This Week in Psychoactives - 12.6.19

Cannabis

• Michigan celebrates first legal cannabis purchases (Leafly)

• DEA Finalizes Plan To Grow 3.2 Million Grams Of Marijuana In 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Stocks Are Scrambling to Conserve Cash (Nasdaq)

• Illinois City Will Use Weed Taxes to Pay Reparations for Black Residents (MERRY JANE)

• Field test kits will help police distinguish between marijuana and hemp (Richmond-Times Dispatch)

• CBD could help doctors use lower doses of chemotherapy (Israel21c)

• Brazil approves medical marijuana rules, blocks cannabis cultivation (Reuters)

• Shoppers Drug Mart expands online medical cannabis retail into Saskatchewan (Saskatoon Star Phoenix)

• Minnesota OKs medical cannabis for chronic pain, eye disease (Minnesota Public Radio News)

• New Zealand Government Unveils Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of 2020 Referendum (Marijuana Moment)

• Harborside got around a regulatory ban to open SoCal’s first drive-thru cannabis shop in Desert Hot Springs (Palm Springs Desert Sun)

• Clinical Trial: Transdermal Application of CBD Effective in Patients with Myofascial Pain (NORML)

• Willie Nelson Quit Smoking Weed, But He’s Still Eating It (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis on the Tickets in the Coming UK Elections (New Frontier Data)

• North Dakota Activists Submit Measure To Legalize Marijuana In 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• L.A.’s Cannabis Cafe Is Rebranding and Parting Ways with Lowell Herb Co. (LA Magazine)

• