)

• Missouri judge blocks attempt to kick legalization off ballot (Leafly)

• GOP Missouri Lawmaker Files Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, Urging Special Session Action To Compete With Ballot Initiative (Marijuana Moment)

• Pregnant Women in Alabama Are Being Jailed For Smoking Pot (High Times)

• Oklahoma Prosecutors Are Targeting Pregnant Women For Using Medical Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Thai Lawmakers Withdraw Bill to Regulate Cannabis (High Times)

• New Jersey Employers Can’t Punish Workers Based On A Marijuana Test Alone, State Officials Say (Marijuana Moment)

• Nevada Judge Orders State Board to Remove Cannabis from Schedule 1 (High Times)

• Analysis: Legal Cannabis Businesses Associated with Increased Home Values (NORML)

• Weed Legalization in Germany Hampered by EU Laws (High Times)

• What’s Next For Cannabis Mergers And Acquisitions? (Forbes)

• Oregon Officials to Deploy Decoys to Catch Underage Weed, Alcohol Sales (High Times)

• Small Marijuana Growers Could Sell Directly To Consumers Across State Lines Under New Congressional Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Republican Congressmen Push for Environmental Impact Study on Cannabis (High Times)

• US Court of Appeals: Federal Scheduling of Cannabis “Irrational,” But Not Unconstitutional (NORML)

• In Hawaii, People Prefer Black Market Cannabis to State-Managed Facilities (High Times)

Magic Mushrooms

• Scientists have started to examine whether “magic” mushrooms can help in the fight against obesity (PsyPost)

• Oregon Overcomes Bureaucratic Delays to Therapist Training Program Approvals (Lucid News)

• The shroom edibles market proliferates underground (Leafly)

• Revive Therapeutics Provides Update on the Psilocybin Clinical Study for Methamphetamine Use Disorder and Oral Psilocybin Thin Film Strip Program (Psychedelic Alpha)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Receives Approval for Groundbreaking Phase 1 DMT Human Stroke Study (Psychedelic Alpha)

Ayahuasca

• Comedian Ron White Shares How Tripping On Ayahuasca In Costa Rica Turned His Life Around (BroBible)

5-MeO-DMT

• ‘I’m not a shaman – I just want to help people’: shoe designer Patrick Cox on his psychedelic toad awakening (The Guardian)

Peyote

• Native American Church of North America Advocates at Capitol Hill for Protections of Peyote (Native News Online)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Mindset Pharma Receives Scientific Advice from UK Regulator Facilitating Advancement of Phase 1 First-In-Human Clinical Trial Plan for Its Lead Clinical Candidate, MSP-1014 (Psychedelic Alpha)

Ketamine

• New study highlights ketamine’s promise for treatment-resistant depression (Popular Science)

• Dealers Are Giving Discounts on Cocaine and Ketamine in Honour of the Queen (VICE)

• Study Explores Effects of Experimenter Sex on Ketamine Response (Psychiatric Times)

PCP

• PCP (aka Angel Dust) May Actually Have Therapeutic Potential (DoubleBlind)

Datura

• Datura and the psychedelic Tao (Isham Cook)

Miscellaneous

• Atlanta is considering the decriminalization of magic mushrooms and other psychedelics (Leafly)

• Sexual Abuse in Psychedelic Therapy: Important Steps Being Taken to Support Survivors (DoubleBlind)

• Oregon Voters Continue To Support Drug Decriminalization Law They Approved In 2020, New Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelics Were the Hot Topic at This Year’s World Economic Forum (Lucid News)

• Local Michigan Lawmakers Vote To Make September Psychedelics Awareness Month After Decriminalization Enacted (Marijuana Moment)

• A Channel for Magic: Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale and the Occult Roots of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Program (Psymposia)

• Psychedelic Twitter is Swarmed by Plug Bots (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Finding Nuance in the Psychedelic Hype Bubble (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Psilera Receives First Patent Allowance for Transdermal Patch Formulations (Psychedelic Alpha)

• Adverse Events in Psychedelic Clinical Trials are Underreported (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Psychedelic South: The Quest to find Good Drugs in Alabama (Psychedelic Spotlight)

