This Week in Psychoactives - 5.31.19

CANNABIS

• Illinois Senate Passes the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (NORML)

• TSA Updates Marijuana Rules To Allow Hemp-Derived CBD On Flights (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Extracts Are Legal, Arizona High Court Rules (Leafly)

• Report Says 70% of CBD Products Are Contaminated with Heavy Metals or Pesticides (MERRY JANE)

• Early Presidential Primary State Voters Oppose Federal Intervention In Local Marijuana Laws, Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Ban in Public Housing Lifted in NYC––And Nation May Be Next (Filter)

• Legal Medical Marijuana Tied To Lower Opioid Use, Another Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Springs dispensary pulls THC-free CBD products because of City Code (KOAA)

• CBD and THC May Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease, New Research Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• Alberta Lifts Ban on Licensing New Cannabis Stores (Leafly)

• States Can’t Block Legal Hemp Shipments Within Their Borders, USDA Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Workplace Deaths Fell 34% After Medical Cannabis Legalization (Leafly)

• Google won't allow marijuana delivery apps in the Play Store (Engadget)

• Nigerians Smoke the Most Weed on Earth, Spend Over $15 Billion on Pot Annually (MERRY JANE)

• Man Shoots Himself in Testicles Before Cops Found Weed Up His Ass (MERRY JANE)

• Israel is banking on cannabis as its next big industry (Los Angeles Times)

• Former NFL Pro Chris Long Admits to Smoking Weed His Entire Career (MERRY JANE)

• eBay Says It Will Continue To Ban People From Selling CBD Products (Marijuana Moment)

• Most people accept medical use of marijuana: Nida Poll (Bangkok Post)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Mushrooms: Today Denver, tomorrow all of Colorado? (GOPUSA)

• Psilocybin Could Open the Door to Legal Hallucinogens (Medium)

MDMA

• Mums of children killed by ecstasy explain why they want drug to be legalised (Mirror)

• Teacher is jailed for six years after he drugged woman's hot chocolate with MDMA then sexually assaulted her and held her captive in his car for five hours (Daily Mail)

• Unpredictable MDMA: Here’s why it’s ‘impossible’ to know how the drug affects you (Rave Jungle)

AYAHUASCA

• Can and Should Ayahuasca Become Part of Western Medicine? (Kahpi)

• Ayahuasca Community Guide for the Awareness of Sexual Abuse (Chacruna)

• The Shaman’s Treasure: The Many Plants Added to the Ayahuasca Brew (Kahpi)

• What It Takes to Hold an Ayahuasca Ceremony (Kahpi)

5-MEO-DMT

• Smoking the Toad (Chacruna)

IBOGA

• Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant (bioRxiv)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Researchers Find Synthetic CBD Effective in Treating Seizures in Rats (High Times)

• Get ready for a new wave of synthetic cannabinoids and derivatives (Greencamp)

• Man died after taking spice and suffering multiple seizures in prison (WalesOnline)

• Schoolboy rushed to hospital after eating sweet laced with zombie drug Spice (The Sun)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Bill Of The Month: $4,836 Charge For Laughing Gas During Childbirth Is No Joke (NPR)

OPIOIDS

• Opioid Maker Agrees to Pay Oklahoma $85 Million Over Claims Company Helped Create Addiction Crisis (TIME)

• More Drug Users Are Intentionally Using Fentanyl Amid Overdose Crisis, Study Finds (VICE)

• Murphy presents research on police views of addiction (BCTV)

• Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart apologises for smoking opium in Iran (Yahoo! Finance)

• That guy who made up a story about stealing a brick of heroin from an MS-13 gang member says he now regrets it (Boing Boing)

• Most Opioid Deaths in MA Involve Other Drugs (U.S. News & World Report)

• Colorado’s Opioid Crisis Slows, In Part Because Of A Drug That Reverses Overdoses (Colorado Public Radio)

• The chronic-pain quandary: Amid a reckoning over opioids, a doctor crusades for caution in cutting back (STAT)

CAFFEINE

• This is the Best Time of Day to Drink Coffee, According to Science (Civilized)

• Energy drink consumption rising in the U.S. (WHTC)

• Energy drinks: Here’s what they do to your heart (WAVE3)

• Here's the truth about whether you should drink coffee and tea while pregnant (INSIDER)

TOBACCO

• 90% of lung cancers can be avoided by eliminating tobacco use, new WHO report reveals (World Health Organization)

ALCOHOL

• Young people are drinking less alcohol; here’s why (Marin Independent Journal)

KRATOM

• Kratom's reputed pain-relief benefits could come from one of its metabolites (EurekAlert!)

