This Week in Psychedelics - 5.11.18

Cannabis

• What Tuesday’s Primary Elections Mean for Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• It’s Time for a New Discussion of Marijuana’s Risks (The New York Times)

• Illinois bill would use medical marijuana to fight opioids (ABC News)

• Marches in Peru & Argentina demand new cannabis laws (Euronews)

• Thousands March in Chile for Legal Cannabis Cultivation (teleSUR)

• DEA Task Force Backs Group Fighting Medical Marijuana in Utah (Marijuana Moment)

• Thousands toke and buy weed as Sacramento hosts first legal marijuana fest in California (The Sacramento Bee)

• Medical marijuana for PTSD and pain signed into Georgia law (Politically Georgia)

• Legalizing Hemp Brings Schumer And McConnell Together (Forbes)

• How anti-marijuana Jeff Sessions became the best thing to happen to pot legalization (USA Today)

• MMJ for Autism Bill Passes Legislature, Moves to Governor (Westword)

• Canada plans to legalize weed – but will those charged with crimes get amnesty? (The Guardian)

• Illinois police claim if marijuana is legalized, they'll have to kill their police dogs (The Week)

• Colorado Cop Debunks lllinois Cop’s Claim That Legal Pot Would Lead to Killing of Police Dogs (Grit Post)

• Even Where Weed Is Legal, Government Regulation Makes Advertising It a Nightmare (Reason)

• Missouri Medical Marijuana Initiative Filed (NORML)

• NORML's New Push to De-schedule Marijuana (Westword)

• Cannabis Industry Could Be 'A Form Of Reparations,' Says Cynthia Nixon (Forbes)

• New York: Patients Using Fewer Opioids Following Enrollment In Medical Cannabis Program (NORML)

• Colorado's Governor Will Decide Whether Cannabis Consumers Get 'Tasting Rooms' (Reason)

• Senator Kamala Harris Cosponsors The Marijuana Justice Act (NORML)

• Cannabis Kicks Lyme Disease to the Curb (Health & Fitness)

• What do we know about women, cannabis and psychosis? (National Elf Service)

• Interstate Smuggling? How the Vireo Incident Is Testing State Cannabis Laws (Leafly)

• Mother Credits Marijuana For Transforming Son With Severe Autism (CBS Denver)

• Cannabis tax revenue in California falls far short of projections (San Francisco Chronicle)

• How close is New York to legalizing marijuana? (Times-Union)

• Meghan Markle’s Nephew Is Growing Weed in Oregon—and Created a Cannabis Strain In Her Honor (The Potlander)

• Report: Rec marijuana consumers use less alcohol, pain medications, sleep aids (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Lots of Doctors Recommend Weed Without Understanding It (WIRED)

• Marijuana shops recommend products to pregnant women, against doctors' warnings (CNN)

• McConnell: I won't support legalizing marijuana (The Hill)

• Banning home-grown pot would be paternalistic, unenforceable: task force chair (CBC)

• Marijuana Arrests Soar in Allentown and Bethlehem as Both Cities Consider Marijuana Decriminalization (NORML)

• Cannabis fans call for legalisation in international celebration of weed (Metro)

• Letters: ‘Pot’ and cannabis not interchangeable (Palm Beach Post)

• Avoid These Obvious Mistakes When Investing In Cannabis Stocks (Forbes)

• Cannabis use among veterans soars as Ottawa cuts paybacks (The Globe and Mail)

LSD

• These LSD-Inspired Paintings Are Wild, Man (VICE)

• GMU Student Pleads Guilty to Selling LSD to Frat Brother Who Jumped to His Death (NBC4 Washington)

• Woman allegedly takes LSD before babysitting, stealing child’s toys (WHIO)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• A ‘Magic Mushroom’ Strategy for America’s Opioid Crisis (The Crime Report)

• First, Marijuana. Are Magic Mushrooms Next? (Daily Beast)

• Washington Mushroom Hunter Faces Five Years in Prison for Psilocybin (Ladybud)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Thank you, New York Times, for asking ‘Who is behind these studies? Where does the money come from?’ (Health News Review)

• Scientists Want the FDA to Designate MDMA a 'Breakthrough Therapy' for PTSD (Motherboard)

• Are Ecstasy Induced Serotonergic Alterations Overestimated For The Majority Of Users? (SAGE Journals)

• Here Are 4 Conditions That the Drug Ecstasy May Help Treat (Healthline)

• Psychedelic drug provides relief for veterans with PTSD (Military Times)

• The Cure for PTSD is Illegal (Andrew Joseph)

• 'Happy and healthy' schoolgirl, 15, died on mountainside beauty spot after taking ecstasy for the first time (Daily Mail)

• Children turn stepfather into police after bag of ecstasy was found in 3-year-old's pants (FOX13 Memphis)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Peru Authorities Say Canadian Killed Respected Ayahuasca Shaman (VICE)

• The Magazine Interview: Michael Pollan on his new book and what he learnt smoking the psychedelic venom of a toad (The Sunday Times)

• 6 Ways Ayahuasca Works like a Good Trauma Therapist (Chacruna)

• The Bizarre Murder Case of a Revered Ayahuasca Shaman (VICE)

• Inside Peru’s Amazonian mind-altering drug camps where Westerners flock for spiritual highs and cancer cures (The Sun)

• How I Became an Ayahuasca Sorcerer (Kahpi)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Peyote documentary screens Tuesday at Crowley Theater (The Big Bend Sentinel)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• The Cure for Opioid Addiction is Illegal (Andrew Joseph)

Salvia Divinorum

• Salvinorin A. Is it possible to have a truly powerful painkiller that is not addictive? (Psymposia)

Dissociatives

• Author recounts how he ended up high on green ketamine with the Irish President (Metro)

• Ketamine Stirs Up Hope—and Controversy—as a Depression Drug (WIRED)

• A depression drug that researchers have called 'the most important discovery in half a century' just got a big lift (Business Insider)

• Epic twitter thread about doing ketamine at work is nightmarishly hilarious (The Daily Dot)

• Police use Taser on PCP-high man at least 6 times, family says (KPRC)

Opiates/Opioids

• Walmart won't provide more than 7 days worth of opioids for some prescriptions (USA Today)

• Reversing An Overdose Isn't Complicated, But Getting The Antidote Can Be (NPR)

• People Are Using A $1 Test Strip To Check Their Drugs For Fentanyl (BuzzFeed News)

• The Complicated Relationship Between Opium and Art in the 20th Century (Artsy)

• Needle by Needle, a Heroin Crisis Grips California’s Rural North (The New York Times)

• Arkansas man arrested after 17 pounds of heroin found in fire extinguisher (THV11)

Kratom

• The First Kratom Leadership Summit Gain The Support From Scientists, Advocates, And Community (Kratom Guides)

• Two Manufacturers Recall Kratom Supplements for Possible Salmonella (Food Poisoning Bulletin)

Khat

• Khat (Plant) Market to witness excellent Long-Term Growth Outlook (The Mobile Herald)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• More drug convictions might be tossed because of evidence snorting chemist (Rooster)

• Usage of Depression Pills Almost Halved Among Children in Denmark (Mad in America)

• A revival in the scientific study of psychedelics prompts a journalist to take a trip (Science Magazine)

• PsyCare UK: 10 years of festival harm reduction in the UK (Psychedelic Press UK)

• More pill-testing at festivals on the cards after Canberra success (WA Today)

• The crippling stigma of drug addiction (New York Daily News)

• Psychedelic drugs appear to fundamentally reorganize the brain — and they're starting to turn into approved treatments (Business Insider)

• Drugs should be legalised, regulated, and taxed (British Medical Journal)

• Spiritual Warrior on The Psychedelic Path: Interview with Author Richard Haight (Psychedelic Times)

• Psychedelic Hero’s Journey of a Traveling Nobody by Traveling Nobody (Psychedelic Press UK)

• Why alcohol health warning labels are a good idea: findings from the latest Global Drug Survey (The Conversation)

• How Many Chances Should a Drug User Get? (The New York Times)

• Ohio patrol uses drug dogs more often with black drivers (Miami Herald)

• Dealer used dark web, bitcoin and U.S. Postal Service to run national drug business from Denver, feds say (The Denver Post)

• Supervised injection facilities are necessary; adding drug-checking services would save even more lives (New York Daily News)

• The Pscience of Psychedelics (JSTOR Daily)

• Cocaine 'delivered faster than pizza' in Scotland (STV News)

• The Prohibition of Psychedelics Retards the Evolution of Humanity (Andrew Joseph)

• Bid to make University of Buckingham drug-free called ‘misguided’ by think tank - and Sir Anthony now thinks so too (Buckingham and Winslow Advertiser)

• Psychedelics and Personality Changes (Psychedelic Heaven)

• Drug dealers are 'using professional networking site Linkedin to sell cocaine, heroin, ketamine and Xanax' (Daily Mail)

• Avicii and what we can learn from his death. (Psychedelic Astronaut)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.4.18

