This Week in Psychedelics - 9.18.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• It's In The Air: Scientists Measure THC in The Atmosphere (High Times)
• Bernie Sanders: 'Not Acceptable' To Jail Young Pot Smokers And Let Big Bank CEOs Walk (The Huffington Post)
• Why is Cannabis Not Already on the Shelves for Treating Arthritis? (High Times)
• Who needs weed when we've got THC-producing yeast? (Engadget)
• Cannabis prescriptions are eligible medical expense, CRA confirms (CBC News)
• Defendant cites membership in First Church of Cannabis for pot use (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Cannabis Drug Shows Promise In Treating Schizophrenia (Medical Daily)
• A UFC Fighter Was Just Suspended on Dubious Marijuana Charges (ATTN:)
• Ronda Rousey Takes Stand Against Drug Testing For Marijuana (ATTN:)
• 11 Benefits of Marijuana That Make it Medicine For Humans Who Are Not "Sick" (High Existence)
• Colorado has Had Record Lows in Traffic Fatalities Since Marijuana was Legalized (ATTN:)
• Cannabis for kids seminar held for parents of kids with autism, epilepsy (The Vancouver Sun)
• California Marijuana Legalization 2015: New Medical Marijuana Law Rankles Top Cannabis Industry Investor (International Business Times)
• Walla Walla Cannabis Co. ready to watch grass grow (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Colorado generates more tax revenue from pot than alcohol, marijuana proponents say (Mass Live)
• The Biochemist Who Cured His Cancer With Cannabis Oil (Reset.me)
• Medical cannabis advocates in Iowa take cause to presidential race (KCRG)
• This Incubator Is Helping Cannabis Businesses Blaze a Trail Forward in a Budding Industry (Entrepreneur)
• B.C. parents still hope to treat ill baby with cannabis oil (CTV News)
• Melissa Etheridge: Middle-aged women are leading the marijuana revolution (Fortune)
• Court Says Misleading Description of Ohio's Marijuana Initiative Must Be Corrected (Reason)
• Is Cannabis Tourism a Cause for Concern (The Huffington Post)
• Supposedly Neutral Federal Report Stacks the Deck Against Marijuana Legalization (Reason)
• Cannabis use in consumer products banned (The Philippine Star)
• Study: German youths increasingly consuming cannabis (Deutsche Welle)
• Cannabis use may affect diabetes risk in the middle-aged (National Health Service Choices)

LSD

• Toxicology report refutes police claims that hogtied suspect's death was from LSD (The Daily Dot)
• This 'peacenik deadhead' will die behind bars — unless Obama steps in to save him (SFGate)
• Trials find that LSD could cure alcoholics (West - Welfare Society Territory)
• See Susan Sarandon remember LSD pioneer Timothy Leary at Burning Man (Entertainment Weekly)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Watch: Psilocybin Made Me Grateful To Be Alive (Reset.me)
• Toronto event seeks to reduce stigma around magic mushrooms (Metro News)
• Are medical shrooms on the way? Activists hail comeback of psychedelic drugs (Toronto Star)
• Magic mushrooms for mental health? Shaky basis for story's proposed "paradigm shift" (Health News Review)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Meet the Iraq War Veteran Who Says Ecstasy-Assisted Psychotherapy Saved His Life (Mic)
• From Club To Clinic: How MDMA Could Help Some Cope With Trauma (National Public Radio)
• On a high: why Britain is back on ecstasy (The Guardian)
• This Is England '90: Thomas Turgoose recalls the first time he was offered MDMA (Metro)
• MDMA probably didn't put this Glasgow teenager into a coma (The Daily Dot)
• Family of Scottish teen who suffered brain damage after taking ecstasy posts video of daughter (Fox News)
• Teen Overdoses On 'Molly' Capsules (Blackburn News)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Integration: How To Get The Most Benefit From Your Ayahuasca Experience (Reset.me)
• One Hundred Academics for Ayahuasca Dignity in Colombia (Africa is a Country)
• A Scientist's Journey To The Soul: How Ayahuasca Opened The Door To My Heart (Reset.me)
• Robin Quivers Takes Ayahuasca — Which Howard Stern Thinks Is Crazy (2paragraphs)

