hippies

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.18.21

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Cannabis

  • Louisiana Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Into Law (Marijuana Moment)

  • Texas: Governor Signs Medical Cannabis Expansion Legislation into Law (NORML)

  • Connecticut Marijuana Legalization Bill Heads To Governor’s Desk (Marijuana Moment)

  • Poll: 92 Percent of Americans Say Marijuana Should Be Legal Under Certain Circumstances (NORML)

  • Florida Supreme Court Kills Another Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure For 2022 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Stoned Driving Is Far Safer Than Operating a Vehicle on Prescription Drugs, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

  • Rhode Island Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved In Senate Committee (Marijuana Moment)

  • Montana: Opponents Drop Lawsuit Challenging Voter-Approved Legalization Initiative (NORML)

  • Two cannabis legalisation bills to be considered in Portugal (CanEx)

  • Nebraska Marijuana Activists Plan ‘Mass Scale’ Medical Cannabis Campaign For 2022 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

  • Local Marijuana Decriminalization Efforts Launch In Ohio, South Carolina And West Virginia (Marijuana Moment)

  • Wyoming Activists File 2022 Marijuana Decriminalization And Medical Cannabis Ballot Measures (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • Could LSD Really Be a Better Smart Drug Than Modafinil? (Sam Woolfe)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Oregon’s psilocybin program starts to take shape (OPB)

  • Filament Announces First GMP Batch of Pharmaceutical Grade Natural Psilocybin (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Psyence Group Announces Collaboration with the Scientific Research Council (SRC) of Jamaica for Psilocybin Product Development (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

  • How Ayahuasca Can Help Gay Men Create Better Dance Parties (Chacruna)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • Cybin Selects Anxiety Disorder Indications for Proprietary Psychedelic Molecule CYB004 (Psilocybin Alpha)

Nitrous Oxide

  • Laughing gas could help people with hard-to-treat depression (Popular Science)

Miscellaneous

  • Federal Drug Decriminalization Measure Introduced in the House (DoubleBlind)

  • Introducing the Mormon Psychedelic Summit (DoubleBlind)

  • The problem at the heart of modern psychedelic clinical research (New Atlas)

  • This Summer Might Be a Psychedelic Dumpster Fire. Are You Ready? (Lucid News)

  • West Coast Psychedelic Update (Dr. Bronner's)

  • Toronto board of health to ask Ottawa to decriminalize drug possession in the city (Toronto Star)

  • Clinics Seek to Widen Access to Psychedelic Therapy for BIPOC Communities (Lucid News)

  • Can Psychedelics Help Make Dying Easier? (Rolling Stone)

  • Hippie Girls in Yorkville: Canada’s Haight-Ashbury (Chacruna)

  • Whole-Body Effects of Psychedelics – Part 1 (Psychedelic Science Review)

  • The Brain’s Psychedelic System (Reality Sandwich)

  • As the Pandemic Wanes and the Party Kicks Off, Drug Testing and Safety Are More Important Than Ever (Lucid News)

  • Consent is Psychedelic. Here’s Why. (DoubleBlind)

  • Psychedelics and Surfing (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 - 7.3.20

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Cannabis

  • Virginia’s Marijuana Decriminalization Law Officially Takes Effect (Marijuana Moment)

  • As Signature Deadlines Approach, Here’s Where Marijuana And Drug Policy Reform Campaigns Stand (Marijuana Moment)

  • Arizona Marijuana Activists Turn In 420,000 Signatures To Qualify Legalization Measure For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

  • Nebraska Medical Marijuana Campaign Submits 182,000 Signatures To Qualify For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colorado Governor Signs Marijuana Social Equity Bill Letting Him Expedite Possession Pardons (Marijuana Moment)

  • Researchers Are Looking At Cannabis As A Potential Way To Prevent COVID-19 (Forbes)

  • Pennsylvania and California Both Move to Expunge Thousands of Minor Pot Charges (MERRY JANE)

  • Virginia Lawmakers Announce Plans To Legalize Marijuana, One Day After Decriminalization Takes Effect (Marijuana Moment)

  • Texas: Austin Police to Cease Making Arrests, Issuing Citations for Minor Marijuana Offenses (NORML)

  • Treasury Department Issues Updated Guidance On Hemp Banking Rules (Marijuana Moment)

  • 56% of New Zealanders Say They'll Vote "Yes" on Weed Legalization This Fall (MERRY JANE)

  • Ohio Senate Votes To Expand Marijuana Decriminalization To Cover 200 Grams (Marijuana Moment)

  • 90% of College Students in New York Want Weed Legalization Now, New Poll Shows (MERRY JANE)

  • Cannabis pandemic sales uptick not enough to save struggling sector (Medical Xpress)

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

  • What’s the best minimum legal age for cannabis? (Leafly)

  • Nashville DA to Stop Prosecuting Minor Pot Possession, Effective Immediately (MERRY JANE)

  • California cities begin embracing cannabis in desperate search for cash (Politico)

  • CBD Helps Treat Osteoarthritis and Increase Mobility in Dogs, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

  • Military Members Who Used Marijuana Could Reenlist Under Measure Approved By Congressional Committee (Marijuana Moment)

  • Consuming Pharmaceutical THC May Help Treat Alzheimer's Symptoms, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

  • Cannabis research stalled by federal inaction (Chemical and Engineering News)

LSD

Magic Mushrooms

  • Oregon Psilocybin Measure Has Enough Signatures For November Ballot, Activists Say (Marijuana Moment)

  • Invading Cicadas May Turn Into Sex-Crazed Zombies This Summer (VICE)

  • There's A Case For Non-Medical Psilocybin (Green Market Report)

  • What I Learned While Working to Decriminalize Psilocybin in California (Chacruna)

  • New Psilocybin Company Enters The Market (Green Market Report)

MDMA

  • Study finds impulsivity and psychological distress predict problematic ecstasy use (PsyPost)

Ayahuasca

  • Bringing Indigenous Healing and Psychoactive Plants to Global Mental Health (Mad in America)

Nitrous Oxide

  • Nitrous oxide may bring relief to veterans suffering from PTSD, new study suggests (EurekAlert!)

Ketamine

  • Proposed Patent for Ketamine Treatment Challenged by Clinicians (Lucid News)

  • Elijah McClain was injected with ketamine before he died. Is that legal? (USA Today)

  • Trying Something New in Isolation (The Cut)

Miscellaneous

  • Oregon Drug Decriminalization And Treatment Measure Qualifies For November Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

  • DC Psychedelics Campaign Gets Boost From Denver Psilocybin Activists As Signature Deadline Looms (Marijuana Moment)

  • Beckley Psytech raises £3m Series A (UK Tech News)

  • How COVID-19 will Affect the Psychedelic Renaissance (Volteface)

  • Using Zebrafish as an Experimental Model in Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

  • Are psychedelic drugs headed for the mainstream? (Sifted)

  • The Foster System Is a Battleground for the Racist War on Drugs (Truthout)

  • The Technodelic Experience: Achieving a Psychedelic State Without Psychedelics (Sam Woolfe)

  • Field Trip Psychedelics Launches Therapeutic Program For Vets, First Responders (Benzinga)

  • The DEA’s Most Recent Abuse of Power Should Renew Calls for Divestment (Common Dreams)

  • Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out: A Previously Unpublished Interview with Timothy Leary (DoubleBlind)

  • From Hippies to Modern Psychotherapy, A Psychedelics Handbook for the Willful Skeptics (Interesting Engineering)

  • South African Network of People Who Use Drugs Welcomes the Announcement of the National Drug Master Plan by the Department of Social Development on 2020 Global Day of Action (AllAfrica)

  • MindMed Building Diverse Pipeline and Leadership Position in Psychedelic Inspired Medicines Industry (PR Newswire)

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 catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Year in Psychoactives - 2019

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Happy New Years Eve! As has become a tradition here at Think Wilder, today I am publishing my fifth-consecutive yearly roundup of psychoactive drug news from 2019. Just like every other year so far, the way I track the news has continued to evolve and as a result this year’s roundup post is a little bit different than last year’s.