• Fibromyalgia Stole My Life, Kratom Gave It Back (Pain News Network)

• Kratom is called a mood enhancer, but three deaths in St. Louis region are causing concern (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

• St. Charles County pausing decision to ban Kratom, instead of looking at new regulations (KMOV)

• Herbal supplement kratom could face regulations in Monument (Colorado Springs Gazette)

KHAT

• Nyandarua to ban sale of miraa (The Standard)

• Turning a blind eye to khat use in the west does vulnerable communities in which it is consumed few favours (Illicit Trade)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Oakland Lawmakers Advance Psychedelic Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Just Passed a Slew of Groundbreaking Drug Reform Laws (MERRY JANE)

• Philly’s supervised injection site nonprofit gets tax-exempt status from IRS (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• The Drug War's Hidden Foster Care Crisis (Reason)

• Nancy Pelosi's Drug Price Compromise Is Bad Policy and Worse Politics (Splinter)

• DanceSafe Announces Return To Virginia (DanceSafe)

• The Case for Taking Psychedelics Seriously (National Review)

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.

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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:

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TSA Updates Marijuana Rules to Allow Hemp-Derived CBD on Flights

Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) updated its policy on cannabis over the Memorial Day weekend, changing the medical marijuana section of its “What Can I Bring?” webpage from reading “no” to “yes” (with “special instructions”).

Specifically, the agency is clarifying that hemp-derived CBD products may now be carried on planes under certain circumstances.

Hemp-derived CBD is now allowed on flights “as long as it is produced within the regulations defined by the law under the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018.”

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This Week in Psychoactives - 5.10.19

CANNABIS

• Debunking Reefer Madness: New Study Says Weed Doesn’t Actually Cause Psychosis (MERRY JANE)

• Top Congressional Democrats Announce Bill To Federally Deschedule Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: 80 percent of cannabis users say weed helps their workouts (Fox 8)

• New Zealand Government Releases Details Of Marijuana Legalization Referendum (Marijuana Moment)

• China Cashes In on the Cannabis Boom (The New York Times)

• Illinois Governor Announces Plan to Legalize Marijuana (TIME)

• THC-Blood Levels Can’t Be Determined Postmortem, Research Finds (Leafly)

• Cannabis Users Have Worse Sperm Health Than Tobacco Smokers, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• North Dakota: Governor Signs Law Reducing Marijuana Possession Penalties (NORML)

• The First Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensary Just Got Its License (Leafly)

• TSA to Travelers: We’re Not Looking for Your Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Louisiana House Unanimously Approves Bill to Allow CBD Sales (Leafly)

• Cannabis Industry Work Costing U.S. Veterans Their Retirement Pensions (Forbes)

• The Great White Shortage: Canada May Soon Run Out of CBD (MERRY JANE)

• Alabama Senate Approves Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Workers Are Smoking Weed More Than Ever, So Employers Are Dropping Drug Tests (MERRY JANE)

• California Cannabis Market Not Tracked or Traced as Promised (Leafly)

• Marijuana Patients Are Ditching Benzos for Weed, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• The Feds Prosecuted Even Fewer Marijuana Trafficking Cases In 2018 (Marijuana Moment)

• Ohio May Become First State to OK Medical Marijuana for Depression and Insomnia (MERRY JANE)

• Federal Agency Clarifies Rules On Adding CBD To Alcoholic Beverages (Marijuana Moment)

• American Accused of Growing Weed in Myanmar Faces 10 Years in Prison (MERRY JANE)

• Texas House Votes To Expand State’s Medical Marijuana Program (Marijuana Moment)

• The Science Behind Combining Cannabis And Caffeine (Benzinga)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Denver Voters Approve Measure To Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms (Forbes)

• California Activists Take First Steps To Decriminalize Psilocybin Mushrooms Statewide (Marijuana Moment)

MDMA

• MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD may have benefits beyond reductions in clinical symptoms (PsyPost)

• MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: study design and rationale for phase 3 trials based on pooled analysis of six phase 2 randomized controlled trials (Springer Link)

• Consider This Before Self-Medicating With MDMA (The Wall Street Journal)

AYAHUASCA

• Health Canada allows more religious groups to import ayahuasca (Global News)