Cannabis

• Maine Legislators Override Governor's Veto of Marijuana Legalization (Reason)
• Zimbabwe legalises marijuana for medicinal use (The Independent)
• Thailand Authorises Country’s First Medical Cannabis Programme (Talking Drugs)
• Cannabis versus Cancer (Scientific American)
• Seattle wipes criminal marijuana convictions for hundreds of people (The Independent)
• Study: Frequent Cannabis Use Unrelated To Brain Morphology (NORML)
• Legislation Introduced To End The Federal Government’s Marijuana Production Monopoly (NORML)
• YouTube Remains Silent as Weed Pages Are Purged (High Times)
• An easy policy fix: Jeff Sessions should finally reschedule cannabis (The Hill)
• So far, California has 6,000 licensed cannabis businesses. Here’s what that looks like (The Orange County Register)
• Ninth Circuit Court Rejects Challenge To DEA’s Classification Of Marijuana Extracts (NORML)
• NFL player makes medical marijuana history: 'I have a life to live' (CNN)
• Weed 101: How to Choose Marijuana (Rolling Stone)
• Igniting A Powder Keg: Discussing Cannabis And Cryptocurrency With Dübercoin CEO Glenn Ballman (Forbes)
• It's Dumb Not to Have Investments in Cryptocurrencies, Cannabis in a Portfolio (The Street)
• Trudeau vows cannabis will be legal by summer as senators urge delay (CBC)
• Marijuana Gives Health-Conscious Consumers Something Alcohol Cannot (Forbes)
• Feinstein drops opposition to legal pot, giving legal marijuana a new ally (McClatchy DC Bureau)
• NORML Working With Cory Gardner's Office on Hands-Off-Colorado-Pot Bill (Westword)
• At 89, legendary psychiatrist and marijuana advocate still wonders about Harvard professorship (Boston Globe)
• New York Voters Strongly Support Legalizing Marijuana, Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)
• Some Prosecutors Are Erasing Old Weed Convictions. Why Isn’t Yours? (HuffPost)
• Getting off opioids with medical marijuana: Patients turn to pot over pills (CNN)
• Is Israeli Cannabis a Bubble Waiting to Burst? (Merry Jane)
• The Quest for an Ancient Culture’s Cannabis-Filled Cooking (Atlas Obscura)
• Moorenko’s Ice Cream Introduces Cannabis Coffee to Silver Spring (Bethesda Magazine)
• Veterans' grass-roots movement shares health benefits of marijuana (CNN)
• Growing 4 cannabis plants for recreational use is not a ‘grow-op,’ experts say (Global News)
• Investing in Australia’s Cannabis Industry: 5 Companies to Watch (Leafly)
• Quebec Lawmaker Explains Provincial Ban on Home-Grown Cannabis (High Times)
• Cannabis tycoons plot to make drug legal in Britain in next five years (The Sun)
• Lidl offers locally grown cannabis to Swiss shoppers (The Guardian)
• Medical marijuana may help combat the opioid crisis. But there are better solutions. (Vox)
• Police Raid Dispensary Over Cannabis-Infused Candy (High Times)
• Medicinal cannabis should be more than pot luck (Asia and the Pacific Policy Society)
• Boyack: Medical cannabis initiative opponents are trying to mislead you (Daily Herald)
• OrganiGram: Medical Cannabis Leader In The Maritimes (Seeking Alpha)
• Aurora Cannabis Set to Challenge Canopy Growth in Australia? (Smallcap Power)

LSD

• I Had a Bad Trip on LSD: This is My Story (71 Republic)
• Diplo, Sia and Labrinth Will Drop New Team Effort 'LSD' This Thursday (Billboard)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Shrooms Could Help Scientists Better Understand Consciousness (Tonic)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Trials testing MDMA as a treatment for alcoholism have begun (Mixmag)
• Active ingredient in ecstasy may help veterans with PTSD, study finds (CNN)
• Ecstasy as PTSD relief for soldiers: ‘I was able to forgive myself.’ (Watertown Daily Times)
• 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, firefighters, and police officers: a randomised, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial (The Lancet)
• Ecstasy as a Remedy for PTSD? You Probably Have Some Questions. (The New York Times)
• Ecstasy island: The is the story of how MDMA reached the UK in 1988 (Mixmag)
• Lady Gabriella Windsor's ex claims they took ECSTASY at Windsor Castle and swam NAKED in Queen's swimming pool at Buckingham Palace (Mirror)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• The Global Ayahuasca Community Is Reeling in the Wake of Recent Murders (VICE)
• Gun used to kill shaman was purchased by Canadian man lynched in Peru: authorities (Global News)
• Peru's brutal murders renew focus on tourist boom for hallucinogenic brew (The Guardian)
• The epidemiology of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) use: Benefits, consequences, patterns of use, subjective effects, and reasons for consumption (SAGE Journals)
• I had an 11-year addiction to heroin — and I beat it with ayahuasca (San Francisco Chronicle)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• New hope for opioid addicts with innovative ibogaine treatment (San Francisco Chronicle)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Deadly new drug has reached Australia, pill testing reveals (The New Daily)