Peyote/Mescaline

• Native American Church members fight harassment by authorities (Boing Boing)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• End Your Methamphetamine Addiction With iBogaine Therapy (iBogaine Thailand)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Mystery surrounds hallucinatory chaos at German homeopathy conference (The Guardian)
• 60 Minutes investigation into synthetic drug trade in China (News.com.au)
• I used K2 to stay out of jail (New York Daily News)
• Europe's Scary, Legal Drug Boom (Yahoo! News)
• Australia: Father travels to China to expose his dead son's drug suppliers in TV show (Yahoo! News)
• Huge Synthetic Marijuana Bust Highlights Growing Threat (Time)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine could be used as anti-depressant (The Independent)
• Ketamine and More: What's the Status of Antidepressants? (The American Journal of Managed Care)
• Man high on PCP rescued from rooftop in Jersey City, cops say (NJ.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• China's drug habit fuels return of the Golden Triangle (BBC News)
• Obama Administration Makes Big Announcement Addressing Heroin Epidemic (The Huffington Post)
• Heroin epidemic puts pressure on schools to get antidote (The Washington Times)
• Bromley woman buys 'cookie jar' finds out it was probably for opium (Soo Today)
• Opium crops the right medicine for SA economy (In Daily)
• Naloxone-Equipped Kits Prevented Fentanyl Overdoses: Alberta Health Services (The Huffington Post)
• Naloxone Technologies Offer Options for Reducing Opioid Overdoses (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
• Youth heroin crisis prompts call for schools to keep antidote on hand (The Guardian)
• Building awareness of heroin addiction, Run for Recovery draws nearly 500 participants (Watertown Daily Times)
• Price Soars For Key Weapon Against Heroin Overdoses (KTOO)
• Man jailed by Dubai court for bringing opium poppies into UAE (The National)
• Heroin bill may give boost to providers treating substance abuse (Modern Medicine Network)

Absinthe

• Racy cabaret show Absinthe mixes circus, comedy, burlesque and vaudeville (ABC News)

Kratom

• Cracking the Code (Willamette Week)

Kava

• Kava: New Stress Remedy or Dangerous Drug? (The Seahawk)
• A kava bar and another brewery on the way: meet Ohana and Peaks N Pines (Colorado Springs Independent)
• Two new Fiji kava products to hit Aussie markets soon (Fiji Broadcasting Corporation)

Khat

• State Police arrest two men in possession of khat (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Evidence Builds for Medicinal Use of Psychedelic Drugs (Brain Decoder)
• Psychedelics like LSD, Ayahuasca Ease Anxiety, PTSD — But Don't Self-Medicate (The Inquisitr)
• These Are the Two Forgotten Architects of Silk Road (Vice: Motherboard)
• Burning Man Ends, and an Event for Law Enforcement Begins (The New York Times)
• Operation Naked King: U.S. Secretly Targeted Bolivia's Evo Morales In Drug Sting (The Huffington Post)
• Interpol Built Its Own Dark Net Drug Marketplace With Cops Posing As Dealers (International Business Times)
• Bill Bennett: 'Bring Back the War on Drugs' (Reason)
• Using Psychedelics Shouldn't Be a Crime (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Yeah, DEA Agents Are Stalking You At Raves (Los Angeles Weekly)
• I Walked Around a Music Festival Asking to Test People's Drugs (Vice News)
• Do Adults Have a Privacy Right to Use Drugs? Brazil's Supreme Court Decides (The Intercept)
• A Passion For Powerful Plants And People (Reset.me)
• Psychedelic drug reform is not only about policy change — It's a social movement too (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche to hit the auction block (Reuters)
• Bridget Riley review — pounding psychedelic art that will make you see the world differently (The Guardian)
• The psychedelic world of Indian truck art (The Keene Sentinel)
• Psychedelic Drugs Could Be Used As Anxiety Cure (News Everyday)
• Horizons Conference Celebrates 'Visionary Substances' (The New School News)
• Psychedelic drugs may help in treating mental disorders (The Tribune Register)
• Psychedelic baby! Perth Fashion Festival brings back the swinging Sixties with technicolour prints and Go-go boots... but would anyone ACTUALLY wear them? (Daily Mail)
• Psychedelic science is making a comeback (The Week)
• Psychedelic Drug Research Re-Emerges (dailyRx News)
• Psychedelics Could Trigger A 'Paradigm Shift' In Mental Health Care (The Huffington Post)

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 - 9.11.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Here's Why We Hear So Many False Claims About Cannabis (Independent Scientific Committee On Drugs)
• Study: Young People Are Smoking Less Tobacco, More Marijuana (ATTN:)
• I Went to a Cannabis Salon to Taste Farm-to-Table Weed (Munchies)
• Israel Could Grow Into A Global Cannabis Startup Superpower (TechCrunch)
• We Have No Idea What Kind Of Cannabis We're Buying (Discovery News)
• How Marijuana Affects Your Workout (ATTN:)
• Parliament to debate cannabis legalization next month (The Independent)
• Marijuana Will Be Tax-Free for a Day in Colorado (Time)
• Vaping: The latest scourge in drug abuse (CNN)
• Deer Devour Hemp Crops At Southern Oregon Farm (The Associated Press)
• Southwest Cannabis Conference Coming to Phoenix Next Month (Phoenix New Times)
• Proponents want Pa. to legalize medical cannabis, farmed hemp (The Standard Speaker)
• High School Kids Use E-Cigarettes to Smoke Cannabis: Study (NBC)
• Cannabis farms in Reading drop by half in the last year (Get Reading)
• Middle School And High School Students Use E-Cigarettes To Vaporize Cannabis: Study (Medical Daily)
• Cannabis compliance: Why good books, solid security and great tech are key (Upstart)
• N. Texas cafe will sell cannabis drinks and snacks (Chron)
• Could Cannabis Be Decriminalized in the UK? (Vice News)
• Twisted Sister Leads a Yoga and Cannabis Retreat (Westword)

LSD

• Oliver Sacks Used LSD Legally. Is the Drug War Preventing Great Discoveries? (The Huffington Post)
• Treatment For Anxiety May Be Found Using Mood Enhancing Drug LSD, According To A New Report (Inquisitr)
• Other Colours: Rob Chapman On Psychedelia And LSD (The Quietus)
• Music sounds better on LSD, study finds (ZME Science)
• This YouTuber Taken on Acid (LSD) vs. Alcohol Challenge - Find Out What Happened! (Food World News)
• The era of love-ins, light shows and LSD (Halifax Courier)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• This Is What It Feels Like to Treat Depression with Magic Mushrooms (Vice)
• Terence McKenna Had a Bad Trip in the Late 80's and Never Took Mushrooms Again (Disinformation)
• Doctor enjoyed 'shrooms and ecstasy' (San Diego Reader)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• The "Amend The RAVE Act" Petition is Going to Congress (Dance Music Northwest)
• MDMA (Ecstasy) Can Accelerate Personal Growth (Reset.me)
• DEA Approves Ecstasy For Anxiety, MDMA Trials Begin In California (Practically Viral!)
• MDMA 'could be used to treat mental illness', scientists say (Metro)
• What Exactly is MDMA (Ecstasy)? (Press Rocket Release)
• A Little 'Molly' and then 'She Was Gone' (CBN News)
• Nearly 200 People Arrested On First Two Days Of Nocturnal, Mostly For Trespassing (Your EDM)
• 'This is what one tiny pill can do to you': Teen who was left in a wheelchair with slurred speech after taking ecstasy releases video of how her life has changed (Daily Mail)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca IN the USA UPDATE! Ayahuasca church opening soon! (YouTube)
• Personal Story: How Ayahuasca Helped Me Defeat A Demon Called Fear (Reset.me)
• Ayahuasca & Relationships (Jayson Gaddis)

Peyote/Mescaline

• Kim Davis and the Freedom of Religion (The Huffington Post)
• Orentlicher: RFRA poses little threat (Indy Star)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• How iBogaine Fights Stubborn Prescription Painkiller Addictions (iBogaine-Thailand)

Salvia Divinorum

• 5 Drug Scares vs. Reality (Reason)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Psychedelic drug emergency at seminar near Hamburg (Deutsche Welle)
• Homeopathy conference ends in chaos after delegates take hallucinogenic drug (The Independent)
• Synthetic cannabis dealing 'an issue throughout the community' (The Timaru Herald)
• Editorial: NBOMe — a nasty designer drug that parents know too little about (The Dallas Morning News)
• Drug in teen's system rarely seen by DFW law officers (Star-Telegram)

Dissociatives

• Baltimore drug startup Cerecor launches new study of antidepressant as it plans stock sale (The Baltimore Sun)
• Bring Me The Horizon's Oil Sykes on drug addiction: 'Ketamine made me want to die' (NME)

