This Week in Psychedelics - 5.6.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • This Groundbreaking Study Is Big Pharma's Worst Nightmare (ATTN:)
  • Marijuana Legalization Did Not Initially Boost Underage Access in Washington (Reason)
  • The President of the United States Made a Marijuana Joke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (ATTN:)
  • Germany to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes (The Telegraph)
  • California Marijuana Initiative Seems to Have Plenty of Signatures (Reason)
  • Meet One Iowa Family Fighting for Cannabis Oil Law Reform (WHO-TV)
  • California Chef Brings Cannabis to Fine Dining, for $500 per Person (NBC)
  • Feds Agree to Tolerate the Country's Largest Medical Marijuana Dispensary (Reason)
  • This Man Ran a Huge Cannabis Factory Next to a Police HQ (VICE)
  • Vermont: House Members Turn Back Marijuana Reform Efforts (NORML)
  • Want to Try Cannabis Juicing? Check Out These Recipes and Guidelines (Leafly)
  • 5 reasons marijuana is not medicine (The Washington Post)

LSD

  • Two Men High on LSD Spoke Without Opening Their Mouthes (Clapway)
  • How to Pick Music for People on LSD, From a Scientist Whose Job That Is (Motherboard)
  • Seen at 11: Could Acid Micro-Doses Help Improve Focus And Creativity? (CBS)
  • LSD, Hookers, Hit Men, and the Top Levels of the CIA (WhoWhatWhy)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

  • Why MDMA and 'Shrooms Are Potential Major Tools to Fight Domestic Violence (AlterNet)
  • Magic Mushrooms Put the Human Brain in Dream Mode and Facilitate Higher Thinking (Inverse)
  • Sukaramaddava and Psilocybin (Disinfo)
  • Psychedelic Psychology: Mushrooms Make Social Rejection Less Painful (High Times)
  • From fresh food to magic mushrooms (Harvard Gazette)

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • A new study says MDMA purity levels are at an all-time high (Mixmag)
  • Europe Is Experiencing a New Wave of Super-Potent Ecstasy (VICE)
  • Girl's death after taking 'MasterCard' ecstasy prompts police warning (The Guardian)

Ayahuasca/DMT

  • A Chemical Found in Ayahuasca Could Completely Reverse Diabetes (David Wolfe)
  • Is Peru's Psychedelic Potion a Cure or a Curse? (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Will the Actors in Icaros: A Vision Win Ayahu-Oscars For Their On-Set Tripping? (Bedford + Bowery)
  • Blacksburg police execute search warrant in DMT manufacturing investigation (The Roanoke Times)
  • DMT Lab discovered in Christianburg (NRVN News)

Dissociatives

  • Problematic drug has a byproduct that makes it a great antidepressant (Ars Technica)
  • Ketamine on the NHS: Docs to dish out party drug to depressed Brits (Daily Star)
  • UN takes no action on ketamine (American Veterinary Medical Association)
  • Does ketamine prevent chronic pain after surgery? (Scoop.co.nz)
  • DC Bus Hijacker Allegedly Smoked PCP Before Incident (ABC)
  • Woman arrested for April 2 fatal crash; blood test shows PCP (12 News)

Opiates/Opioids

  • A New Version of Fentanyl Is Turning up in the U.S. (ATTN:)
  • Was Prince's Life Taken by America's Prescription Drug Epidemic? (Disinfo)
  • Report: Prince Autopsy Confirms Presence of Painkiller in System (ATTN:)
  • Prince Was Set to Meet with Opioid Addiction Doctor a Day After He Died (TIME)
  • Mexico's Heroin Farmers: The Trail of Destruction Starts in the Poppy Fields (VICE)
  • Pharmacist debunks belief that naloxone enables addicts (Central Kentucky News)
  • Bountiful Afghan Opium Harvest Yield Profits for the Taliban (The New York Times)
  • Islamic State Eradicating Afghan Poppy Crops (Voice of America)
  • The War on Opium in Afghanistan (The Huffington Post)

Kratom

  • Chronic Pain Patients Discover Alternative to Opioids (Pain News Network)
  • Kratom for treatment of arthritis pain (Kratom Project)
  • Kratom: What is it, and why did Alabama ban it? (Newsaegis)
  • A dangerous high with a legal substance (WOAI)

Kava

Khat

  • Somali student faces death sentence for trafficking 'khat' leaves (New Straits Times)
  • Raila Odinga promises new market for miraa traders (Citizen TV)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • Getting Certified in Psychedelic Therapies and Reseach at the CA Institute of Integral Studies (Psychedelic Times)
  • Could Psychedelic Drugs Help Keep Ex-Inmates Out Of Jail? (Motherboard)
  • New Report Details Devastating Effects Of Mass Incarceration On The U.S. (The Huffington Post)
  • Psychedelic Activists Aren't the LSD-Dropping Hippie Flakes You Think They Are (Inverse)
  • Ketamine, Mushrooms and Mephedrone: What Happened When Drugs Were Banned in the UK (VICE)
  • Will Drug Legalization Radically Change Our Culture? A Talk with ACS President Jeff Kundert (Psychedelic Times)
  • Michigan Seeks Science of 'Drugged Driving' (Courthouse News Service)
  • The Legend of the Miami Cannibal Provides Lessons in Shoddy Drug Journalism (Forbes)
  • Home improvement store asked to pull seeds with LSD-like effects off shelves (WCVB)
  • A Bold New Plan to Help Addicts and End the Drug War (Reason)
  • Psychedelic drugs can deepen religious experiences (Religion News Service)
  • Meet MAPS, the psychedelic research foundation that's winning Silicon Valley Gives (San Jose Mercury News)
  • Drug testing expert was high on LSD, ketamine and cocaine every day for eight years (Metro)
  • Non-Violent Drug Offenders Get Life +185 Years (Reason)

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 (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.