This Week in Psychedelics - 2.18.22

Cannabis

• Virginia Senate Votes To Start Recreational Marijuana Sales This September Through Current Medical Dispensaries (Marijuana Moment)

• Sha’Carri Richardson, Suspended Over Marijuana, Suggests Racist Double Standard After Olympics Lets Russian Skater Compete Amid Doping Scandal (Marijuana Moment)

• Israel Announces New Cannabis Decriminalization Plans (High Times)

• Apple Secretly Joined Amazon In Advancing Commercial Cannabis Reform (Forbes)

• New York Lawmakers Send Marijuana Licensing And Equity Bill To Governor’s Desk (Marijuana Moment)

• South African Government to Fast Track Cannabis Reform Regulations (High Times)

• D.C. Mayor Signs Bill To Let Older Patients Get Medical Marijuana Without Doctors And Create 4/20 Cannabis Tax Holiday (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana for trauma: Report shows positive effects of medical cannabis (The Jerusalem Post)

• Hawaii Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Marijuana For Senior Citizens 65 And Older (Marijuana Moment)

• Bill To Create State-Run Marijuana Shops In New Hampshire Approved By House (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Senators Approve Marijuana Decriminalization And Expungements Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• South Dakota Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization And Taxation Bills In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• WA researchers look at potential to use medicinal cannabis for weight loss (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• GOP Missouri Lawmaker Unveils Wide-Ranging Marijuana Legalization Bill As Others Pursue 2022 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Kentucky Democrats File Bills To Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Lawmakers, Cops Consider Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization in Pennsylvania (NORML)

• Wyoming Legislators Introduce Cannabis Decriminalization Bill (High Times)

• Maryland Lawmakers Take First Step To Putting Marijuana Legalization On 2022 Ballot With Hearing On Two Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• New York Senate OKs bill to allow hemp farmers to grow adult-use marijuana (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Majority Of Arkansas Voters Back Cannabis Legalization (High Times)

• IRS Official Clarifies That Medical Marijuana Is Not Tax-Deductible Under Federal Law After Misstatement (Marijuana Moment)

• Proposed Bill Could Protect Employees in Colorado who Use Cannabis (High Times)

• Hemp-Reinforced Bobsled and Luge Tracks Debut at Winter Olympics in Beijing (High Times)

LSD

• Another trial finds no evidence LSD microdosing does anything (New Atlas)

• LSD, afterglow and hangover: Increased episodic memory and verbal fluency, decreased cognitive flexibility (Beckley Foundation)

• New study addresses the question; ‘Can LSD boost creativity?’ (leafie)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depression Effective for Up to a Year for Most Patients, Study Shows (Johns Hopkins)

• Top Italian Court Blocks Marijuana And Psilocybin Referendum From Going Before Voters (Marijuana Moment)

• Psilocybin use associated with lowered odds of having been arrested, study finds (PsyPost)

• Oklahoma Lawmakers Approve Psilocybin Decriminalization And Research Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Mushroom rabbi grows ceremonial psilocybin for Denver congregation — but is that legal? (The Denver Post)

• Hawaii Senators Approve Psilocybin Task Force Bill In Committee, With Decriminalization Measures Still Pending (Marijuana Moment)

• Oregon proposes only using one type of mushroom for new psilocybin system, and no pills (OPB)

• Nova Mentis Study Confirms Oral Microdose Psilocybin Treatment of Autism (Psilocybin Alpha)

• These Four Companies Want to Take You on a Psychedelic Voyage in Oregon (Willamette Week)

• No Need for Magic Mushrooms? Producing Synthetic Psilocybin from Bacteria and Yeast (Truffle Report)

• Psyched Wellness Announces Key Findings from the 90-Day Oral Toxicity Study on AME-1 (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• Bar-Goers Were Poisoned by Ecstasy-Laced Champagne, German Police Say (Gizmodo)

DMT

• The Latest in DMT Research: Leading Companies and Key Studies (Truffle Report)

• What is DMT therapy? (Drug Science)

Ayahuasca

• Deontay Wilder contemplates using ayahuasca to help decide his boxing future (leafie)

• When Is Drinking Ayahuasca a Religious Experience? (Reason)

5-MeO-DMT

• More Companies Embrace 5-MeO-DMT to Create Therapies (Lucid News)

Peyote

• Calling on Federal, State, and Local Governments to Protect and Respect Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and its Byproducts (Chacruna)

