CANNABIS
These 10 States Are Most Likely To Pass Marijuana Legalization Bills In 2019 (Marijuana Moment)
Philippines House of Representatives Approves Medical Cannabis Use, Production (Talking Drugs)
In the age of luxury cannabis, it’s time to talk about Drug War reparations (Quartz)
Weed in Your Suitcase? Canada Considering a Fine, Not Felony (Leafly)
Trump Attorney General Pick Puts Marijuana Enforcement Pledge In Writing (Forbes)
Mother Jones Admits it ‘Overstated’ Cannabis Mental Health Risks (Leafly)
Cannabis Comes to Davos, Sharing Spotlight With Global Elites (Bloomberg)
Marijuana Study: CBD Can Actually Enhance, Rather Than Counteract, High Caused By THC (Marijuana Moment)
In Indonesia, One Group Fights to Reform Zero-Tolerance Cannabis Laws (Leafly)
Study Documents Humanity’s Use Of Marijuana Over 10,000 Years Of History (Marijuana Moment)
Got Anxiety? Study Finds Cannabis Strains to Try, or Avoid (Leafly)
New Jersey Mayors Demand Automatic Marijuana Expungements If State Legalizes (Marijuana Moment)
Baltimore's Top Prosecutor Will Stop Prosecuting Marijuana Possession Cases (Reason)
Same-Day Cannabis Delivery is Coming to Ontario (Leafly)
Scientists Used Marijuana Consumers’ Urine To Produce Electricity (Marijuana Moment)
CBS And The Super Bowl's Rejection Of A Cannabis Ad May Still Change The Game (Forbes)
UC Berkeley Launches a Cannabis Research Center (Leafly)
Man Jailed over a Marijuana Cookie Died After Seizure in Prison (Reason)
Legal Medical Marijuana Associated With Lower Opioid Use Rates, Another Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)
Minnesota Proposal Would Legalize Cannabis Sales in 2020 (Leafly)
Survey: Three Of Four Military Veterans Would Consider Using Medical Cannabis (NORML)
After Pleading Innocent, This Cannabis Convict's Sentence Went from 4 Years to Life (Civilized)
Baltimore Prosecutor Files Rare Petition to Erase Cannabis Convictions (Leafly)
Patients Are Substituting Marijuana For Addictive Pharmaceutical Drugs, Two New Studies Show (Marijuana Moment)
Ukraine's Acting Health Minister endorses legalization of medical cannabis (112 International)
Newfoundland Cannabis Store Closes Amidst Supply Shortages (Leafly)
History Of Alcohol Prohibition Suggests Advantage For States That Legalize Marijuana Early (Marijuana Moment)
Disappointed by Marijuana Tax Revenue, California Legislators Propose Rate Cuts (Reason)
This Canadian Cannabis Advisory Ad Is Full-On Trippy (Leafly)
Industrial Hemp Cultivation Exploded In The U.S. Last Year, Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)
Cannabis Stocks Are Getting Their Second Wind (Real Money)
Metrolinx to Ban Cannabis for Workers in Safety-Sensitive Jobs (Leafly)
Here's What You Need to Know About California's Final Cannabis Regulations (Civilized)
Officials Urging Cannabis Businesses To Beef Up Security After Increase In Robberies (CBS Sacramento)
Where Presidential Candidate John Delaney Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
In Photos: Canada’s First Bongspiel, a Cannabis-Infused Curling Tournament (Leafly)
Is Marijuana Competitive or Complementary to Alcohol Sales? (The Motley Fool)
Which Is More Potent, Vaping Cannabis or Smoking a Joint? (Leafly)
Dealers make violent threats against 12-year-olds over cannabis debt (TheJournal.ie)
LSD
Scientists Identify Key Neural Mechanisms Behind an LSD Trip (Motherboard)
'I'M AN AVENGER': Student on LSD allegedly went on teacher groping spree (Canoe News)
MAGIC MUSHROOMS
Magic mushrooms 'could be made LEGAL in Britain after huge breakthrough' (Daily Star)
A top psychedelic scientist says 'the climate's looking good' for magic mushrooms and MDMA to turn into medicines at a gathering of the world's billionaires (Business Insider)