Opiates/Opioids

• The stigma against people who use heroin makes it harder for them to get help (The Conversation)
• The Fantasy of Stopping the 'Heroin Epidemic' by Stopping the Heroin (Reason)
• Pill crackdown may boost heroin sales (El Paso Times)
• Thailand's Northern 3rd Army Destroys Thousands of Opium Poppy Fields (Chiangrai Times)
• Price Soars For Key Weapon Against Heroin Overdoses (National Public Radio)
• KPD officers now have Naloxone to help overdose victims (WBIR-TV)
• With rising heroin use, Peninsula doctor lobbies for an antidote (Alaska Public Media)
• Naloxone prescriptions creating hurdles (Victoria News)
• As Heroin Epidemic Grows, So Does Rehab Wait (NBC)
• A new practice (The Times-News)
• Scituate officials call for action in wake of opiate crisis (Scituate Mariner)
• Ohio Couple Calls Out Heroin Overdose in Teen Daughter's Obituary (NBC)
• Naloxone Hydrochloride: An Antidote to Drug Overdose (The Science Times)
• Tatamy police receive life-saving atomizers for overdose victims (Lehigh Valley Live)
• In Myanmar's Opium-Rich Shan State, Addicts Without Options (Voice of America)
• 'Reopening of opium vends in Rajasthan unfortunate' (Times of India)
• Naloxone reverses effects of drug overdose, experts say (Fox 13 Salt Lake City)
• As Overdose Deaths Climb, So Does Demand For Their Antidote (Bloomberg)
• The new war on heroin has only just begun (Business Insider)
• Families open up about the changing face of heroin addiction (CBS News)
• Littlest victims of America's heroin epidemic (CBS News)
• All-Time High: The Narcan/Heroin Complex (Delaware County News Network)
• Heroin epidemic hits Vermont community hard (CBS News)
• Illinois Senate rejects Rauner's veto of anti-heroin bill (The Hawk Eye)
• Heroin Fatalities in Hartford County: 'These Are Not Just Numbers' (Bel Air Patch)
• Cumberland County police officers to begin carrying Naloxone (The Sentinel)

Kambô

• Kambô: Nature's Vaccine For The Mind And Body (Reset.me)

Kratom

• Experts Speak Out on Benefits of Kratom: Why it Would be a Mistake to Ban It (Business Wire)
• Kratom leaves: Are they really a dangerous drug? (Bangkok Post)
• Man Claims His Wife's Odd Addiction Is Destroying Their Marriage (The Huffington Post)

Kava

• I drank kava -- the trendy, non-alcoholic beverage that's supposed to make you feel high -- but it just made me sick (Business Insider)
• Kava ruling (The Fiji Times)

Khat

• Mo Farah admits he did take drug Khat - but says he only wanted to try it and used it before it was banned by the authorities (Daily Mail)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Psychedelics Promise a 'Paradigm Shift' in Treating Mental Illness (Newsweek)
• Susan Sarandon carried LSD guru Timothy Leary's ashes in a Burning Man ceremony (USA Today)
• Psychedelic drugs could treat several mental conditions (Pulse Headlines)
• Use of LSD, MDMA and magic mushrooms aid treatment of anxiety, addiction and PTSD (International Business Times)
• Experts call for study of possible therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs (The Globe and Mail)
• Could these psychedelic drugs be making the trip to a B.C. doctor's office near you? (The Province)
• Psychedelic drugs as treatment for anxiety, addiction (CBS News)
• Psychedelics Promising for Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, and PTSD (Psychiatry Advisor)
• LSD, magic mushrooms and ecstasy could be used to treat mental health disorders (Northern Californian)
• Attend LA's Psychedelic Conference And Learn From The Leading Healers And Experts (Reset.me)
• How to Change the World review - the psychedelic birth of Greenpeace (The Guardian)
• 'Ingenious' dark web drug network run from Irish bedroom (Independent.ie)

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 - 9.4.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Cannabis Study: Indica And Sativa Are Basically The Same Thing At This Point (SFist)
• Oregon wedding features marijuana bar, budtender (KGW)
• Scientists Are Trying to stop GMOs on a New Front: Weed (ATTN:)
• The Latest Craze In Winemaking: Marijuana-Infused Wine (Vinepair)
• Weekend Weirdness: Drone Deliveries are Making Cannabis Rain from the Heavens (Leafly)
• Value of On-Site Cannabis Dispensaries Is Missed in Federal Regulations (The Huffington Post)
• Cannabis-industry women are blazing a path to equity (The Oregonian)
• College Students Now Prefer Daily Smoke to Daily Toke, Research Says (Slate)
• An Australian medical cannabis company just sold its first pot pills (Mashable)
• Mom: Cannabis oil drastically improving daughter's life (11 Alive)
• These Colorado Vets Are Suing Over Marijuana (ATTN:)
• MassRoots applies to be first cannabis company listed on Nasdaq (MarketWatch)
• Missouri Man Sentenced To Life in Prison Over Marijuana Is Set Free (The Huffington Post)
• 5 Countries Where Marijuana is Cheapest and Most Expensive (ATTN:)
• The Green Rush: Finding Tech Business Opportunities Within The Cannabis Sector (TechCrunch)
• Legal Cannabis Creates Yet Another Spinoff Industry—Wall Street-Style Data Analytics (The Stranger)
• Canadian Cannabis Firms Close Merger (24/7 Wall St.)
• Denver Initiative Allowing Marijuana Use in More Settings Is Nixed (Reason)
• Sports Pain Management Panel Presented At Cannabis World Congress In L.A. (The Weed Blog)
• Do Alaska cannabis regulations allow for chefs to get in the game? (Alaska Dispatch News)
• How taking cannabis harms fertility: Smoking pot more than once a week 'lowers sperm count by a third - and adding cocaine and ecstasy to the mix cuts it in half (Daily Mail)