• How peyote — used as a ceremonial, legal medicine — helped heal one family’s grief (Rocky Mountain PBS)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Mydecine Announces MYCO-005 Family of Improved Safety Microdose Novel Molecules (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Awakn Files Patent For A New Class Of Entactogen-Like Molecules (Psilocybin Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Report finds too many New Zealanders are dying from preventable drug overdoses (Newshub)

Nitrous Oxide

• Doctors warn of emerging public health issue from recreational use of laughing gas (Irish Examiner)

Ketamine

• Ketamine No Better Than Placebo for Reducing Suicidal Ideation in Depression (Mad in America)

• Ehave, Inc. Launches KetaDASH, Its In-Home Ketamine Therapy In The San Francisco And Sacramento Market (GlobeNewswire)

• FDA: Safety Concerns With Compounded Ketamine Nasal Spray (MPR)

• PharmaTher Announces Grant of U.S. Patent on Ketamine Formulation (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• Judge Grants Hearing for Opposition to DEA Proposal to Criminalize 5 More Psychedelics (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• MAPS Accepts $500,000 Donation From Atai Life Sciences’ Philanthropy Arm (Forbes)

• Maryland Senators Propose Free Psychedelics for Veterans with PTSD (Truffle Report)

• Psychedelics Open Opportunity to Study Synesthesia (Lucid News)

• Trauma and Vulnerability to Suggestion: Redefining How We Understand Consent (Psychedelics Today)

• The Psychonaut’s Guide to Kabbalah and Spiritual Journeying (DoubleBlind)

• What Are the Prospects for Canada’s Federal Drug Decriminalization Bill? (Filter)

• Maryland Lawmakers Work To Decriminalize Drug Paraphernalia (Marijuana Moment)

• The 5 Craziest Places On Earth to Do Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• The Religious Uses of Licit and Illicit Psychoactive Substances in a Branch of the Santo Daime Religion (Chacruna)

• “Largest-Ever” Harm Reduction Ad Campaign Demands Services, Honors the Dead (Filter)

• Naming and shaming drug users is focus group fodder – Labour must do better (LabourList)

• Co-Creating a Psychedelic Commons: A Commoner’s Guide (Chacruna)

• Meet the 16 Most Influential Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics (Business Insider)

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 - 3.26.21

Cannabis

• Virginia Governor Signals He’ll Push To Legalize Marijuana On July 1, Ahead Of Schedule (Marijuana Moment)

• Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill As Governor Pushes Competing Reform (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Any Amount Of Marijuana And Expunge Past Records (Marijuana Moment)

• New York lawmakers reach historic deal on a marijuana legalization bill (Leafly)

• North Dakota Senate Rejects House-Passed Marijuana Legalization Bill, Ceding Issue To Activists For Ballot Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Scotland's first medical cannabis clinic approved (BBC)

• Maryland adult-use marijuana legalization effort fails for this year (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Delaware Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Fourth House Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas Cops Just Arrested and Killed a Man for Possessing One Joint Worth of Weed (MERRY JANE)

• New Mexico Governor Plans Special Session On Marijuana As Legalization Bill Stalls On Final Stretch (Marijuana Moment)

• New Weed Bill Aims Block Big Alcohol and Tobacco From Dominating Legal Weed Market (MERRY JANE)

• Senators Reintroduce SAFE Banking Act To Normalize Cannabis Commerce (NORML)

• More evidence needed to back cannabis as pain treatment, says review (Imperial College London)

• CBD Could Stop Coronavirus Cells From Replicating in the Lungs, Study Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• Advocacy group for Hispanic marijuana entrepreneurs launches (Marijuana Business Daily)

• THC Can Remain in Breast Milk for Up to Six Weeks After Use, New Study Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• Study: “No Evidence” That Medical Cannabis Access Laws Encourage Youth Marijuana Use (NORML)

• Shitty Government Weed Might Have Just Ruined Major New Study on Veterans and PTSD (MERRY JANE)

LSD

• Ergot: A Look at LSD’s Precursor (Truffle Report)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psychedelic for meth users: Sydney trial aims to conquer addiction (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• This Toronto man is treating a rare neurological disorder with psilocybin mushrooms (Regina Leader-Post)

• Denver Psilocybin Panel Talks Expanded Decriminalization (Truffle Report)

• This New BIPOC-Run Group Is Educating People About Legal Mushroom Therapy in Oregon (MERRY JANE)

5-MeO-DMT

• A porn star has been charged with reckless homicide after he used toad venom to cure a photographer's cocaine addiction (Insider)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• DiPT: Producing Auditory Hallucinations (Truffle Report)