9.23.22

Cannabis

• Canada to review impact of cannabis legalization four years on (Reuters)

• Marijuana Is Staying On The Banned Substances List For International Athletes, World Anti-Doping Agency Announces (Marijuana Moment)

• California: Governor Signs Legislation Providing Employment Protections for Cannabis Consumers (NORML)

• NY finally approves medical homegrow (Leafly)

• Australian Cannabis Patients Turning to Prescriptions Over Illicit Market, Study Shows (High Times)

• New Yorkers with weed convictions will have priority in retail market, state says (Leafly)

• German Lawmakers Tour California Marijuana Businesses To Inform National Legalization Plans (Marijuana Moment)

• Las Vegas City Council Approves Cannabis Consumption Lounges (High Times)

• Leafly Report: ‘Opt-out’ towns are encouraging illegal marijuana sales (Leafly)

• University of Kentucky Opens New Cannabis Research Center (High Times)

• We spoke to the author of that new study on prenatal cannabis exposure (Leafly)

• Apple Lets Users Search For Marijuana And Pharmaceutical Interactions In Latest iPhone Health Update (Marijuana Moment)

• The Role of Cannabis in Treating Long COVID (High Times)

• Canada’s rich and complicated history of psychedelic research (Leafly)

• Oklahoma: Court Rules that Voters Can’t Decide on Legalization Ballot Measure This Year (NORML)

• Arkansas: High Court Approves Marijuana Legalization Measure for the November Ballot (NORML)

• Majority Of Maryland Voters Back Marijuana Legalization Referendum And Expungements, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Two Out Of Three Missouri Voters ‘Certain To Vote Yes’ On Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Poll: Majority in Minnesota Want Legal Weed (High Times)

• Two In Three Pennsylvania Voters Support Marijuana Legalization, New Poll Shows Amid Key Political Races (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Miami clinic kicks off first national study of LSD, once a ‘public enemy,’ to treat anxiety (Miami Herald)

Magic Mushrooms

• The Viagra of the Himalayas—the World’s Most Expensive Fungus—Faces Serious Decline Due to Growing Demand (DoubleBlind)

• Liquid Culture vs. Spores (Reality Sandwich)

MDMA

• Disruption to Australian ecstasy market following COVID-19 restrictions, report finds (Medical Xpress)

• MindMed Collaborators Dose First Patient in Phase 1 Investigator-Initiated Trial of MDMA-Like Substances (Psychedelic Alpha)

DMT

• Researchers Studying Psychedelic Drug as Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease (High Times)

Ayahuasca

• Packers Bust Out Ayahuasca TD Celebration Weeks After Aaron Rodgers Revealed Psychedelic Use (BroBible)

• Aaron Rodgers Defends Ayahuasca, Says He May Be 'Called' to Take the Psychedelic Again (People)

Peyote

• Native American Church Leaders Ask Congress For Funds To Support Peyote Cultivation And Preservation (Marijuana Moment)

• The Complicated Ethics of Legalizing Indigenous Psychedelic Substances (Ethos)

Iboga

• You Can Now Get Ibogaine-Based Addiction Treatment In A Hospital Setting In Brazil (Forbes)

Nitrous Oxide

• What Nitrous Oxide Showed The Father of American Psychology (Lucid News)

Ketamine

• Looking at Images of People Smiling at You Extends Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine (Neuroscience News)

DXM

• Please don't cook chicken in NyQuil, the FDA asks TikTok users (NPR)

• The FDA may have unintentionally made 'NyQuil Chicken' go viral on TikTok (Engadget)

Miscellaneous

• Math Over Myth: Psychedelic Stock HAVN Life Collapses (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Psychedelics face corrupting influence of financial interests (UC News)

• Biden Administration Considers Psychedelic Therapies Task Force (Lucid News)

• Colorado Polls Show Conflicting Results On Psychedelics Ballot Measure That Voters Will Decide On In November (Marijuana Moment)

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Announces Receipt of CDN $450K Cash Refund from Australian Research Program (Psychedelic Alpha)

• Baby Boomers (Re)Discover Psychedelics as Tools for Aging with Grace (DoubleBlind)