• Ayahuasca and the Twelve Steps: An Anonymous Friendship (Chacruna)

• The Problem With Ayahuasca (Thrive Global)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• CDC traces unexplained bleeding outbreak to synthetic cannabinoids (Healio)

KETAMINE

• Former Playboy Model’s Killer Was ‘Out Of His Mind’ On Ketamine During The Brutal Slaying, Lawyer Says (Oxygen)

OPIOIDS

• Opioid overdose deaths decline when pharmacists can dispense naloxone (Reuters)

• Study: Naloxone Prescriptions Low Despite Deadly Opioid Crisis (U.S. News and World Report)

• Federal Court Rules Inmate Must Have Access to Opioid Addiction Treatment (Reason)

• Narcan, the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug, is scarce in N.J. cities that need it most (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• AHN Researcher Working To Develop Longer-Lasting Naloxone For Opioid Overdoses (WESA)

• Inside Elizabeth Warren's $100 Billion Policy Plan to Tackle the Opioid Epidemic (Fortune)

• White patients far more likely to get popular addiction treatment prescription, study finds (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Report: nurses who carry naloxone denied life insurance coverage (WKBW)

• Louisiana prisons pilot addiction-fighting implants for inmates; lack of FDA approval draws criticism (The Advocate)

• Deputy and two firefighters hospitalized after fentanyl exposure (WDBO)

COCAINE

• Feds: A popular drug from the disco era is making a deadly return (NBC News)

• The mums who took cocaine during play dates (BBC)

• FLASHBACK: Bernie Asks Group Of Young Children: ‘Anyone Ever Seen Cocaine?’ (The Libertarian Republic)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Meth Abusers At Risk For Little-Known But Potentially Deadly Disease (NBC 7 San Diego)

TOBACCO

• Walmart is raising the minimum age to buy tobacco to 21 (CNN)

• Colorado Senate votes down tobacco, nicotine tax hike effort (Cherokee Tribune and Ledger-News)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol use soaring worldwide: The average adult now consumes about 1.7 gallons of pure alcohol per year (USA Today)

• These policies were supposed to stop pregnant women from drinking. A new study says they’re hurting babies. (Vox)

• One in five harmed by others drinking alcohol over past year, survey finds (The Guardian)

• The War On Alcohol: Is This Prohibition 2.0 (Forbes)

KRATOM

• The Debate Over Kratom, An Opioid-Like Plant Legal In Massachusetts (CBS Boston)

• Oxford Police proposes ban on Kratom products (The Oxford Eagle)

• How Cannabis and Kratom Can Help With Addiction Recovery (Civilized)

MISCELLANEOUS

• 1,000-Year-Old Pouch Contains Traces of 5 Ancient Psychoactive Drugs (Inverse)

• Mexico’s President Proposes Drug Decriminalization With Legal Supply Via Prescription (Marijuana Moment)

• Feds Dismantled the Dark Web Drug Trade—but It's Already Rebuilding (WIRED)

• Berlin park designates 'pink zone' areas for drug dealers (The Guardian)

• Drug-testing device gives false positives on poppy seeds, CBD oil, says Vancouver lawyer (CBC)

• Overdose In An Arizona Prison? Get Ready to Pay Up. (The Appeal)

• Where Philadelphia stands on supervised-injection sites, per two polls (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Houston Police Shot Man Killed in Fraudulent Drug Raid at Least Eight Times (Reason)

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.

---

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:

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TSA to Travelers: We’re Not Looking for Your Weed

Zach Harris, writing for MERRY JANE:

According to a new report from Forbes, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) posted a photo of a cannabis leaf on the agency’s official Instagram page on 4/20. The social media post also included a note to travelers, clarifying their hands-off approach to pot.

“Are we cool? We like to think we’re cool,” the TSA caption reads. “We want you to have a pleasant experience at the airport and arrive safely at your destination. But getting caught while trying to fly with marijuana or cannabis-infused products can really harsh your mellow.”

“Let us be blunt,” the tongue-in-cheek warning continues. “TSA officers DO NOT search for marijuana or other illegal drugs. Our screening procedures are focused on security and detecting potential threats. But in the event a substance appears to be marijuana or a cannabis-infused product, we’re required by federal law to notify law enforcement. This includes items that are used for medicinal purposes.”

So they’re not actively looking for cannabis, but if they find it while searching your bags for other contraband they will still get law enforcement involved. Sure, it’s better than going full narc, but at the end of the day this doesn’t sound all that “cool” to me.