Finding Psychedelic Mushrooms (The Third Wave)
Oregon couple pushes to put mushroom therapy on the ballot (KATU)
Psilocybin Mushrooms Are Changing the Way You Die (71 Republic)
MDMA
Here’s how Ecstasy actually kill (Rave Jungle)
Taking MDMA was 'a spur of the moment decision', says Shane Rattenbury (Brisbane Times)
‘Young people just aren’t getting the message’: Ecstasy revealed as the biggest killer at festivals (2GB)
Pharmacies 'logical places' to talk about ecstasy (Australian Journal of Pharmacy)
Liverpool teenager dies after suspected MDMA overdose (BBC)
DMT
I Cooked DMT in My Kitchen for Four Years (VICE)
Marriott staff find coworker's hallucinogenic drug lab in boiler room, Calif. cops say (The Sacramento Bee)
AYAHUASCA
An Encounter with Ayahuasca Sorcery (Reality Sandwich)
SALVIA DIVINORUM
Salvia Divinorum And Kratom: Not Safe To Combine Together (Kratom Guides)
NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
Warning: These Ecstasy Pills Might Cause You to Have Sex With Trees (EDM Tunes)
One percent of US teenagers are using flakka -- but it could be more (CNN)
Police Issue Warning For Dangerous “Flakka” Pills Sold As MDMA (Your EDM)
SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS
Devastating Impacts Of Synthetic Marijuana Take Hold In Wisconsin (WUWM)
NITROUS OXIDE
Councillor calling on agencies to join forces to tackle growing problem of ‘laughing gas’ (Rochdale Online)
Global Nitrous Oxide Market Is Determined to Grow with Immense Rate by 2025 (Digital Journal)
KETAMINE
Minn. Hospital Says Paramedics Caused No Harm in Ketamine Study (EMS World)
Hennepin Healthcare vows improvements after review into ketamine use on police subjects (Bring Me The News)
Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles Commemorates Five Years of Patient Success Stories (Benzinga)
Teaching an Old Drug New Tricks: Ketamine and Depression (Breast Cancer News)
PCP
South Brunswick police arrest man who allegedly destroyed home while high on PCP (MyCentralJersey.com)
OPIATES/OPIOIDS
America’s Opioid Crisis: Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment in Cities (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
All Niagara police to be equipped with naloxone (Thorold News)
U.S. Border Patrol Reports Largest Fentanyl Bust of Nearly 254 Pounds of Opioid (TIME)
Peterborough Public Health, community partners create opioid early monitoring system (Global News)
Dana Larsen: Opium tea will end the overdose crisis (The Georgia Straight)
Opioid overdose medication easier to access for schools (Sequim Gazette)
Many Parents Conflicted About Opioids for Their Teens' Pain (U.S. News & World Report)
London police officers used naloxone to save 57 people last year (CBC)
Idaho Lawmakers Try To Make It Easier To Get Naloxone (Boise State Public Radio)
Florida man spent 41 days in jail for heroin. But it was actually detergent, cops say (Miami Herald)
Sears Once Sold Heroin (The Atlantic)
No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find (Reason)
Outreach worker says use of naloxone on the rise in Sudbury (CBC)
Feds say Rancho Cordova nurse sold thousands of opioid pills nationwide on dark web (The Sacramento Bee)
The Great Opium Bonfire of 1914 (Reason)
Increased awareness about Naloxone (The Daily Journal)
COCAINE
Cocaine in the River Thames is 'another problem eels don't need', says expert (London Evening Standard)
The white stuff: why Britain can’t get enough cocaine (The Guardian)
BENZODIAZEPINES
Fraser Health issues warning over 'large quantities' of fake Xanax (Vancouver Sun)
ALCOHOL
Goa to ban alcohol on beaches (Kiwi.com)