• Does Microdosing Impact Meditation? New Study From Beckley Foundation and Quantified Citizen Investigates (Newswire)

• Colombia’s President Tells UN That ‘Democracy Will Die’ If World Leaders Don’t End Drug War And Pursue Different Strategy (Marijuana Moment)

• The Undergrowth of Psychedelic Australia (Kahpi)

• Beyond Michael Pollan: Where to learn more about psychedelics. (Medium)

• Can Psychedelics Help Veterans with Chronic Pain? (Psychedelic Spotlight)

9.30.22

Cannabis

• Switzerland: Revision of Narcotics Act – Switzerland fully legalizes medicinal cannabis (Global Compliance News)

• Free medicinal cannabis to be donated to epileptic children in the UK (Sky News)

• Medical cannabis for doggies, kitties is fully legalized in California (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Helps Patients Reduce Use Of Addictive Opioid Painkillers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Maltese Non-profit Cannabis May be The Way Forward (TalkingDrugs)

• Check in, smoke up and tune out: Cannabis-friendly vacation rentals are catching on (CNBC)

• Despite The Munchies, Marijuana Legalization Is Tied To Lower Obesity Rates, Stereotype-Busting Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Investigators say more than 70% of cannabis growers use illegal water (Santa Barbara News-Press)

• Germany Versus The United States: Which Will Legalize Cannabis First (Forbes)

• As cannabis usage grows, so does the need for employers to revisit their workplace drug policies (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Could Cannabis and Psychedelic Drugs Make Breast Cancer Treatments More Effective? (PR Newswire)

• Federal Marijuana Prohibition Is Putting Patients At Risk Of Consuming Contaminated Products, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Supreme Court trial on homegrow ban reveals a bigger issue in federal cannabis legalization (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Patient Plans To Sue Feds For $3.5 Million Over ‘Discriminatory’ Cannabis Raid On Tribal Land (Marijuana Moment)

• Is Big Tobacco Pivoting to Big Cannabis? (High Times)

• Wisconsin Governor’s Push To Allow Ballot Initiatives Could Put Marijuana Legalization Before Voters (Marijuana Moment)

• Majority Of D.C. Voters Support Marijuana Legalization And Oppose Crackdown On Unregulated ‘Gifting’ Market, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Missouri Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative Leads In New Poll, But With Less Than 50 Percent (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Effects of LSD and Psilocybin in Healthy Participants (Psychiatric Times)

Magic Mushrooms

• Connecticut to Offer Legal MDMA and Psilocybin Therapy as Early as Next Year (DoubleBlind)

• DEA Claims Doctors Requesting Psilocybin For Dying Patients Have Commercial Interests (Benzinga)

• Woman’s Breast Cancer Returned Immediately After Dropping Treatment With Cannabis, Shrooms (High Times)

• Psilocybin Shows Gender-Specific Effects on CNS Reactivity and Behavioral Responses (Gilmore Health News)

• Psyence Group Completes Export of Psilocybin Mushrooms to Portugal (Psychedelic Alpha)

MDMA

• MDMA in the UK Is Finally Pure Again (VICE)

Ayahuasca

• Aaron Rodgers fumbles the science on psychedelics. Drugs like ayahuasca can alter the brain—but how? (Salon)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• 'A lot of MDMA that wasn't MDMA': The early results from inside Australia's first drug testing clinic (SBS)

• atai Life Sciences Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Trial for its MDMA Derivative, EMP-01 (Psychedelic Alpha)

• LSD-Like Molecules Counter Depression Without the Trip (UC San Francisco)

• BetterLife Files Comprehensive Patent for BETR-001 and Other LSD Derivatives (Psychedelic Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• A new urine test could help curtail the use of the latest synthetic cannabinoids to enter the drug scene (Medical Xpress)

Ketamine

• Elijah McClain’s autopsy report changed to death by ketamine (Colorado Public Radio)

• Looking at smiling faces extends the antidepressant effects of ketamine (University of Pittsburgh)

Miscellaneous

• How Interdisciplinary Research Could Reveal Psychedelics’ Blind Spots (Microdose)