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This Week in Psychedelics - 11.23.18

Cannabis

• Massachusetts mayor first in line as recreational marijuana sales begin (CBS News)

• Federal Marijuana Action Is An ‘Inevitability,’ Trump FDA Chief Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Joe Kennedy III calls for legalizing marijuana at the federal level (The Hill)

• Here’s When Michigan’s Marijuana Legalization Law Goes Into Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• US Senate: Leading Marijuana Prohibitionist Out As Senate Judiciary Chair (NORML)

• Two New Studies Reveal How Marijuana Can Treat Different Kinds Of Pain (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed and Pregnancy: How Cannabis Laws Are Hurting Mothers (Rolling Stone)

• Hemp Will Be A Top 10 Product In 2019, Whole Foods Predicts (Marijuana Moment)

• The 'Hypocritical' Loophole in New York's Pledge to Stop Prosecuting Marijuana (The Appeal)

• Canada’s Grand Cannabis Experiment Has Set Scientists Free (The New York Times)

• Missouri’s Largest County Stops Prosecuting Marijuana Possession (NORML)

• Here's how N.J. is likely to legalize marijuana under new bill just unveiled by top Democrats (NJ.com)

• Feds To Discuss Drug Testing Programs In Era Of Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Antigua and Barbuda Set to Pass Inclusive Cannabis Regulation Law (Talking Drugs)

• Artisanal Edible Cannabis Honey Causes A Buzz (Forbes)

• Go Ahead and Pack Your Weed This Thanksgiving—the TSA Probably Won't Find It (Reason)

• FGCU to offer cannabis studies program 2019 (Wink News)

• 'Blow themselves up:' Police worried about butane hash oil extractions at home (The Daily Courier)

• Ontario Cannabis Store aware of mouldy products shipped to customers (Daily Hive)

• How Canada marijuana legalization impacts on Latin American drug policy? (openDemocracy)

• New Poll Says Cannabis Prohibition Doesn't Work And Americans Don't Want It To (Civilized)

• Three Incoming House Committee Chairs Call For Marijuana Reform In Next Congress (Marijuana Moment)

• Teens are trying marijuana before alcohol and tobacco (The Verge)

• South Africa Cannabis Ruling Leads to Pot-Themed Products (Voice of America)

• Totally Unchill NASA Orders SpaceX Safety Probe Because Elon Musk Legally Smoked Weed (Reason)

• What's the deal with cannabis capsules? (The GrowthOp)

• Do We Need Roadside Marijuana Tests? (The Crime Report)

• Hope for cannabis as treatment for opioid addiction (The Conversation)

• Greece eyes pot of gold as medicinal cannabis licensed (Reuters)

• 6 Ways American Colonists Used Cannabis (Civilized)

• How medical marijuana made me a better mom (The Washington Post)

• ‘Outliers’ Author Malcolm Gladwell Is Himself An Outlier On Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• How Much Weed Should Someone Try If It's Their First Time? (WIRED)

• Legalizing Marijuana Is One Of New Connecticut Governor’s ‘Priorities’ (Marijuana Moment)

• What You Need To Know About Microdosing Cannabis, The New Wellness Trend (Psychedelics Daily)

LSD

• 'Open-minded, immersive and fun': a review of 'All You need is LSD' (The Boar)

• News Focus - Dangers of LSD consumption among children (ANTARA News)

• Yale, Zurich scientists find why LSD makes people trip (Psychedelics Daily)

• REVEALED: The eerie conspiracy that connects JFK, Charles Manson and Britney Spears (Daily Star)

• To avoid a bad trip, be prepared before trying LSD (Psychedelics Daily)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• High Dose of Psilocybin in a HIV+ Homeless Shelter (Chacruna)

• Denver, Colorado Might Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms As Soon As May 2019 (IVN.us)

• The FDA Has Acknowledged Psilocybin As A Potential Treatment For Depression (Psychedelics Daily)

• Psychedelic healing: could magic mushrooms help reboot the brain? (Science Focus)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• People on love drug MDMA still know who to trust (ResearchGate)

• MDMA is now proven to help those with trauma – so let’s decriminalise it and put it back in the medicine cabinet (The Independent)

• ‘It can rewire people’s brains’: how traumatised veterans turned to underground MDMA therapy (The Guardian)

• Horrfying moment mother ‘high on ecstasy’ drops her baby and cracks his skull (Metro)