First off, I added new categories to my regular roundups throughout the year so I could bring even more comprehensive news coverage to my readers. These categories include: yopo, DXM, methamphetamine, caffeine, nicotine, benzodiazepines, GHB, nootropics, kanna, datura, and sananga. In addition, the absinthe category from years’ past was converted to a more general alcohol category to more effectively track news about all forms of alcohol, not just absinthe.

Coming off the heals of last year’s absolutely massive yearly roundup (seriously—it was more than 16k words!), I started off 2019 by trying to collect every single link possible for my “This Week in Psychoactives” column. However, I eventually found that relentless link-gathering approach to be completely unsustainable for both my work ethic and my mental health. There are just way too many news stories about drugs popping up nowadays, especially compared to when I first started doing this back in 2015! As a result, I’ve been trying to figure out the types of stories I want to include and which to toss aside, and I’ve landed on trying to include only the most newsworthy stories to reduce the amount of worthless noise in each roundup.

This blog post does not even attempt to be as comprehensive as last year’s roundup. Therefore, there are several drug categories that you won’t find listed below, even though there may have been quite a bit of news surrounding them. Instead I have selected what I felt like were the most important stories of the year to share with you. I’ve learned that I can’t simply throw every single news story into a roundup and have it turn out well.

We’ve got a lot to cover this year, but before we do, here is a video version of this recap that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

Without further ado, let’s get into this year’s news!

Cannabis

Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (VALI)

Undoubtedly one of the biggest stories this year involved a widespread negative reaction to vaping that seemed to spring up all across the U.S. virtually overnight. The phenomenon went by many names throughout the year—”e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury” (EVALI), “vaping-associated pulmonary injury” (VAPI), or sometimes simply “vaping lung disease.” However, the moniker that most accurately identified the issue at hand was “vaping-associated lung injury” (VALI).

VALI impacted thousands of people and even killed more than 50. After a couple smooth decades of e-cigarette usage and several unexceptional years with cannabis vape pens, this epidemic came out of nowhere, and fast. Interestingly, it seemed to nearly exclusively affect vapers in America, not the rest of the world.

Researchers found unexpected white blood cells in patients who had the disease, but no one could figure out exactly what was causing it. Tests found illicit THC vape cartridges tainted with hydrogen cyanide and heavy metals. One study found that the illness might have been caused by toxic fumes. Some THC vape pens were found to be contaminated with synthetic cannabinoids.

Shortly after the initial outbreak, one of the main culprits of concern was vitamin E acetate, an oil additive that was increasingly being used as a thickener during the manufacturing process of THC vape carts. Multiple studies linked the additive to the illness, but a poor understanding and inaccurate reporting of the issue on the behalf of the CDC and mainstream media attempted to shift the blame to e-cigarettes, rather than the real guilty party—the illicit THC vape pen black market.

Eventually the CDC admitted that THC vapes, not e-cigarettes, were the primary cause of VALI and finally labeled vitamin E acetate as the most likely offender. This prompted Ohio to ban the additive from its medical marijuana vape products.

And the fallout didn’t stop there. Massachusetts implemented an emergency ban on all cannabis and nicotine vapes but later lifted the ban on medical marijuana vapes. Apple removed all vaping-related apps from its app store. Since the blame was initially focused on nicotine-based e-cigarettes, reactionary bans unfortunately hit them as well.

Three companies were subpoenaed in an investigation and the California-based THC vape manufacturer Kushy Punch was caught making and selling illegal products on the side of its legal business and had its licensed revoked. A popular additive company named Honey Cut was found to be involved as well.

The legal THC vape cartridge market was also found selling some of these poisonous products as well—VALI cases were directly linked to legal cannabis vapes sold in Massachusetts and the products contained high levels of lead.

Although it seems like there may have been multiple possible causes for the illness and investigations are still underway, thankfully it seems like the VALI scandal may be coming to an end.

Cannabis Policy in 2019 and Beyond

There were several cannabis policy reform victories in 2019, and this is by no means a comprehensive list. Among the highlights, Guam and two Caribbean islands legalized cannabis for adult use while Israel decriminalized recreational cannabis and Canberra became the first city in Australia to legalize marijuana. In the United States, Illinois legalized weed while Hawaii and New Mexico decriminalized cannabis.