• New Theory Believes Psychedelics Could Benefit Long-Term Space Travelers (High Times)

• After rocky start, hopes up in Oregon drug decriminalization (ABC)

• Psychedelic drugs: how to tell good research from bad (The Conversation)

• Do You Even Trip, Bro? A Look At Psychedelic Masculinity, From Joe Rogan To Mike Tyson (Benzinga)

• I went to the only psychedelic dispensary in North America—here’s how they do it (The Manual)

• The Racism and Classism Hidden Behind “Moms who Microdose” (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Whole-Body Effects of Psychedelics Part 3 – The Heart (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Majority Of Mainers Support Drug Decriminalization And Other Harm Reduction Policies, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Tripping at Raves Can Be Just As Healing as Ceremony (DoubleBlind)

• Math Over Myth: MindMed’s Self Destructive Stock Mission (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Men More Likely To Have Substance Abuse Disorder, Women More Likely To Overdose (High Times)

• Psychedelic Retreats Offer Healing Only for the Wealthy (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Psychedelic therapy could reduce anxiety, distress among patients with cancer (Healio)

• The Narrowing of Psychedelic Discourse (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Is Now a Good Time to Invest In Psychedelics Stocks? (The Motley Fool)

• The Messy Job of a Psychedelic Integration Coach (Psychedelic Spotlight)

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.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 8.20.21

Cannabis

• Gallup Poll Finds Almost Half Of US Adults Have Tried Marijuana (High Times)

• Meet THC-O, a hemp-derived compound three times stronger than THC (Leafly)

• Study Shows Cancer Patients Consume Less Cannabis Than General Public (High Times)

• Ohio Activists Submit Revised Marijuana Legalization Petition For 2022 Ballot After State Rejected Earlier Version (Marijuana Moment)

• Consumption Lounges on the Horizon for Nevada (High Times)

• NBA Star Kevin Durant Teams Up With Weedmaps To Destigmatize Marijuana In Sports (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Exploring the Role of Serotonin 2A Activation in LSD’s Effects on Empathy (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

• Diamond Therapeutics Announces Health Canada Approval of Clinical Trial with Low-Dose Psilocybin (Psilocybin Alpha)

DMT

• Biomind Labs to Advance a Phase II Clinical Trial on DMT for Treatment-Resistant Depression (Business Wire)

Ayahuasca

• The Sustainability of Ayahuasca (Reality Sandwich)

• Ayahuasca and Femininity (Reality Sandwich)

• Can Ayahuasca Alter Personality? (Reality Sandwich)

5-MeO-DMT

• Psychedelic toad venom could soon be a clinical treatment for depression (Sifted)

Salvia Divinorum

• Developing a Novel Psychedelic: Salvinorin A (Psychiatric Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Belfast: Youths Hospitalised After Unknowingly Vaping Spice Instead of CBD (Vaping Post)

Ketamine

• A New Ketamine Test Kit is Now Available (DanceSafe)

• What Happens If Ketamine Treatment Doesn’t Work? (Healing Maps)

• The Pros And Cons Of Ketamine For Anxiety: Here’s What We Know (Healing Maps)

PCP

• How PCP Became A Weapon of Police Propaganda [Part 2] (Psychedelics Today)

Miscellaneous

• Mixing Psychedelics and SSRIs Is Generally Safe, with Significant Exceptions (Lucid News)

• At-Home Genetic Testing Can’t Tell You If You’re Going to Have a Bad Trip (VICE)

• California Bill To Legalize Possession Of Psychedelics Clears Another Hurdle But Faces Key Challenge Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Rat poison is just one of the potentially dangerous substances likely to be mixed into illicit drugs (The Conversation)

• Denver Launches the Nation’s First Psychedelic Harm Reduction Training for First Responders (Lucid News)

• Ann Arbor City Council Declares Psychedelics Awareness Month For September (Marijuana Moment)

• Tech Startup Tripp To Use Virtual Reality To Improve Psychedelic Therapy (Forbes)

• Beckley Psytech completes oversubscribed $80m (£58m) fundraise to develop portfolio of psychedelic medicine breakthroughs (Beckley Psytech)