Dissociatives

• Pharma giants are looking to ketamine for clues to the next blockbuster depression drug — and science says they're onto something big (Business Insider)
• Police say Bryan man rammed his car into other vehicle, possessed PCP (The Eagle)

Opiates/Opioids

• Cocaine Deaths Are Rising At An Alarming Rate, And It’s Because Of Fentanyl (BuzzFeed News)
• The US Opioid Crisis Started in India (VICE)
• Maine Gov. Vetoes Bill Increasing Access to Naloxone Overdose Drug (Governing)
• To Save Lives, Make Naloxone an Over-the-Counter Drug (Reason)
• De Blasio Moves to Bring Safe Injection Sites to New York City (The New York Times)
• Questions Raised About Study Of Device To Ease Opioid Withdrawal (NPR)
• Afghan Farmers Stick to Growing Opium in the Face of Less Lucrative Options (U.S. News and World Report)
• The Four Main Reasons People in Denver Overdose on Heroin (Westword)
• A Vet Helped Smuggle Drugs by Implanting Puppies With Heroin, Police Say (TIME)

Kratom

• Experts Are Concerned that Kratom Will Become the Next Marijuana (Tonic)
• Pro-Kratom Scientist Blasts Denver Ban, Federal Policies as Recipe for Death (Westword)
• What is Kratom and why is it banned in 5 states? (CBS17)
• Maya Distribution, LLC Recalls Dragon Label Kratom Because Of Possible Salmonella Contamination (US Recall News)

Khat

• Khat (Plant) Market to Set Phenomenal Growth from 2018 to 2023 (The Financial Analyst)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Politicians Are Finally Getting On Side With Pill Testing After The Success Of Groovin The Moo (Junkee)
• Antidepressant Use Leads to Worse Long Term Outcomes, Study Finds (Mad in America)
• Storming the Gates of Psychedelia: Scientists Commit to Collaboration in the Face of Capitalist Competition (Chacruna)
• The Timothy Leary Project: Interview with Jennifer Ulrich (Psychedelic Times)
• The New Science of Psychedelics (The Wall Street Journal)
• Jon Hopkins interview: My new album is a psychedelic experience (Evening Standard)
• President Duterte’s Son Cleared of Drug Trafficking, as Extrajudicial Killings Continue (Talking Drugs)
• The FDA receives a petition to prohibit sugar alongside cannabis, LSD and heroin (Herb)
• Everything You Need to Know About Microdosing (The Cut)
• Pill Testing Probably Won’t Happen In NSW Any Time Soon Because Of This Idiot (Junkee)
• A New Netflix Series Tells the Story of the Philippines' Drug War. But Its Critics Are Condemning Amo as Propaganda (TIME)
• The Best Books About Microdosing and Psychedelic Therapy (The Strategist)
• New Clues In The Psychedelic Treatment Of Depression (High Existence)
• Kacey Musgraves: ‘Psychedelics have made me compassionate’ (Hollywood.com)
• People Trying to Quit Their Psychiatric Medications Can Get Help from This Online Group (Healthline)
• Australia’s First Sanctioned Pill Testing Trial Is Just the Beginning (Sydney Criminal Lawyers)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.27.18

Cannabis

• Top Democrats Embrace Marijuana Reform Ahead of Midterm Elections (Truthout)
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Jeff Sessions: Medical marijuana could save many addicted to opioids (CNN)
• NEW POLL: 63% of Americans Believe “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)
• Sessions Admits There ‘May Well Be Some Benefits From Medical Marijuana’ (Marijuana Moment)
• Marijuana Legalization Will Be on Michigan's Ballot in November (Reason)
• Cannabis is having its 'smartphone' moment (Engadget)
• How activists are fighting for full cannabis legalization in Washington, D.C. (Psymposia)
• The End of the Joint As We Know It (The Ringer)
• NORML Delivers Over 10,000 Citizen Comments To The FDA Calling For The Reconsideration of Cannabis Prohibition (NORML)
• The best way to fight illegal pot is with legal cannabis (The Hill)
• Why Are Marijuana Policies So Behind in 4/20-Heavy Places Like New York? (Rolling Stone)
• How Seniors Joined the Cannabis Craze (The New Yorker)
• Cannabis Flowers Are Legal in Italy. You Just Can’t Eat or Smoke Them. (The New York Times)
• How 'dank' became a compliment for both beer and marijuana (Detroit Free Press)
• Greens' cannabis plan could raise $3.6bn (9NEWS)
• Isle Of Man Could Be The First Place In The British Isles To Decriminalise Cannabis Possession (HuffPost)
• These Five States Lead the Nation in Marijuana Arrests (AlterNet)
• Miracle drug or the devil's lettuce? (The Washington Post)
• The Complicated History of Cannabis in the US (History)
• FDA Rejects Anti-Legalization Pharma Co’s Cannabis Drug Request (Marijuana Moment)
• Legalising marijuana is a lot more complex than you might think (The Age)
• 4/20 Special: How Advocates and Entrepreneurs of Color Are Fighting for Equity in the Legal Weed Business (Colorlines)
• Liberal party members overwhelmingly vote for decriminalizing drugs while Trudeau repeats opposition (The Georgia Straight)
• Assemblyman introduces bill that would allow vets to prescribe cannabis for pets (KABC-TV)
• Utah Medical Marijuana Measure Has Enough Signatures For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)
• Is marijuana decriminalization possible in the Middle East? (The Washington Post)
• Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract (NPR)
• YouTube Continues Its Cannabis Purge and Nobody Knows Why (Leafly)
• Facebook Has a Cannabis Problem That ‘Community Standards’ Don’t Solve (Leafly)
• Two Cannabis Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets For Success (Forbes)
• Police Department Offers Prize For Possessing The Most Cannabis (High Times)
• Medical cannabis oil is legal in Texas, but epilepsy patients still struggle (The Texas Tribune)
• A Multibillion-Dollar Cannabis Company Has Announced Its Asia-Pacific Headquarters In Australia (BuzzFeed News)
• Senator Wants Jeff Sessions To Meet With Drug War Victims (Marijuana Moment)
• Psychedelic Rapper Challenges New Jersey's Cannabis Laws In New 420 Song (PR Newswire)
• 'The Truth About Cannabis': Inside New Pro-Pot Web Doc (Rolling Stone)
• Cannabis Cultivation Will Be A Race To The Bottom (Forbes)
• 'Women of Cannabis' Cultivate Ideas and Relationships (Seven Days)
• Cannabis and psychosis: what is the link and who is at risk? (The Conversation)
• Marijuana moguls optimistic about legalisation of recreational cannabis in Australia (ABC)
• Can Cannabis Make You Sick? (The Stranger)
• Is This The Most Expensive Marijuana In The World? (Forbes)
• Could 'one puff' of cannabis ease depression? (Medical News Today)
• Understanding Terpenes: Linalool (Cannabis Now)
• Harvard Medical Students Say Schools Need to Teach More About Medical Marijuana (Civilized)

LSD

• LSD Provokes Synesthetic Hallucinations in a Congenitally Blind Man (Psychedelic Times)
• Couple drop LSD to see if it makes them better at assembling IKEA furniture (Metro)
• Psychedelic Cyclists – An Irishman’s Diary about Albert Hofmann and Flann O’Brien (The Irish Times)
• St. Pete man on LSD punches 13-year-old girl in face, knocks her out (WFLA)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• The Man Who Treated His OCD with Magic Mushrooms (VICE)
• Inside Jamaica's magic mushroom retreat for women (The Independent)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Can MDMA Treat Alcoholism? Scientists Begin First Clinical Trials (Newsweek)
• MDMA research meets Australian antipathy (Cosmos Magazine)
• An Amsterdam house had so much MDMA discovered inside it's been locked down (Mixmag)
• Teen dies after taking 'Netflix and Chill' ecstasy pills (New York Post)
• Melissa McCarthy Snorts Ecstasy With Sex Crazed Puppets in ‘Happytime Murders’ (Variety)
• Gardaí fear 'bad batch' of MDMA may have killed teen (17) (Independent.ie)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Canadian Lynched by Mob After Being Accused of Killing Shaman at Ayahuasca Retreat (VICE)
• UN condemns murder of Peruvian indigenous leader (Andina)
• A Judge Has Ordered Arrests Over Killing of a Canadian in the Peruvian Amazon (TIME)
• Effects and risks of ayahuasca, the hallucinogen sought after by Canadians travelling to the Amazon (CBC)
• How Did Avicii Die? Details On The Artist's Sudden Passing (EDM Sauce)
• Doctor sees healing power in psychedelic plant as Peru investigates deaths (The Reminder)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Why opioid addicts desperate to quit are turning to this risky treatment (New York Post)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Nasal Spray May Help Reduce Depression Symptoms, Study Says (The Fix)
• Oral ketamine does not ease cancer-related neuropathic pain (medwireNews)
• Beneficial effects of ketamine in a chronic pain state with allodynia, possibly due to central sensitization (Science Direct)
• Document: Hagerstown man smoked PCP before shooting woman (Herald-Mail Media)
• Boyfriend of Morgan Freeman's slain kin knew what he was doing despite being in PCP haze (New York Daily News)

Opiates/Opioids

• New York Could Open the First Safe Injection Site in the US (The Nation)
• asha bandele: Prince could still be alive today if America didn’t shame people for using drugs (Mic)
• Google uses its search skills to help fight opioid addiction (Engadget)
• The New York Times Suggests Opioids Should Be Reserved for Terminal Patients (Reason)
• Will Getting Tough on Dealers Curb the Opioid Crisis? (The Crime Report)

Kratom

• Leading Scientists Say Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Kratom May Be Side-Effect Of FDA Crackdown & Underscores Need For Regulation … Not A Ban (PR Newswire)
• Kratom Products Recalled for Risk of Salmonella (Coherent Chronicle)
• Kratom Wars: FDA, Proponents Square Off on Controversial Opioid-Like Plant (Pain Medicine News)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Lessons from Portugal: The Case for Drug Policy Reform (Beckley Foundation)
• Becoming a Psychedelic Researcher: Alan Kooi Davis (Psymposia)
• Are psychedelics the answer to depression and addiction? (Salon)
• Not all drug dealers are the same – it’s time to ditch outdated stereotypes (The Conversation)
• Harm Reduction: More than just clean needles (Julian Buchanan)
• A Survey Shows The Most Used Drugs At Music Festivals: Here’s What We Learned (Dance Music Northwest)
• Antidepressants and Withdrawal: Readers Tell Their Stories (Mad in America)
• A revolution in teen drug education (New York Daily News)
• Police chiefs studying decriminalizing drugs as possible solution to opioid crisis (CBC)
• Just Because You Can't Stop Taking Antidepressants Doesn't Mean You're Addicted (VICE)
• Pill-testing trial approved for Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra (ABC)
• Why we should test drugs for safety (Virgin)
• The Best Drug Documentaries On Netflix Right Now (HotNewHipHop)
• 'Archaic and harmful': report condemns strict handling of student drug takers (The Guardian)
• Psychedelic Scholar Robert Forte Talks Conspiracy Theories and Consciousness (Santa Barbara Independent)
• New Research Provides First Peek at Ancient Mesopotamian Drug Use (Ancient Origins)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.20.18

Cannabis

• Trump To Support Major Marijuana Legislation (Marijuana Moment)
• Cannabis Component Found in Breast Milk, but Does It Harm Baby? (Medscape)
• Greens propose full legalisation of cannabis (The Guardian)
• Senator Sanders Co-Sponsors The Marijuana Justice Act (NORML)
• 'Cannabis strengthened our bond': can pot make you a better parent? (The Guardian)
• Cannabis harm to teenagers' brains 'overstated', finds study (The Independent)
• How Smoking Pot May Hurt the Teenage Brain (TIME)
• Marijuana-based seizure treatment gets positive review from FDA (Chicago Tribune)
• The Plan to Save California's Legendary Weed From 'Big Cannabis' (WIRED)
• Trump is backing off the marijuana fight. Jeff Sessions has not. (The Cannabist)
• Republicans eye getting in front of marijuana legalization (Michigan Radio)
• House GOP Blocks Another Marijuana Amendment (Marijuana Moment)
• Meta-analysis: Cannabis Exposure Not Associated With Residual Adverse Impact On Cognitive Performance (NORML)
• MassRoots reports net loss of $44 million in 2017 (The Cannabist)
• Here's Where Your Colorado Marijuana Tax Dollars Go (Westword)
• Meghan Markle's nephew developing special cannabis strain for royal wedding (The Independent)
• Oregon Grew More Cannabis Than Customers Can Smoke. Now Shops and Farmers Are Left With Mountains of Unwanted Bud. (Willamette Week)
• High Times Cannabis Cup 4/20 event rejected in Southern California (NBC)
• Australia's Medicinal Cannabis Patients Will Get 48-Hour Access...In A Few Months (BuzzFeed News)
• Legal highs: arguments for and against legalising cannabis in Australia (The Conversation)
• Bipartisan Legislation Introduced To Facilitate Medical Cannabis Trials For Veterans (NORML)
• Spliff, a film festival for stoners, by stoners (Boing Boing)
• Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in Canada’s weed arrests (VICE)
• Exclusive analysis: Only one in seven California cities allow recreational marijuana stores (The Mercury-News)
• The Philosopher's Stoned: An Interview with Liber 420 Author Chris Bennett (Reality Sandwich)
• The new 4/20: Beyond legalizing it (CNN)
• Metric Coffee Unveils Cannabis Cold Brew on 4/20 (Eater)
• Why it can be okay to call it ‘marijuana’ instead of ‘cannabis’ (The Verge)
• What John Boehner's Pivot On Cannabis Tells Us About The Legal Weed Boom (NPR)
• Drug Made From Cannabis Plant Gets Backing From FDA Staff (Bloomberg)
• Medical cannabis treatment: Mother starts a petition for her child (Sunday Express)
• Pennsylvania to Make Whole-Plant Cannabis Flower Available to Patients (Leafly)
• Medical cannabis access simplified under unified state agreement (Small Caps)

LSD

• 75 Years After First LSD Trip, Psychedelic Science is Making a Comeback (Seeker)
• What Do Blind People 'See' When They Take LSD? (Live Science)
• The Strange History of Bicycle Day (Slate)
• What was Project MKUltra? Inside the CIA's mind-control program (Big Think)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• We talked with a researcher using psilocybin to treat cocaine addiction in Alabama (Psymposia)
• Would You Take Mushrooms With Your Mom? Meet One Woman Who Did and Made a Movie About It (PAPER)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Alcoholics in Bristol are trialing MDMA therapy (The Bristol Cable)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Can Drinking Ayahuasca Really Change Your Life? (Chacruna)
• Controversies Around the Toad Medicine (Chacruna)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Treatment utilizing psychedelic drug ibogaine significantly reduces opioid withdrawal and cravings (PsyPost)
• Matthew Mellon was trying controversial addiction treatment before death (Page Six)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine has 'fast-acting benefits' for depression (BBC News)
• Ketamine Nasal Spray for Suicide Prevention Raises Serious Concerns (Inverse)

Opiates/Opioids

• It's legal to manufacture cocaine and heroin for medical use — and Britain is the world's biggest exporter (Business Insider)
• How France Cut Heroin Overdoses by 79 Percent in 4 Years (The Atlantic)
• Drug users to soon have all-hours access to syringes in Ballarat (The Courier)
• A Drug to End Addiction? Scientists Are Working on It. (The New York Times)
• The War on Opioids Probably Helped Kill Prince (Reason)
• U.S. has been quietly helping Mexico with new, high-tech ways to fight opium (Albuquerque Journal)
• Medicaid Is Helping to Combat the Opioid Crisis, Despite Trump's Attacks (Truthout)
• Did ancient Mesopotamians get high? Near Eastern rituals may have included opium, cannabis (Science Magazine)
• As Opioid Prescriptions Fall, Opioid Deaths Rise (Reason)
• Maine Lawmakers Clash With Governor Over Naloxone Access (The Wall Street Journal)
• Naloxone-access programs miss many opioid users (Reuters)
• The Surgeon General Wants More Naloxone, Now What (ModernMedicine)
• Public Defender Foils Prosecutor’s Murder Charge in Drug Overdose (Injustice Today)

Kratom

• Leading Fibromyalgia Doctor Says Wait on Kratom (National Pain Report)
• Kratom: Did I Lose My Sobriety and Not Even Know It? (The Fix)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Canada's Liberal party considers decriminalization of all illicit drugs (The Guardian)
• Drug trafficking by Kiwis using dark web is booming - report (Newshub)
• These Teens Are Taking A Class On Drugs That Is Definitely Not What Trump Had In Mind (BuzzFeed News)
• Will psychedelics go corporate like cannabis? (Herb)
• Beyond Psychedelics 2018: Interview with Eva Césarová (Psychedelic Times)
• The case for decriminalizing drugs (The Star)
• Will El Chapo’s Arrest Make the Drug Trade More Deadly? (Reason)
• Tripping on drugs like ayahuasca and shrooms ‘might be cultural appropriation’ (Metro)
• An Audio Harm Reduction Guide For Psychedelic Psychotherapy (Chacruna)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.13.18

Cannabis

• Google and Facebook won’t advertise marijuana, even where it’s legal (The Cannabist)
• Former House Speaker John Boehner Is Now Working at a Marijuana Firm Advisory Board (TIME)
• “Salmonella Kratom” and “Rat Poison K2” are two more reasons to go ahead and legalize weed (The Outline)
• Legalised cannabis could help solve America's opioid crisis, studies suggest (The Independent)
• Senate Majority Leader Introduces Bi-Partisan Hemp Legalization Bill (NORML)
• The Ultimate Guide to Cannabinoids in Cannabis (High Times)
• Can You Get Contact High From Weed? (Real Stoned Times)
• Senate Hopeful Cynthia Nixon Says She Wants to Legalize Marijuana (TIME)
• Can Cannabis Help Prevent Domestic Violence? (High Times)
• The country that pioneered "wellness" is adopting cannabis as a cure (Quartz)
• Massachusetts Is The New Testbed for Cannabis Legalization (Forbes)
• Wine veteran hopes to elevate cannabis with wine and food pairings (San Francisco Chronicle)
• How To Treat Eczema With Cannabis (High Times)
• How to Host a Cannabis-Themed Game Night (Leafly)
• Major Coffee Chain Teaming Up With Cannabis Company (High Times)
• Cannabis rules in CA: Are some cities trying to regulate away Prop 64? (OCRegister)
• Cannabis Compound CBD May Offer Medical Marijuana Benefits Without The High (CBS New York)
• Psychiatrist Says Cannabis Should Be Banished From The Planet (High Times)
• Reader: Legal Cannabis Saved Me From Opioids! (Westword)
• 9 Things Cannabis Investors Should Know (Visual Capitalist)
• Why Canadian Cannabis Stocks Are On Sale (Forbes)
• Louisiana veterans advocate for medical cannabis (Leesville Daily Leader)
• How Archytas Ventures Helps Capital-Starved Cannabis Startups Get Equipment (Forbes)