When it comes to consuming weed at the same place you purchase it, Alaska became the first state to legalize on-site marijuana consumption, but the country’s first cannabis cafe in the U.S. ended up in Los Angeles. And cannabis cafes will be coming to Colorado soon, now that a law has finally authorized them.

Meanwhile, public support for marijuana legalization is at an all-time high, with multiple polls reporting that two-thirds of Americans saying that cannabis should be made legal.

Once maligned, cannabis now has a bright outlook. Illinois cannabis dispensaries open tomorrow for adult-use sales, federal marijuana legalization efforts are moving forward, Mexico plans to legalize cannabis next year, and almost 20 states are considering whether to legalize or decriminalize weed in 2020.

Magic Mushrooms

Funky Fungi Spurred A Psychedelic Decriminalization Movement

Denver voters surprised the psychedelic community by narrowly voting to decriminalize the use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms in May. The race was so close that media outlets initially reported that the measure had failed to gain enough support and had to revise their reports the next morning when it was determined that the initiative had barely won with 50.6% of the vote. This win was a huge first for psychedelic policy reform in the country.

Shortly after that, the City Council in Oakland, CA unanimously approved a Decriminalize Nature resolution to decriminalize magic mushrooms along with several other psychedelic plants and cacti. And the movement to decriminalize natural psychedelics has continued to spread across the nation.

However, not everyone supports the idea of decriminalizing, medicalizing, or legalizing psychedelic drugs at this time. Author Michael Pollan, a well-known writer who is new to the psychedelic beat, argued against rushing to change laws involving psychedelics without proper forethought lest there be a public backlash against them like there was in the 1960s due to Timothy Leary and the hippie movement. His ideas faced quite a bit of criticism from the psychedelic community, which is for the most part sick and tired of waiting for change, itching to usher in saner drug laws as soon as possible.

Regardless of what naysayers like Pollan think, efforts to create a legal market for psychedelic mushrooms in California and legalize them for medical use in Oregon are underway. And Denver’s psilocybin mushroom policy review panel is expected to launch next month.

A Mushrooming Industry

Although magic mushrooms are not legal in most countries, that hasn’t stopped businesses from wanting to get in on what is expected to be a ripe financial opportunity, in a new form of opportunistic psychedelic corporatism. Three Chinese companies entered the field, a Canadian online dispensary opened up to sell microdoses by mail order, a company is developing psilocybin mushroom tea and coffee in Denver, and the world’s first magic mushroom nasal spray for PTSD and depression is being developed in Oregon. None of these products will be available for legal purchase unless magic mushrooms are legalized for medical or recreational use, but assuming that eventually happens, it looks like we will need to strap in for a world of fresh innovation coming out of the emerging magic mushroom industry.

MDMA

MDMA Close to Getting FDA Approval

There was a ton of valuable MDMA research that came out in 2019, including a study that found MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to be effective at treating alcohol use disorder and another paper that reported ecstasy users to be more empathetic than people who take other drugs.

MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD will be entering its round of Phase 3 trials soon, which may mean that it could be legal for medical use as soon as 2021—just as Rick Doblin (the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) has previously predicted.

DMT

Endogenous DMT Was Discovered in the Brain

A debate about whether DMT is created in the human brain has gone on for decades, and although it wasn’t exactly resolved this year, there is at least one new argument to consider. That’s because a natural source of the drug was found in the brains of rats, indicating that same thing might be happening in humans.

5-MeO-DMT

5-MeO-DMT Splashes Onto the Scene With Plenty of Controversy

While it was once a relatively obscure psychedelic drug only known to the most hardened psychonauts, 5-MeO-DMT became far more popular in 2019, although not without a ton of internal debate from its users. Professional boxer Mike Tyson made waves after announcing that he was a big fan of the drug because it helped him cure his addictions. And studies found that the psychedelic toad venom is capable of relieving depression, anxiety, and stress.

One of the main controversies surrounding 5-MeO-DMT involves widespread malpractice among some of the traveling practitioners who administer it to adventurous psychonauts around the world. A discussion has opened up about how to hold these dangerous practitioners accountable in a world where legal recourse cannot be taken against underground shamans.