• Chacruna Launches Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative (Truffle Report)

• Psychedelics Can Help Mitigate Symptoms Of Racial Trauma For People Of Color, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Media Company DoubleBlind Is The Master Class Of Psychedelics (Forbes)

• Israeli team aims to treat neurological disorders with psychedelics (The Jerusalem Post)

• Washington Governor Unveils New Process To Commute Hundreds Of Drug Possession Sentences (Marijuana Moment)

• 9 Celebrities on Their Life-Changing Psychedelic Experiences (DoubleBlind)

• Whole-Body Effects of Psychedelics Part 2 – Blood and Immune System (Psychedelic Science Review)

• DEA Seizes Life Savings of New Orleans Grandfather Without Charging Him With a Crime (Reason)

• Can Harm Reduction Reform the Drug Courts? (Filter)

• Kathleen Harrison: Wisdom, Endurance, and Hope – Reflections from a Psychedelic Woman (Chacruna)

• Moving Deckchairs On The Titanic: Drug Policy Reform in the UK (TalkingDrugs)

• Post-Traumatic Growth With Psychedelics (Truffle Report)

• Psychedelics, Out Of Body Experiences, and Lucid Dreaming (Reality Sandwich)

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

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 8.13.21

Cannabis

• Native American tribe in North Carolina legalizes medical cannabis (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Marijuana Sales Increased In Multiple States During COVID, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Study suggests cannabis can induce a psychedelic-like “oceanic” experience (PsyPost)

• Weedmaps adds in-app cannabis purchasing for iPhone users (TechCrunch)

• Seattle-based online cannabis marketplace Leafly to go public (The Seattle Times)

• Senate Votes To Let Researchers Study Marijuana From Dispensaries (Marijuana Moment)

• Here’s where New York’s next governor stands on marijuana legalization (Leafly)

• California High Court: Recreational Cannabis Law Doesn’t Apply To Inmates In Prison (CBS SF BayArea)

• These States Possess the Highest Number of Cannabis Consumers Per Capita (NORML)

• Illinois Announces Cannabis Dispensary License Lottery Winners (Forbes)

• Wisconsin Lawmakers Unveil New Marijuana Legalization Bill—At A Cannabis Shop In Illinois (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists Think Cannabinoids in Sativex Can Actually Beat Brain Cancer (MERRY JANE)

• Wyoming Officials Clear 2022 Marijuana Ballot Initiatives For Signature Gathering (Marijuana Moment)

• Oklahoma Activists Prepare 2022 Ballot Measures to Legalize Marijuana And Overhaul State’s Medical Cannabis System (Marijuana Moment)

• Nebraska Medical Marijuana Advocates Reveal Updated 2022 Ballot Strategy Featuring Two Separate Initiatives (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• A 13th Century Fresco Might Feature a Psychedelic Mushroom (InsideHook)

• In Canada, End-of-Life Therapy May Be the Path to Legal Psilocybin (Filter)

• Canadian Groups Push For Legal Psilocybin: Survey Shows Support (Truffle Report)

• Myth Busting: Magic Mushroom Spores Have Little to do with Potency (Psychedelic Science Review)

• How magic mushroom ingredient psilocybin helps patients with depression or PTSD change how they feel, by rewiring the brain with more connections (South China Morning Post)

• Tryp Therapeutics Partners with Calvert Labs to Conduct Exploratory Studies for Proprietary Psilocybin Formulations (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

• An Exploration of Ayahuasca Art History (Reality Sandwich)

5-MeO-DMT

• Why Are Celebrities Smoking Toad Venom? (Yahoo!)