• Boy, 16, died after taking ecstasy when pal’s mum didn’t call his parents in case they got into trouble (The Sun)

• What is MDMA and why have there been so many deaths in the West Country? (ITV News)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Controversial hallucinogenic drug use explored in 'Kentucky Ayahuasca,' TV series (Lexington Herald Leader)

• Everything You Need to Know about Choosing an Ayahuasca Retreat (Kahpi)

• Welcome to the jungle: experiencing the Amazon in psychedelic virtual reality (The Guardian)

• A Punch In The Soul: HighExistence Founder Jordan Lejuwaan’s First Ayahuasca Journey (HighExistence)

• What ayahuasca — Silicon Valleys latest drug of choice — does to your brain and body (Psychedelics Daily)

• DMT: Learning Science from our Ancestors (in-Training)

• Ayahuasca Research Boosts Brazilian Psychedelic Science (Psychedelics Daily)

• What Ayahuasca Is, and What You Should Know About It (Psychedelics Daily)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Ibogaine: One Mans Journey To Mexico For Psychedelic Addiction Treatment (Psychedelics Daily)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• 'Legal highs': Street dealers now main source of supply after ban (BBC)

Opiates/Opioids

• The Radical New Fentanyl Trend That Could Save Lives and Screw Dealers (VICE)

• Sackler family members face mass litigation and criminal investigations over opioids crisis (The Guardian)

• UN: Afghan Opium Cultivation Down 20 Percent (Voice of America)

• AMA Decries the Impact of the CDC's Opioid Guidelines on Pain Treatment (Reason)

• Multiple vials of naloxone now required to resuscitate Metro Vancouver opioid users (Standard-Freeholder)

• Understanding Naloxone Standing Orders Is Vital (Pharmacy Times)

• Saving your child from an opioid overdose (CBS News)

• Opioid Series: 'Naloxone saved my life' (ABC 4)

• Naloxone: The life-saving drug more Americans Need (CBS News)

Cocaine

• Mental health hospital admissions linked to cocaine use treble in 10 years (The Guardian)

• Mother at large after 2-year-old daughter ingests cocaine (KPRC)

Kratom

• Scientists Identify the Lethal Dose of Kratom's Active Ingredients (Inverse)

• Converting Animal Doses to Human Doses (Kratom) (Medium)

• Federal Authorities Tight-Lipped on When Kratom’s Future Will Be Revealed (Inverse)

• Is FDA ‘Shadow Ban’ Causing Kratom Shortages? (Pain News Network)

• American Kratom Association Announces Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Standards for Vendors (PR Newswire)

• Kratom Erowid – Which Types of Kratom Information You Will See On This Website? (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom: The leafy green plant that could help with opiate withdrawals (KFMB)

• Green Bali Kratom: Effects, Dosage, And User Reviews (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Grant awarded to further study effects of kava (Radio New Zealand)

• Pacific countries to promote kava as food product (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Little-known banned drug is becoming worryingly popular in Liverpool (Liverpool Echo)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Take Part in the World's Biggest Anonymous Drugs Survey (VICE)

• A Brief History of Swedish Psychedelia (The Oak Tree Review)

• I Survived Sexual Abuse In The Amazon And Victim Blame At Home (Psymposia)

• Let’s Talk About Compass And Psychedelic Capitalism: Interview with Rick Doblin (Psychedelic Times)

• A Brief History of Psychedelics in the Western World (Psychedelics Today)

• A Vermont needle exchange isn’t just giving out syringes. It’s offering treatment on the spot. (Vox)

• El Chapo Witness Details Brutal Drug War Murders (The New York Times)

• Denver City Council will OK supervised drug use to save people from overdosing (Denverite)

• Drugs and alcohol complicate sexual consent, but context can make things clearer (The Conversation)

• Radical Risk Reduction For Event And Community Organizers (Chacruna)

• Opioids Are In the Spotlight. But Meth Hospitalizations Are Surging (TIME)

• Time’s Up For “Silencing” Tactics (Psymposia)

• Joe Biden’s Ideal Drug War (Drug WarRant)

• Harm reduction is the right way to treat drug abuse (The Economist)

• How 'fixing rooms' are saving the lives of drug addicts (The Guardian)

• We need harm reduction drug education, not drug prevention education (AOD MEDIA WATCH)

• Exploring Consciousness with Psychedelics (Psychedelics Daily)

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.