Another debate involves whether users should work with the venom, which is collected from the Sonoran Desert Toad, or if they should switch to using the synthesized form of 5-MeO-DMT, which is made in a laboratory. There are several factors to consider, including the entourage effect that comes with using the natural material and the endangerment of the toads, a species in rapid decline.

Nitrous Oxide

Laughing Gas For Childbirth & Problems in Europe

More women are choosing nitrous oxide to help them through labor and childbirth, but it can be at a high cost. An administration of laughing gas can be quite expensive, costing up to $5000. And while nitrous oxide can be helpful for labor pain, the epidural is still the top choice.

Recreational laughing gas use has been exploding in Britain and the Netherlands, with users sometimes even consuming the dissociative drug while driving. In response, the Dutch government has decided to officially classify nitrous oxide under its Opium Act in the “Schedule II” category, along with other so-called “soft drugs” like cannabis, hashish, sleep medications, and sedatives like Valium and Seresta.

Ketamine

Esketamine Earns “Breakthrough Therapy” Designation

After many years without approving a new antidepressant, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the “Breakthrough Therapy” designation to a nasal spray named Spravato for treatment-resistant depression. Also known as “esketamine,” this medicine is simply the left-handed subtype of ketamine, not a brand-new drug.

This was a huge step forward, but not everyone was happy about the news. That’s because there are restrictions on where, when, how, and why patients are able to receive treatment, and it will be prohibitively expensive for many. In a world where ketamine clinics already exist—although you do have to be careful about which one you choose—is a more exclusive drug really needed?

Opioids

Touching Fentanyl Won’t Kill You & The Sackler Family Saga

Opioids are a family of incredibly powerful painkillers. They can be used to anesthetize patients prior to surgeries or help people recover from injuries, but they are often stigmatized as drugs of abuse that can also be used to kill people when in the wrong hands.

The police and media kept spreading the myth that merely touching fentanyl will kill you, but that has been thoroughly debunked and the record needs to be set straight because spreading this lie any further is outright dangerous.

The family behind the pharmaceutical opioid known as OxyContin received a large portion of the blame for causing America’s modern “opioid epidemic.” A lawsuit exposed several offenses that the Sackler family committed, including pushing to keep patients on OxyContin longer, concealing the drug’s strength from doctors, and taking larger payments from Purdue Pharma after it was fined for misleading marketing of the prescription painkiller.

Although maintaining its innocence, the family reached a $270 million settlement in the lawsuit, which is merely a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money that they pocketed.

Methamphetamine

It Turns Out Meth is a Medicine

Methamphetamine use increased dramatically all across the U.S., but especially in the midwest. South Dakota even ran a controversial anti-meth campaign that got people talking about the problems that many people were aware of but few were openly talking about. Crystal meth even became popular in North Korea, when the drug became a trendy lunar New Year’s gift. But the story that interested me the most this year was about the many health benefits of methamphetamine. That’s right, it turns out the drug can actually be a medicine capable of healing the brain, but stigma surrounding problematic use of street meth is harming patients and holding back research.

Nicotine

Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Raised to 21

The movement to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco gained steam, with several states and cities opting to limit access to those younger than 21. With e-cigarette usage increasing among teens to the point where schools started installing vape detectors to sniff out students, it certainly seemed to many that reducing access would greatly reduce harms. (Although if underage nicotine users wanted a fix they could’ve probably just gone to Walmart or Kroger to buy their goods before the FDA threatened to fine the stores for selling tobacco to minors.)

This left many people calling for action at the federal level, which happened just earlier this month. Although the FDA technically had until this summer to update its regulations, the agency went ahead and announced that the new legal age is now in effect, so as of now it is a violation of federal law to sell tobacco products (including e-cigarettes, cigarettes, and cigars) to anyone under the age of 21.

While this is arguably a win from a public health perspective, it will put 18-20 year-olds in a situation where their country says it’s okay for them to literally go die in a war to protect our freedoms but they aren’t allowed to buy a pack of cigarettes. And to make matters worse, there’s no grandfather clause, so anyone who is deemed underage will be expected to magically quit one of the most addictive substances on the planet.