Salvia Divinorum

• atai Launches Revixia Life Sciences to Develop Salvinorin A for a Variety of Mental Health Conditions (Psilocybin Alpha)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Psilera Initiates Landmark Preclinical Studies with New Psychedelic Derivatives aimed at Reducing Alcohol Consumption (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Bexson Biomedical Launches New Project, Applying Subcutaneous Delivery Technology To Multiple Psychedelic Compounds For Therapeutic Use (Psilocybin Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Where Cannabis Synthetic Spice Came From and Is It Related To HHC? (CBD Testers)

Ketamine

• Could Ketamine Restore Child-like Brain Plasticity and Learning? (Lucid News)

• Will Ketamine Help Sleep? We Explain Any Benefits (Healing Maps)

• We Just Got Closer to Understanding Why Ketamine Is Such a Powerful Antidepressant (ScienceAlert)

• Study finds cognitive safety of ketamine and esketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression (News-Medical.net)

• How Much Does A Ketamine Infusion Cost? (Healing Maps)

PCP

• Why Does The Psychedelic Scene Ignore PCP? [Part 1] (Psychedelics Today)

Miscellaneous

• These States Could Have Marijuana And Psychedelics Legalization On The Ballot In 2022 (Marijuana Moment)

• Fireside Project Expands Psychedelic Support Service with App Launch (Lucid News)

• Biden Exploring Clemency For People With Federal Drug Convictions, White House Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Wearable Psychedelics Could Soon Give Users Maximum Control Over Their Trip (VICE)

• Why Aren’t Psychedelic Drugs Prohibited in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics? (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Psychedelics May Inspire Healthier Habits, Survey Finds (Lucid News)

• Tripping Together (NEO.LIFE)

• Campaign will target middle-class drug users (The Times)

• Psychedelics As Medicine: Right To Try Case Versus DEA (JD Supra)

• Prisoners Sue After Drug Testing of Their Legal Mail Gave False Positives (Filter)

• Psychedelic Research Has a Racist Past (Mad in America)

• The Wonderful and Absurd Life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary: Fashion Icon, Fugitive, and Psychedelic Pioneer (Part Two: Freedom and Unfreedom) (Chacruna)

• Safely Exploring High Doses of Psychedelics (Maps of the Mind)

• The Cosmic Giggle: Laughter and Psychedelics (Reality Sandwich)

• Psychedelic Decriminalisation Only Scratches the Surface (VolteFace)

• In Awe: Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy and the Mystical Experience (Psychedelic Science Review)

• What Do I Need To Know About Tripping Alone In Nature? (Lucid 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 Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.23.21

Cannabis

• Schumer Celebrates 4/20 Marijuana Holiday On Senate Floor (Marijuana Moment)

• US House Passes Bill To Normalize Adult-Use Cannabis Commerce (NORML)

• Virginia Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bill In Ceremonial Event—Even Though It’s Already Enacted (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Company Must Cover Employee's Medical Marijuana Costs (MERRY JANE)

• Nine In Ten Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana For Recreational Or Medical Use, New Pew Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Florida Supreme Court Kills 2022 Marijuana Legalization Initiative That Hundreds Of Thousands Had Signed (Marijuana Moment)

• Border weed: How the hometown of tater tots became a cannabis capital (Politico)

• Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana Flower For Patients (Marijuana Moment)

• Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act Reintroduced (NORML)

• Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Eighth Committee On Route To The House Floor (Marijuana Moment)

• Two-thirds of La. voters support legalizing marijuana; state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle eye legalization (WAFB)

LSD

• Today Is Bicycle Day, Which Isn’t Quite What You Think (Mother Jones)

• LSD Side-Effects: Risks To Be Aware of When Consuming LSD (The Third Wave)

Magic Mushrooms

• Oregon’s and Compass’s Opposite Approaches to Psilocybin Therapy Should Coexist, Says Initiator of Measure 109 (Chacruna)

• Revive Therapeutics Announces Successful Research Results for Oral Thin Film Psilocybin and Filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• MDMA and magic mushrooms reconsidered for rescheduling by Therapeutic Goods Administration (The Canberra Times)

• This is why sex on MDMA feels so good, according to experts (Gentside UK)

Ayahuasca

• Advocacy Group Aims to Decriminalize Ayahuasca in Portland (Willamette Week)

• Some Vermonters Turn to Ayahuasca as a 'Last Resort' to Heal Their Bodies and Minds (Seven Days)

5-MeO-DMT

• Researchers In Europe, U.S. Team Up To Produce First Ever 5-MeO-DMT Psychedelic Training Program (Forbes)

• Toad Conservation (Chacruna)