LSD

• Buddhism Meets Freud and LSD (The Huffington Post)
• Man on LSD makes case for LSD over booze with help of very patient friends (The Verge)
• Boulder DA: Officer justified in shooting of CU student on LSD (Boulder Daily Camera)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Ecstasy May Benefit Veterans, Rape Victims And Others With PTSD (Colorado Public Radio)
• Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind (Emergency Medical News)
• The Dangerous Perceptions of MDMA, or More Commonly Known as "Molly" (Press Release Rocket)
• 'Pure' cocaine and super-strong ecstasy fuel rise in drug deaths (Evening Standard)
• Paradiso music fest death caused by MDMA (KOIN)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca Provided Deep Insight into My Most Compelling Questions About Existence (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies)
• Miley Cyrus: Drug was 'healing' (TV3)
• Surreal Scenes as Ayahuasca Goes Global (Ancestral Seeds)
• Under the Texan Sun (Roads and Kingdoms)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Conference To Explore The Proven Addiction Busting Power Of Ibogaine (Reset.me)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• 2C-I & 2C-B: Research Chemicals Before it Was Cool (Burners.me)
• Users Say the 'Smart Drug' Modafinil Is the New Adderall — Only Better (Vice News)
• K2, a Potent Drug, Casts a Shadow Over an East Harlem Block (The New York Times)
• MTV is Looking For A Few Good Flakka Addicts (Forbes)
• There's No Such Thing as Synthetic Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Inside the chemical underground: the truth about legal highs (Herald Scotland)
• LSD In Newfoundland And Labrador Fake, Dangerous: Police (The Huffington Post)
• Township program highlights dangers of synthetic LSD (Houston Chronicle)
• Autopsy: Marijuana, synthetic psychedelic found in Christian Taylor (Fox 4 News)
• RCMP Warning of NBome, Dangerous Drug Entering Province (VOCM)

Dissociatives

• R-ketamine: a rapid-onset and sustained antidepressant without psychotomimetic side effects (Nature.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• Young Hands in Mexico Feed Growing US Demand for Heroin (The New York Times)
• Philistines brought opium to Israel during Iron Age (The Statesman)
• Mexican opium production rises to meet heroin demand in US (The Independent)
• The new face of heroin calls for compassion, but the old was a scourge (The Washington Post)
• Could new synthetic opioid one day lead to home-brew heroin? (CNN)
• AG Announces $325000 Agreement with Naloxone Manufacturer (Patch)
• Opium Harvest More Profitable for Mexican Children than School (Breitbart News)
• ACT drug overdose reversal program should be rolled out nation-wide, expert panel says (ABC)
• San Francisco Police Officer Uses Naloxone Anti-Overdose Kit To Save Man's Life (CBS)
• First Missouri Naloxone Program Up and Running (KBIA)
• Law enforcement officers as medical first responders can save lives (EMS1.com)
• Rand Paul: 'If you work all day long, you don't have time to do heroin' (CNN)
• Can synthetic narcotics lead to heroin? (WESH)
• Doctors reminded its okay to prescribe Naloxone for drug users (WTTV CBS4 Indy)
• Heroin kills, says Effingham woman eight months sober (Effingham Daily News)
• Illinois House Leaders Override Governor's Veto On Heroin Addiction Bill (NPR)
• Naloxone can save someone (Blue Ridge Now)
• Editorial: Does US pill crackdown help Mexican heroin sales? (Redding Record Searchlight)
• UK sees huge rise in heroin and morphine-related deaths (The Guardian)
• Pa: Police using heroin antidote have saved 289 lives across the state (LancasterOnline)
• Baltimore just got a massive donation of overdose-reversing naloxone (Baltimore Business Journal)
• Drug raids highlight geographic reach of heroin problem (WISH-TV)

Absinthe

• Gears, Gadgets And Goggles: The Springfield Steampunk Festival (Vermont Public Radio)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Oliver Sacks: Psychedelic drugs 'taught me what the mind is capable of' (The Washington Post)
• Psychedelic Society Revisited: On Reducing Valves, Reality Tunnels and the Question of Psychedelic Culture (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Photographer captures drug users on cocaine, LSD, ketamine and MDMA (Metro)
• Survey Data Highlight The Tenuous Relationship Between Drug Panics And Reality (Forbes)
• Psychedelic Swirls Show Algae Bloom from Space (Yahoo! News)
• Less than a month until Plant Consciousness in London (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Miley Cyrus Ditches Pop for Lesbian Sex and Psychedelics on 'Dead Petz' (Out Magazine)

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 - 8.28.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Russia threatens to block Wikipedia over cannabis page (The Independent)
• Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Consumers (Marijuana Policy Project)
• Are Workplace Cannabis Policies Lagging Behind The Times? (ATTN:)
• Republican voters to feds: Butt out of marijuana reform (The Washington Post)
• Where Can You Smoke Legal Pot? (Reason)
• Pioneer Pot States Have Collected More Than $200 Million In Marijuana Taxes (The Huffington Post)
• Marijuana Producers Gobble Up Warehouse Space in Denver Area (The Wall Street Journal)
• Misinformed Cannabis Policies Prevent Access to Life-Saving Treatments (Huffington Post)
• Memoninee tribal members vote yes on legalizing marijuana (TV Newsroom)
• What Marijuana Does to Your Metabolism (ATTN:)
• So what happens when teen pot smokers get older? Study finds new "surprising" answer (Rare)
• How Legal Marijuana Is Working in Colorado (Reason)
• Marijuana Does Not Affect Brain Volume, Study Finds (Time)
• Black Lives Matter Organizers Call for Marijuana Decriminalization (Marijuana.com)
• Arizona Campaign Could Earn More Than $40 Million for Schools (Marijuana Policy Project)
• Natural pest control business gets boost from medical cannabis industry (Global News)
• Chile Is About to Decriminalize Marijuana (Alternet)
• Marijuana Legalization 2015: Is It Time For The Cannabis Industry To Grow Up And Go To College? (International Business Times)
• El Cerrito: Cannabis industry figure says legalization inevitable (Contra Costa Times)
• The Movers, Shakers and Bakers in the Cannabis Revolution (The Huffington Post)
• Government issues damning response to 200,000-signature cannabis legalisation petition (The Independent)
• Despite petition, government has no plans to legalise cannabis (The Guardian)
• 'Focusing on medicinal cannabis is missing the point' (Stuff.co.nz)
• Cannabis Journalism Class At DU Tackles A Trailblazing Trend (CBS Denver)
• State panel considers cannabis business case (The Telegraph)
• Why medical marijuana can still get you fired in Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
• Marijuana-Legalization Campaign Outraged by Arizona Republic's Erroneous Op-Ed on Tax Revenue (Phoenix New Times)
• BC parents seeking court order to treat severely ill baby with cannabis oil (CTV News)
• Drug syndicates using profits from cannabis crops to import ice into Victoria (Herald Sun)
• Group hears ideas for distributing cannabis in Georgia (WXIA-TV)
• Would proposed rule contradict Alaska initiative on cannabis gifts? (Alaska Dispatch News)

LSD

• Artist Took LSD And Spent 9 Hours Drawing Herself To Show The Effect Drugs Have On Brain (A Plus)
• Stare Into a Person's Eyes and Weird Things Will Happen (Newser)
• The 10 Most Insane LSD Movies of All Time (Papermag)
• Know The Facts: Do You Really Know How Illegal Drugs Affect Your Health? (Medical Daily)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Mushrooms - Flesh of the Gods (Eagle Shaman)
• Psilocybin Helped Me Connect And Awaken To Life's Infinite Possibilities (Reset.me)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Steve Nash to produce film on legal ecstasy in 80s-era Dallas (Fox Sports)
• Police warn about "unusually" pure ecstasy pills (Mixmag)
• Why the Party Drug Molly Isn't What You Think It Is (NBC4 Washington)
• L.A. Rave Canceled Following Suspected Drug Deaths (Los Angeles Weekly)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Loreen admits using a natural, South America drug (oikOTimes)

Peyote/Mescaline

• ACLU: Peyote smokers, not cake bakers, deserve their freedom (OneNewsNow)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Toward the Sustainable Use of Iboga (Reality Sandwich)
• Global Ibogaine Conference - Tepoztlan 2016 (Reality Sandwich)

Salvia Divinorum

• Salvia prohibition to come next February: Health Canada (Ottawa Sun)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• New Yorkers are taking dangerous drugs in nightclubs without even knowing it (Business Insider)
• Users describe the effects of the drug some are calling 'weaponized marijuana' (Business Insider)
• City Council wants to crack down on synthetic weed (New York Post)
• Delhi Police so far unsuccessful in tracking party drug 'Meow Meow' (The Economic Times)