‘Hangxiety’: why alcohol gives you a hangover and anxiety (The Guardian)
Heavy drinking may change DNA, leading to increased craving for alcohol (ScienceDaily)
Dry January Is Just the Beginning: Alcohol-Free Booze Is Poised for a Big 2019 (Fortune)
Formerly dry Massachusetts town now allows alcohol sales (WWLP)
Trump donates $100,000 to charity every quarter, but you never hear about it (Rooster Magazine)
Virginia Alcohol Regulators Said Ending Ban on Happy Hour Ads Would Literally Kill People, Then Supported Ending the Ban (Reason)
How to go alcohol free when you work in the drinks industry (The Drinks Business)
As Problem Drinking Rises In Older Americans, Geriatrician Offers Tips For Those Who Imbibe Over 65 (Forbes)
The celebrity alcohol brands worth a sip (GQ)
NOOTROPICS
On Nootropics: How (and if) ‘smart pills’ work (Ladders)
This New Blend Of Nootropics is Clinically Proven to Enhance Brain Function (Futurism)
Global Nootropics Market to Observe Strong Development by 2024 (DailyCashReports.com)
KRATOM
Kratom Migraine & Headaches: What You Must Do To Avoid This Unpleasant Effect (Kratom Guides)
Kratom: It's legal, unregulated and has contributed to 2 Northwest Colorado deaths (Craig Daily Press)
KAVA
Kava sold at N. Knox bar like 'mild, liquid Valium with happiness attached.' But what is it? (Knoxville News Sentinel)
MISCELLANEOUS
'There Is Officially No More War.' Mexico's President Declares an End to the Drug War Amid Skepticism (TIME)
Man evades capture for 15 years by using fingerprint implants (The Guardian)
Scientists Rethink Psychedelics As Attitudes Change Toward Formerly Illicit Drugs (Forbes)
El Chapo's Defense Team Rests Its Case After Just 30 Minutes (TIME)
Sacred Sexuality, Psychedelics and Erotic Hustle: Interview with Lana Baumgartner (Psychedelic Times)
The Psychedelic Emotion: Why We Need More “Awe” In Everyday Life (High Existence)
A Collection of Trip Sitter Manuals and Guides (Tam Integration)
Pointing the way to psychedelic Christianity (The Institute for the Advancement of Psychedelic Christianity)
Do you have to do drugs to enjoy dance music? (Mixmag)
An inside look at drug networks flooding music festivals — and police are struggling to stop them (news.com.au)
'Don't bury your head in the sand': NZ police minister has spray at Australians over pill testing (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The Frankfurt Resolution of 1990 Still Inspires City-Level Drug Policy Reforms (Filter)
This Podcast Gives You the Straight Dope About Drugs (OZY)
Embodied Healing: A Personal Perspective on Resolving Trauma with Psychedelics (Chacruna)
Illicit drugs should be regulated and distributed by pharmacies, leading doctor suggests (news.com.au)
NSW Premier doubles down on pill testing stance following horror drug weekend (SBS)
$4.6 million apartment used to host a drug-fuelled rave through Airbnb (news.com.au)
'County lines': huge scale of £500m drug industry revealed (The Guardian)
Incarcerated Women Who Use Drugs Find Ways to Care for One Another (Filter)
Health and county officials consider syringe exchange solutions (The Daily World)
History, not harm, dictates why some drugs are legal and others aren’t (The Conversation)
Interested in Harm Reduction? Check Out These Essential Resources (EDM Identity)
Don't make tripping on psychedelics a daily habit (The Daily Evergreen)
Why a public vote is the wrong way to determine drug policy (The Spinoff)
Everything you need to know about microdosing (INSIDER)
Harm reduction does not promote drug use (AOD Media Watch)
Psychedelic drugs: Magic or menace? (The Irish Times)
On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:
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.