I expect a black market for underage tobacco and nicotine users to open up, further increasing the harms that they are exposed to. But on the bright side, this will make it difficult for those who haven’t already started using these products to get started with them, and that’s something worth celebrating.

Unwarranted Bans and the Backlash

The vaping-associated lung injury (VALI) epidemic mentioned earlier in this blog post also greatly affected nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, not because they were really at fault but because the mainstream media and U.S. government mistakenly placed the blame on them.

Even before vaping fell under intense scrutiny, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to pass a ban on e-cigarettes. And once the VALI story had made its rounds, Michigan attempted to ban flavored e-cigarettes, although a judge later put the ban on hold. Massachusetts banned tobacco and vaping products but that ban was also struck down. Washington also joined in. Walmart decided to stop selling e-cigarettes in its stores. These bans were essentially knee-jerk reactions to misreporting from media outlets and the CDC, which claimed that VALI was caused by e-cigarettes when the main culprit was clearly black market THC vape cartridges.

Vapers around the country didn’t buy the official story, and with good reason. When President Trump announced a plan to ban flavored vapes across the U.S., the threat of a crackdown mobilized vapers to protest the proposed ban, which eventually prompted him to back down.

Shortly after the fight, vapers were armed with new research when a long-term study found that although vaping does cause damage to the lungs, it is still safer than smoking.

A New Alternative to Smoking or Vaping with E-Cigarettes

Nicotine fans have other options when it comes to satisfying their cravings. A new device called IQOS, which heats tobacco without burning it, was granted approval in the U.S. and the manufacturer launched the product at quite an optimal time—right on the heels of the VALI epidemic.

Alcohol

The Alcohol Industry is Drowning

While alcohol use seems to be soaring worldwide, another narrative is simultaneously emerging. The powerful alcohol industry, once thought to be undefeatable, has met its match in the form of several new phenomena—the legal cannabis industry, a generation of young people that are sick of drinking, and a forthcoming synthesized alcohol alternative that promises to provide all the joys of drinking without any of the dangers or annoyances that come with traditional alcohol.

Kratom

Kratom is Still Under Attack

Ever since the DEA recommended that kratom be banned at the national level back in 2016, a feverish debate has raged on between federal authorities and kratom supporters. The FDA denied involvement when Indonesia announced its future plans to crack down on kratom in 2024. This year kratom was banned in two Mississippi cities (Columbus and Caledonia) and Castle Rock, CO banned underage sales but the attempt to ban kratom at the federal level has thankfully failed.

Miscellaneous

The Drug War Rages On

Even though the war on drugs has been deemed wildly ineffective and a flagrant violation of human rights by researchers and NGOs, and while the majority of Americans support decriminalizing all drugs, the drug war is showing no signs of packing its bags and heading home anytime soon. But that hasn’t stopped drug policy reform groups from proposing various models for how we could legalize every drug in the future.

El Chapo Goes Down

The notorious drug kingpin known as El Chapo was found guilty in his U.S. trial of all charges involving his role in trafficking billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs into the United States while he was a top boss in the Sinaloa cartel. He was given a life sentence, but even top-security prisons don’t exactly have the best record when it comes to keeping him behind bars, so this story may not be over quite yet.

Three Psychedelic Luminaries Passed Away

The psychedelic community lost three amazing contributors this year. Ralph Metzner, an LSD and consciousness researcher who contributed a lot to the body of psychedelic research died at the age of 82. Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert), who teamed up with Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley in the 1960s to work with psychedelics at Harvard University—and later went on to promote Hinduism and Eastern philosophy to the West—passed away earlier this month at the age of 88. And James Ketchum, an army psychiatrist who assisted with conducting LSD experiments on U.S. soldiers died at the age of 87. All three of these men left the world in a much better place than it would have been without them, and they will be greatly missed.

The Dark Web Can’t Be Defeated

The dark web hosts many black marketplaces for illicit products, including drugs. One of the biggest markets, known as Dream Market, shut down in April, and another named Wall Street Market followed suit shortly thereafter. The founder of Silk Road 2 was finally sentenced to more than five years in prison nearly five years after the site was shut down by the feds. But no matter what, when one black market site on the dark web goes down, another quickly springs up to fill the void again. How long will this game of cat and mouse continue?