Peyote

• Hello, Religious Privilege is Good and Here's Why (Patheos)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• 18-MC Has Unique Brain Functions and Mechanisms (Psychedelic Science Review)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Study explores synthetic cannabinoid for cancer-related anorexia (Outsourcing-Pharma.com)

Ketamine

• PharmaTher Announces Submission of IND Application with the FDA for Phase 2 Clinical Trial Evaluating Ketamine in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Ketamine Infusion: How Ketamine Can Treat Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, and More (DoubleBlind)

PCP

• State's medical expert to grand jury: 'Police didn't kill Daniel Prude' (WXXI News)

Miscellaneous

• Norway opposition torpedoes plan to decriminalise drug use (France 24)

• Washington State Lawmakers Downgrade Proposed Drug Possession Penalties Ahead Of House Floor Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Biden Is Allegedly Planning to Double Down on Trump's Prohibitionist Drug Policies (MERRY JANE)

• MindMed To Commence Trading on Nasdaq (Psilocybin Alpha)

• The “Equity Elephant”: Why Psychedelic Mutualism and Cooperatives are Crucial for an Accessible Future (Psychedelics Today)

• Jewish psychedelics movement blasts off with first-ever conference (The Times of Israel)

• ATAI Nasdaq IPO Plans Announced (Truffle Report)

• Researchers Slam Drug War At Federally Hosted Psychedelics Event (Marijuana Moment)

• There’s a Land Grab for Psychedelic Patents: Here’s What We Can Do About It (Psychedelic Times)

• You're Not Hallucinating: Black People Are Being Left Out of the Psychedelic Renaissance (The Root)

• People who regularly use psychoactive substances experienced negative impacts during COVID-19 (News-Medical.net)

• Most Canadians not ready to expand drug legalization beyond cannabis: poll (Coast Reporter)

• Extinction Rebellion founder says psychedelic drugs 'helped start environmental movement' (Wales Online)

• Silo Wellness Announces Five New Psychedelic Wellness Retreats in Jamaica (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelic Experience launches new website to help navigate the world of psychedelics (PR Newswire)

• The Overlap Between Kink/BDSM and Psychedelics (Chacruna)

• Cybin Demonstrates Proof of Concept of Its Deuterated Tryptamines for the Treatment of Depression and Addiction (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Michael Pollan: A Catalyst to the Psychedelic Renaissance (The Third Wave)

• If You're Going to Solo Trip On Psychedelics, Bear This in Mind (VICE)

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

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

This Month in Psychedelics - March 2021

March was yet another busy month in the world of psychedelics. There was plenty of news involving drug policy, scientific research, the emerging psychedelic industry, and more. So if you’re looking to learn more about what happened this month in psychedelics then you’re in the right place!

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

There’s a lot to get through this month, so without further ado, let’s jump into the news:

Drug Policy

New Laws

Kicking things off, two new decriminalization laws took effect in the United States this month.

Washington D.C. decriminalized natural psychedelics like ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms and the capital city isn’t stopping there. The Plant Medicine Coalition is pushing the District Council to enact more legislation that would provide worker and child protections related to the use of plant- and fungi-based substances, among other initiatives that the group is working on.

Baltimore did something a bit surprising by decriminalizing all drugs as well as prostitution and several other low-level offenses. This move is part of an overall experiment known as The Covid Criminal Justice Policies, and it’s a unique approach to crime that was developed with public health authorities and inspired by the global pandemic. Instead of prosecuting people arrested for minor crimes, the program looks at them as public health issues and partners with organizations in the community to help find solutions rather than punish offenders.

Wins

In last month’s recap I reported that both Virginia’s House and Senate voted to legalize cannabis, but what I didn’t realize at the time was that each one of them approved a separate bill. Now Virginia’s House and Senate have both approved the same bill, which is currently on Governor Ralph Northam’s desk awaiting a signature that would make cannabis legal in the state by 2024.

However, Northam has thrown around the idea of moving up the legalization date to this July 1st and the leaders of Virginia’s House have expressed their support for this idea, so it’s possible that weed will be legal in the Old Dominion this summer.