LSD

• Scientists keep "discovering" things stoners already know (Quartz)
• LSD causes congenitally blind man to experience synesthesia-like hallucinations (PsyPost)
• LSD Cured My Eating Disorder (Psymposia)
• Deputies: Babysitter on LSD refuses to leave home, tries to steal toys (The Independent Florida Alligator)
• LSD making comeback as professionals drop ACID before work (Daily Star)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Multi Species Psilocybin Mushroom Dosage Calculator (Psychedelics Daily)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• An analysis of the most common ecstasy pills in the US by name and color (Mixmag)
• Teenager took so many Ecstasy pills at festival his lungs collapsed (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Two Montreal Religious Groups Can Now Legally Import Ayahuasca (VICE)
• Message From Santo Daime Dutch Churches in Response to the Verdict That Makes Santo Daime Illegal in the Netherlands (Chacruna)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• New Research Study Will Look at the Efficacy of Treating Alcoholism with Ibogaine (Psychedelic Times)
• Americans turning to an illegal treatment for heroin addiction (BBC News)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Fake Marijuana Likely Laced With Rat Poison Has Killed 3 People and Sickened More Than 100 (TIME)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Shows Promise For Depression Treatment (The Fix)
• Ketamine Effective as Maintenance Treatment for Anxiety (Psych Congress Network)
• Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter Recorded Boyfriend High on PCP Before Stabbing Her to Death (PopCulture.com)
• Pierce County deputies say man was high on PCP during armed confrontation (Q13 FOX)
• Stamford woman booked for driving high on PCP (The Stamford Advocate)

Opiates/Opioids

• Surgeon General Advises Greater Use of Naloxone to Help Save Lives (Reason)
• Naloxone Stops Opioid Overdoses. How Do You Use It? (The New York Times)
• How to Get Naloxone (Tonic)
• One Woman Got Facebook to Police Opioid Sales On Instagram (WIRED)
• Scotland gathers evidence from Australia on safe drug rooms (The Herald)
• Trump Is Freaking Out About the Wrong Border: Killer Fentanyl Is Coming From Canada (The Daily Beast)
• Notre Dame researchers say they found link between rising heroin deaths and OxyContin (WSBT)
• Study: Despite decline in prescriptions, opioid deaths skyrocketing due to heroin and synthetic drugs (The Washington Post)
• Former Mexican President Fox calls for opium poppy legalization (Reuters)
• Overdose Deaths Dropping, But Narcan Costs Rising (Firehouse)
• Carrying Naloxone While Black: When Saving a Life Could Cost Me My Own (Philadelphia Magazine)
• Narcan in Every Medicine Cabinet: Will Increasing Naloxone Access Save Lives? (The Fix)
• Maine Lawmakers OK Plan to Lower Age for Naloxone Access (U.S. News & World Report)
• Naloxone Saves Lives, But Does It Also Enable Opioid Addiction? (WCPO)
• Overdose Deaths Are the Product of Drug Prohibition (Reason)
• As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom (The Washington Post)

Kratom

• A mysterious 'supplement' with a viral following has been linked to salmonella — and the outbreak is still spreading (Business Insider)
• FDA Warns of Dangers to Kratom Consumers (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Is Kratom as Dangerous as the FDA Claims? It's Hard to Tell (MedShadow)
• Kratom And Salmonella: AKA Advises All Kratom Vendors To Act Responsibly And Be Transparent (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom Recall in Colorado Could Lead to More Product Seizures (Westword)
• Reader: Keep kratom from FDA overreach (Colorado Springs Independent)

Kava

• Kava plants worth $10000 stolen (Matangi Tonga)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit (The New York Times)
• Australia missing psychedelic drug 'renaissance' for mental health (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Trump Administration Is Considering Allowing Mandatory Drug Testing for Food Stamp Recipients (TIME)
• Sewage Study Reveals That Americans Took Way More Drugs During Two Major Events In 2017 (IFLScience)
• Albuquerque New Mexico to End the City's Asset Forfeiture Program (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Awakening into Psychedelic Spirituality: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• The FBI Has Announced a $20 Million Reward for a Fugitive Mexican Drug Lord (TIME)
• Healing with Movement, Psychedelics and Breathwork: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• Our Ancestors Got High, Too (Discover Magazine)
• Psychedelic drugs could be the answer to mental illness: study (Starts at 60)

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.