The World’s First Psychedelic Research Centers

More and more psychedelic research has come every year since the early 2000s, increasing our understanding of these powerful and life-transforming plants and chemicals. This year the world’s first psychedelic research centers were opened. The first, the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research, based in London, is expected to focus on the use of psychedelics in mental health care and how they affect the brain.

Not to be outdone, the U.S. also opened the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins, which will also study the safety and efficacy of using psychedelics to treat a range of mental health issues. And the mainstream is taking notice—60 Minutes devoted a segment to the center’s opening.

And Jamaica opened up the world’s first magic mushroom research center, which will conduct its research with actual psilocybin mushrooms rather than the synthesized compound.

Trip-Free Psychedelics

The psychedelic experience is often credited for the healing that can take place when people consume psychedelic drugs. But scientists, therapists, and the always money-hungry pharmaceutical industry are all looking at the possibility of removing the trip from psychedelics to treat patients without requiring them to undergo a potentially overwhelming—or even traumatizing—psychedelic experience.

Companies have begun work on developing trip-free psychedelics that will still be helpful for issues like depression and addiction. Whether their quest will be successful is yet to be determined, but the news has left many psychonauts stunned and afraid that this is the first sign of a psychedelic-free world. However, as long as psychedelic plants and fungi continue to grow and underground chemists forge on, the psychedelic experience is most likely here to stay.

A Few More Highlights

And that barely scratches the surface of what happened in psychoactive drug news this year. Psychedelics were featured as a topic on the main TED Talk stage for the first time, drug education has come a long way since D.A.R.E., and more people are going “Cali Sober,” which means they are consciously choosing to abstain from drugs other than cannabis and psychedelics.

Conclusion

It’s been quite an exciting year for drug nerds. Tons of new psychoactive research studies came out, drug policy reform efforts inched forward one by one, and several companies showed an interest in capitalizing on markets that have yet to even fully materialize. I am sure 2020 will be yet another fun one to watch, and encourage you to keep your eyes open for the weekly roundups that are published on this blog as well as the monthly recaps that go up on my YouTube channel so you can stay up-to-date with everything that is happening in this space.

Previous Years In Psychoactives

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this year’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.

Banner image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.20.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • Will Canada become America's cannabis capital? (The Guardian)
  • NFL Player Eugene Monroe Donates $80,000 to Medical Cannabis Research (Merry Jane)
  • How One Guy's Illegal U-Turn Brought Down a Cannabis Gang (VICE)
  • Cooking With Cannabis (Medical Jane)
  • Trouble in Bogota: How the Risks of Homemade Cannabis Remedies are Being Felt in Colombia (Leafly)
  • California is poised to become the center of cannabis culture (Los Angeles Times)
  • The case for legalizing cannabis (Toronto Star)
  • NC Support for Medical at All Time High - 2016 (NORML of North Carolina)
  • The Downside to The DEA Rescheduling Cannabis (Merry Jane)
  • Cannabis convention controversy: The 'free' samples that'll run you $299 (Alaska Dispatch News)
  • House Member Vote To Permit Military Veterans Access To Medical Cannabis (NORML)
  • Cannabis-Infused Spa Treatments Are Mom Approved (Merry Jane)
  • First Clinical Trial With Cannabis for Huntington's Disease Shows Promising Results (High Times)
  • Cannabis By The Numbers: How Much Money Will States Bring in From Marijuana in 2016? (Merry Jane)
  • New State Laws Permit Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals (NORML)
  • They Called It A Miracle: Cannabis Oil Helps Infant Beat Aggressive Eye Cancer (Reset.me)
  • Arizona Cannabis Legalization Has Some Powerful Opponents (ATTN:)
  • Cannabis for Canines (Reason)
  • Say Why To Drugs – the highs and lows of cannabis (The Guardian)
  • Cannabis Prices Are Plummeting Thanks To Legalization (Green Rush Daily)
  • Colorado's Lessons from Legal Pot (Reason)
  • Best Marijuana Strains for People Who Can't Sleep (ATTN:)
  • Cannabis Changes the Game of Real Estate (Eugene Weekly)
  • Baird confronted at cannabis conference by illness sufferers (SBS)
  • Here Are 5 Highly Reviewed Marijuana Strains for Arousal (ATTN:)
  • Anti-Pot Analyst Claims Fatal Crashes in Washington 'Have Risen 122 Percent' (Reason)