Cannabis reform bills made advances in several other states as well: Hawaii, Wyoming, New York, Connecticut, and Illinois. And south of the border, Mexico’s lawmakers advanced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, bringing the country one step closer to becoming one of the world’s largest marijuana markets.

Losses

Not all drug policy reform efforts were successful, however. Mississippi’s House killed the state’s medical marijuana bill, although the Senate hasn’t given up yet and is attempting a last-ditch effort to revive the bill. And Maryland’s cannabis legalization effort officially threw in the towel, so residents of the Old Line State will need to wait for either a future federal- or state-level initiative to enjoy legal marijuana from the comfort of their own homes.

New Bills and Initiatives

And there’s plenty drug policy news on the horizon as well—a New York lawmaker filed a bill to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in the state, lawmakers in Vermont and Rhode Island proposed decriminalizing all drugs, and activists in Michigan launched a campaign to decriminalize natural psychedelics.

Psychedelic Industry

Following on the heels of last month’s news that COMPASS Pathways is attempting to patent basic, preexisting psychedelic therapy techniques like using soft furniture and holding hands, the debate about patenting various aspects involving psychedelics continued to rage on this month.

A few well-known investors and players in the psychedelic industry had something to say about patents, including Rick Doblin, Tim Ferriss, Christian Angermayer, and David Bronner. At the heart of the matter is the fact that COMPASS Pathways has submitted patent applications for so many things involving psilocybin that Psymposia put together an astounding article detailing them that’s definitely worth checking out.

This is an important area to keep an eye on because it will impact all sorts of things, including who will be able to legally access and use psychedelics and which companies will be able to turn a profit in the emerging psychedelic industry.

Psychedelic Research

Researchers at Imperial College London published results from a groundbreaking placebo-controlled LSD microdosing trial. The study found that while participants who microdosed with active LSD ended up experiencing beneficial psychological effects, the placebos also engendered the same result. In fact, there was no statistical significance between an LSD microdose and a placebo pill.

This could mean that the benefits of microdosing come down to the placebo effect rather than an actual effect, but this study is by no means a definitive confirmation of that hypothesis. The study’s limitations include a relatively small sample size of 191 volunteers and a unique (and potentially flawed) self-blinding protocol.

More microdosing research will need to be conducted before we have a solid idea about its efficacy, but until then I’m sure microdosers will keep microdosing and getting benefits out of their practice regardless of whether those benefits come down to the psychedelic substance itself or the placebo effect.

In another study, researchers analyzed data from more than 171,000 adults who responded to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2015 and 2018 and found that the use of psychedelics is associated with better physical health.

Roughly 14% of the sample reported using a classical psychedelic like LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, or DMT at least one time, and after controlling for a number of variables the results showed that those who reported ever using psychedelics tended to have better health than people who had never used a psychedelic before. Psychedelic users also had significantly lower odds of being overweight or obese.

It’s important with a study like this to remember that correlation doesn’t equal causation, but it’s interesting to know that a study with such a large sample size and variable controls found physical health to be significantly better among psychedelic users than the psychedelically-naïve.

Miscellaneous

Although many people in the psychedelic and wider drug-using communities were hopeful about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ approach to drug policy, so far things haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot. In addition to the fact that the drug war is still going strong, several White House staffers were asked to resign, were suspended, or are being required to work remotely after revealing past cannabis use during their background checks, even if that use occurred in states where marijuana has been legalized. This isn’t too surprising though, considering that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, which can make it challenging for government employees to get federal security clearance.

However, what makes this extra frustrating is that several staffers had been previously told by transition officials that past cannabis use would be overlooked, only to be told later that they would need to resign. This flip-flopping is par for the course when it comes to politicians and politics in general, but it’s still aggravating to see Biden’s administration pull a bait-and-switch here.

Hopefully in the future they’ll be able to relax a bit and not exclude people on the basis of prior drug use. I know a natural remedy that might help them chill out but something tells me they won’t be interested…

Last up this month is a story about why PCP users almost exclusively live in America. The linked VICE article explores the curious reasons behind why the drug never went global like crack cocaine or LSD.

That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

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.