Ketamine

• Ketamine bill headed to Colorado House for consideration (KDVR)

• Ketamine Providers Debate Standards of Care (Lucid News)

PCP

• Why America Is the Only Place in the World Where People Use PCP (VICE)

Miscellaneous

• The Canadian Psychedelic Association is Fighting Stigma Attached to Plant Medicines (Truffle Report)

• Predicting who may do best with psychedelic-assisted therapy (Ohio State University News)

• What are the effects of promoting unsupported claims about psychedelics? A call for better media reporting (AOD Media Watch)

• Mark Haden’s “Clarifying Misinformation” Letter is Full of Misinformation and Lies (Psymposia)

• Psychedelic drugs: how the brains of informed users are different (The Conversation)

• Psychedelic vs. Hallucinogen-What’s in a Name? (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Funding for psychedelic trials best directed at independent research (The Canberra Times)

• ‘These people are broken’: Why the UK’s war on drugs has failed (Al Jazeera)

• Psychedelics for medical purposes: time to change your mind? (The BMJ)

• Psychedelic Synesthesia: Smell That Tune (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Women More Likely To Use Psychedelics Than Men (Green Market Report)

• Platforms of Psychedelic Experience (Maps of the Mind)

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.

How Psychedelic Virtual Reality Can Help End Society’s Mass Bad Trip

Jenny Valentish, writing for The Guardian:

So tonight there’s the opportunity to try out virtual reality and augmented reality experiences that go beyond recreational use – there’s no diving with sharks or rollercoaster rides here. But users should strap in tightly anyway: these experiences are designed to expedite a different kind of journey.

Mimicking synesthesia, visual meditation apps leveraging biofeedback, exposure therapy, and a full-blown near-death experience—this is the kind of stuff that makes VR interesting.

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This Week in Psychedelics - 4.13.18

Cannabis

• Google and Facebook won’t advertise marijuana, even where it’s legal (The Cannabist)
• Former House Speaker John Boehner Is Now Working at a Marijuana Firm Advisory Board (TIME)
• “Salmonella Kratom” and “Rat Poison K2” are two more reasons to go ahead and legalize weed (The Outline)
• Legalised cannabis could help solve America's opioid crisis, studies suggest (The Independent)
• Senate Majority Leader Introduces Bi-Partisan Hemp Legalization Bill (NORML)
• The Ultimate Guide to Cannabinoids in Cannabis (High Times)
• Can You Get Contact High From Weed? (Real Stoned Times)
• Senate Hopeful Cynthia Nixon Says She Wants to Legalize Marijuana (TIME)
• Can Cannabis Help Prevent Domestic Violence? (High Times)
• The country that pioneered "wellness" is adopting cannabis as a cure (Quartz)
• Massachusetts Is The New Testbed for Cannabis Legalization (Forbes)
• Wine veteran hopes to elevate cannabis with wine and food pairings (San Francisco Chronicle)
• How To Treat Eczema With Cannabis (High Times)
• How to Host a Cannabis-Themed Game Night (Leafly)
• Major Coffee Chain Teaming Up With Cannabis Company (High Times)
• Cannabis rules in CA: Are some cities trying to regulate away Prop 64? (OCRegister)
• Cannabis Compound CBD May Offer Medical Marijuana Benefits Without The High (CBS New York)
• Psychiatrist Says Cannabis Should Be Banished From The Planet (High Times)
• Reader: Legal Cannabis Saved Me From Opioids! (Westword)
• 9 Things Cannabis Investors Should Know (Visual Capitalist)
• Why Canadian Cannabis Stocks Are On Sale (Forbes)
• Louisiana veterans advocate for medical cannabis (Leesville Daily Leader)
• How Archytas Ventures Helps Capital-Starved Cannabis Startups Get Equipment (Forbes)