Dissociatives

• Pediatric pain control in EMS — Is Ketamine the next big thing? (EMS1.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• Chris Christie blames 20-year heroin epidemic on Obama (Boing Boing)
• A Regional Breakdown Of The Heroin Epidemic (Vocativ)
• Don't smell: Cocaine, heroin found in flower shipments (Greenwich Time)
• Afghan Opium Harvesting Protected by British Occupation Forces (Center for Research on Globalization)
• Illicit Version Of Painkiller Fentanyl Makes Heroin Deadlier (National Public Radio)
• Police get drug to fight overdoses (WANE)
• The heroin epidemic's toll: One county, 70 minutes, eight overdoses (The Washington Post)
• Heroin Anonymous groups forming to provide help (Fosters)
• NATO helps Afghans fighting to prevent Taliban taking opium-growing Helmand town (Reuters)
• US must fight heroin problem abroad, as well (Cincinnati.com)
• New Documentary Makes The Case For Supervised Heroin Injection Sites In New York (The Huffington Post)
• Giving pharmacists the power to combat opioid overdoses (Medical Xpress)
• Heroin overdoses lead to heavy presence of deputies in Blossom Park (Orlando Sentinel)
• People struggling to get Narcan in NH despite state law making it legal (Concord Monitor)
• Coroner says heroin overdoses on the rise in Cullman area (Cullman Times Online)
• New opium epicenter (Nepali Times)
• Pelham community gathers to discuss heroin epidemic (New Hampshire Union Leader)
• Delaware AG pushes price cut for heroin antidote (Delaware Online)
• Rauner dumps treatment from anti-heroin measure, citing cost (Chicago Tribune)
• Minnesota needs state strategy to fight pain pill, heroin addiction (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Heroin overdoses at Orlando condos prompt county to take action (WKMG Orlando)
• Pharmacists gain recognition for role in naloxone access (American Pharmacists Association)
• Hogan Administration Details $2M in Spending to Fight Heroin (WBOC 16)

Absinthe

• The Perfect Salad Has Absinthe, Cheese, and Watermelon (Munchies)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The Psychedelic Origins of Yoga (Big Think)
• Psychedelics Cure Depression: Why Outlawing Psychedelics is the Worst Censorship of Medicine in Human History (High Existence)
• Mind Explorers are not Criminals (THC Labs)
• 'The Real History of Drugs' Educates Millions (Alternet)
• Maps reveal how much drink and drugs countries really indulge in (Daily Mail) [For more information, please visit the webpage Drugs in America vs. Europe by Recovery Brands]
• Agora Shuts Down: Dark Net's Most Popular Drug Site To Update Security As Users Scramble For Bitcoin (International Business Times)
• Psychedelic Press UK Journal 2015 Vol. IV is out now! (Psychedelic Press UK)
• How Psychedelics May Be used to Accelerate Psychotherapy (PsychCongress)

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 - 8.21.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• These 17 States Could Have Legalized Marijuana After Next Year (ATTN:)
• The Secret History of Southern Medical Marijuana (Reason)
• Feds limit research on marijuana for medical use (USA Today)
• These '420 Games' Athletes Want to Change the Perception of Weed (Time)
• Exploring the Science Behind Differing Marijuana Highs (The New York Times)
• Judge Rejects Cops' Argument That Their Behavior During a Medical Marijuana Raid Is a Private Matter (Reason)
• East New York: It's still law enforcement target for marijuana possession (News 21: America's Weed Rush)
• How can we keep pot out of the hands of teenagers? By regulating it. (International Centre for Science in Drug Policy)
• Oregonian/OregonLive seeks freelance marijuana reviewer (Oregon Live)
• Novak Djokovic complains of cannabis smell during Montreal win over Jérémy Chardy (The Guardian)
• Is Marijuana Causing More Car Crashes In Washington? (Reason)
• 'Medical cannabis could be worth more to Israel than natural gas' (The Jerusalem Post)
• Police poke fun at 'forgetful horticulturist' after open air cannabis farm found abandoned in park (Mirror)
• Colorado marijuana tax revenues are up nearly 100 percent (ABC 7 News Denver)
• This Canadian University Offers a Class on the Business of Marijuana (Time)
• Marijuana Conviction Overturned By Colorado Appeals Court (Huffington Post)
• Ohio's Vote Could Add New State to Booming US Cannabis Marketplace (MarketWatch)
• California's tax collector wants to bank legal cannabis (Yahoo! Finance)
• Colorado Cannabis Tours Takes Us For a Ride — And You're Invited (Westword)
• Georgia's cannabis registry off to fast start (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Illinois Medical Cannabis: 6 Things You Need to Know before Applying (Huffington Post)
• Will people with criminal records be allowed to participate in Alaska's cannabis industry? (Alaska Dispatch News)
• Cannabis-based smoothies coming to Frisco (The Dallas Morning News)
• Proposed Colorado Rules Require Stop Signs on Marijuana Edibles (Reason)
• Quitting Cannabis and Preventing Pulmonary Illness (Medscape)