LSD

  • Watch this brief history of LSD, and glimpse of its future (Boing Boing)
  • The first modern images of a human brain on LSD (The Daily Psychedelic Video)
  • That Escalated Quickly: Why You Should Do Acid (Daily Nexus)
  • Boys take LSD at Donald Trump rally, philosophize about nation's future (Daily Pakistan)
  • Vogue Williams reveals she's not doing LSD for new show: 'No drugs for me' (Irish Examiner)
  • NH police still investigating bad LSD trip at UMass Outing Club last week (MassLive)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

  • Magic mushrooms lift severe depression in clinical trial (The Guardian)
  • The FDA Calls Psilocybin Trips Food Poisoning, but Mushrooms May Mend the Brain (Inverse)
  • Psilocybin and End-of-Life Anxiety: Reducing Stress for Terminal Cancer Patients (Psychedelic Times)
  • Psychedelic Mushrooms: Strong Medicine For A Troubled World (Reset.me)

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • 7 Ways to Reduce the MDMA Hangover (AlterNet)
  • ILLEGAL! Presents: In Love With EMMA (VolteFace)

Ayahuasca/DMT

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

  • Alabama church members smoke pot, eat mushrooms and peyote: those are the sacraments (AL.com)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

  • Man, 21, who had to learn to eat and walk again after taking psychedelic drug 'NBOMe' shares picture of himself in a 10-day coma in hospital to warn others of the dangers (Daily Mail)

Dissociatives

  • Ketamine: painkiller, party drug – and possibly next-generation antidepressant (The Conversation)
  • Promising Data With Ketamine in Chronic and Phantom Limb Pain (Medscape)
  • This Personal Tragedy Gave Me a Mission to Save Our Youth (The Good Men Project)
  • Stamford police: Woman stuffs 20 bags of PCP down pants (Stamford Advocate)
  • Blue Springs man sentenced to 20 years in prison for PCP conspiracy (KMBZ)

Opiates/Opioids

  • Mexico debates legalizing opium poppy for medicine (Medical Xpress)
  • Dangerous heroin-fentanyl combination fuels overdoses (CBS)
  • The Price of This Anti-Overdose Drug Is Skyrocketing (ATTN:)
  • 'Opioid Epidemic' Myths (Reason)
  • Church must not condemn opium farmers, says Mexican bishop (The Tablet)

Kratom

Kava

  • Yaqona Industry Recovery Expected To Take 3 To 6 Years (Fiji Sun)

Khat

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • The War on Drugs May Have Misrepresented Psychedelics; Here's Why That Matters (Medical Daily)
  • LSD-Like Drugs Are Out of the Haze and Back in the Labs (The New York Times)
  • Why psychedelics could be a new class of antidepressant (The Guardian)
  • Psychedelic Artist Alex Grey Plans a Freaky Temple in New York (CityLab)
  • The Lingering Legacy of Psychedelia (The New Yorker)
  • Creatives, designers and drugs: what are they on, and why? (It's Nice That)
  • Countries Show Progress at the UN Meeting, But General Assembly Falls Short on Drug Policy Reform (Psychedelic Times)
  • 1970s magazine ads for cocaine paraphernalia (Boing Boing)
  • Print Your Own Drugs, For Health and Fun (Reason)
  • Psychedelics, Sexuality, and Transformation: An Interview with Author and Podcaster James Jesso (Psychedelic Times)
  • Colombia Seizes 8.8 Tons of Cocaine, President Says It's 'Biggest' Find in History (TIME)
  • Scientists: Mother's Voice is Like LSD or Magic Mushrooms (Clapway)
  • Newsbeat analyses Newcastle University's DIY drug testing kits in a laboratory (BBC)
  • Psychedelic Font: How Wes Wilson Turned Hippie Era Turmoil Into Art (NPR)

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.

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.