LSD

• Scientists keep "discovering" things stoners already know (Quartz)
• LSD causes congenitally blind man to experience synesthesia-like hallucinations (PsyPost)
• LSD Cured My Eating Disorder (Psymposia)
• Deputies: Babysitter on LSD refuses to leave home, tries to steal toys (The Independent Florida Alligator)
• LSD making comeback as professionals drop ACID before work (Daily Star)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Multi Species Psilocybin Mushroom Dosage Calculator (Psychedelics Daily)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• An analysis of the most common ecstasy pills in the US by name and color (Mixmag)
• Teenager took so many Ecstasy pills at festival his lungs collapsed (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Two Montreal Religious Groups Can Now Legally Import Ayahuasca (VICE)
• Message From Santo Daime Dutch Churches in Response to the Verdict That Makes Santo Daime Illegal in the Netherlands (Chacruna)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• New Research Study Will Look at the Efficacy of Treating Alcoholism with Ibogaine (Psychedelic Times)
• Americans turning to an illegal treatment for heroin addiction (BBC News)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Fake Marijuana Likely Laced With Rat Poison Has Killed 3 People and Sickened More Than 100 (TIME)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Shows Promise For Depression Treatment (The Fix)
• Ketamine Effective as Maintenance Treatment for Anxiety (Psych Congress Network)
• Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter Recorded Boyfriend High on PCP Before Stabbing Her to Death (PopCulture.com)
• Pierce County deputies say man was high on PCP during armed confrontation (Q13 FOX)
• Stamford woman booked for driving high on PCP (The Stamford Advocate)

Opiates/Opioids

• Surgeon General Advises Greater Use of Naloxone to Help Save Lives (Reason)
• Naloxone Stops Opioid Overdoses. How Do You Use It? (The New York Times)
• How to Get Naloxone (Tonic)
• One Woman Got Facebook to Police Opioid Sales On Instagram (WIRED)
• Scotland gathers evidence from Australia on safe drug rooms (The Herald)
• Trump Is Freaking Out About the Wrong Border: Killer Fentanyl Is Coming From Canada (The Daily Beast)
• Notre Dame researchers say they found link between rising heroin deaths and OxyContin (WSBT)
• Study: Despite decline in prescriptions, opioid deaths skyrocketing due to heroin and synthetic drugs (The Washington Post)
• Former Mexican President Fox calls for opium poppy legalization (Reuters)
• Overdose Deaths Dropping, But Narcan Costs Rising (Firehouse)
• Carrying Naloxone While Black: When Saving a Life Could Cost Me My Own (Philadelphia Magazine)
• Narcan in Every Medicine Cabinet: Will Increasing Naloxone Access Save Lives? (The Fix)
• Maine Lawmakers OK Plan to Lower Age for Naloxone Access (U.S. News & World Report)
• Naloxone Saves Lives, But Does It Also Enable Opioid Addiction? (WCPO)
• Overdose Deaths Are the Product of Drug Prohibition (Reason)
• As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom (The Washington Post)

Kratom

• A mysterious 'supplement' with a viral following has been linked to salmonella — and the outbreak is still spreading (Business Insider)
• FDA Warns of Dangers to Kratom Consumers (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Is Kratom as Dangerous as the FDA Claims? It's Hard to Tell (MedShadow)
• Kratom And Salmonella: AKA Advises All Kratom Vendors To Act Responsibly And Be Transparent (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom Recall in Colorado Could Lead to More Product Seizures (Westword)
• Reader: Keep kratom from FDA overreach (Colorado Springs Independent)

Kava

• Kava plants worth $10000 stolen (Matangi Tonga)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit (The New York Times)
• Australia missing psychedelic drug 'renaissance' for mental health (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Trump Administration Is Considering Allowing Mandatory Drug Testing for Food Stamp Recipients (TIME)
• Sewage Study Reveals That Americans Took Way More Drugs During Two Major Events In 2017 (IFLScience)
• Albuquerque New Mexico to End the City's Asset Forfeiture Program (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Awakening into Psychedelic Spirituality: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• The FBI Has Announced a $20 Million Reward for a Fugitive Mexican Drug Lord (TIME)
• Healing with Movement, Psychedelics and Breathwork: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• Our Ancestors Got High, Too (Discover Magazine)
• Psychedelic drugs could be the answer to mental illness: study (Starts at 60)

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.

Weekend Thoughts - 11.19.16

Image by Xenboy, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. An analysis of the polls taken during the Democratic primary show that Bernie Sanders would have had a much better chance at beating Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton did. However, the media pundits wanted us to believe that Sanders was not fully-vetted while Clinton was. This article explains why both of those assumptions were incorrect.

2. A type of "calendar synesthesia" helps to explain how our minds deal with time. These synaesthetes are able to "see" images of calendars in their mind when they think about specific months, whether they have already passed or are in the future. The idea is that all of our minds are constructed in a way that allows us to map time in physical space.

3. For something comical, check out the reason why Disney owns the domain muppetfucker.com. It's a good one, I promise.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.