LSD

• 10 Major Science Discoveries That Happened By Accident (A Plus)
• Does LSD enhance the emotional response to music? (OPEN Foundation)
• Exhibit recalls a time when hippies made both art and LSD in Laguna Beach (The Orange County Register)
• Festival goer leaves hospital after suffering 'bad trip' on LSD (Bournemouth Echo)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Is Ecstasy the Key to Treating Women with PTSD? (Marie Claire)
• Moms Who Do Molly (Broadly)
• Ecstasy therapy approved for trial in Marin County (SF Gate)
• Rave reviews: origins of ecstasy culture to be told in new film (The Guardian)
• MOLLY: A GROWING PROBLEM FOR GADSDEN LAW ENFORCEMENT (Havana Herald)
• MDMA growing concern on campus (The Brock Press)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Can Ayahuasca Save Our Planet? The Grand Initiative (Collective-Evolution)
• The Lure of Ayahuasca — The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Pars Herald)
• Acute Biphasic effects of ayahuasca (Harvard Dataverse)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Treating Depression And Anxiety With Ayahuasca And Huachuma (Reset.me)

Salvia Divinorum

• A Traditional Medicine Could Help With Addiction Treatment (Care2)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• How Govt Fear Campaigns and Prohibition of Bath Salts, Flakka, and Other Synthetics Is Only Going to Cost More Lives (Alternet)
• Here's the Truth About "Synthetic Marijuana" (ATTN:)
• The Truth About Party Drugs (ATTN:)
• Dissecting the Spice epidemic: Potent batch may have provoked Wilkes-Barre overdoses (Wilkes Barre Times-Leader)

Dissociatives

• People are taking nangs at festivals and Channel 7 is freaking out (In The Mix)
• Social media videos chronicle rise of PCP use in KC area (Kansas City Business Journal)
• Cure for Depression? Doctors Use Party Drug to Treat Suicidal Tendencies (Sputnik International)
• This club drug could alleviate severe depression in as little as 2 hours (The Week Magazine)
• Potentially fast-acting help for depression discovered (Stuff.co.nz)

Opiates/Opioids

• Bioengineered yeasts used to make opioids, still 'home brew' opiates not commercially viable (Daily Times Gazette)
• Scientists Have Figured Out How to Make Sugar into Narcotics (Munchies)
• In heroin fight, White House will push treatment (The Washington Post)
• Critics Say New Plan to Stop Heroin Overdoses Shows White House 'Still Doesn't Get It' (VICE News)
• The Heroin Statistics That Spooked the White House (The Atlantic)
• Use Of OxyContin For Children 11 And Up Approved By The FDA (Tech Times)
• Mexico finds opium poppy plantation near capital (Yahoo! News)
• How Kentucky Embraced A Life-Saving Drug For Opioid Addicts (Huffington Post)
• Naloxone, Narcan Becoming More Accessible (WBOY-TV)
• Winnipeg Naloxone-distribution program could prevent fentanyl deaths (CBC News)
• Massachusetts police department give heroin addicts support, rehab (Fox News)
• We have a heroin and opioid problem; let's fix it (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• In The Mix: Can You Make Heroin at Home? (Chem Info)
• 5 Shocking Facts About the Illinois Heroin Epidemic (Huffington Post)
• Calgary's 18-year-old fentanyl victim bouncing back to good health (Calgary Sun)
• New task force created to battle heroin problem in Orange County (WFTV Orlando)
• They've overdosed, or seen other people die. Now they're learning to save victims' lives (The Washington Post)
• Washington County officials investigating outbreak of heroin overdoses (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The 15 NJ towns with the highest rates of heroin treatment (NJ.com)
• The rising epidemic of heroin addiction (The San Diego Union-Tribute)
• 5 takeaways from public hearing on heroin, opioid treatment hosted at the Yorktown Hotel (The York Daily Record)
• Braintree Fire to Receive Donation of 200 Narcan Devices (Patch)

Absinthe

• History and Mystery: the Allure of Absinthe (The News-Press)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• How Psychedelics And Floatation Therapy Put Me On A Healing Path (Reset.me)
• Local church invites you to join them in worship ... with psychotropic drugs (Bungalower)
• Joey Mars, King of Psychedelic Art (The Daily Beast)
• Two heads are better than one! Double-headed psychedelic sea slug is discovered off the coast of Borneo (Daily Mail)

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.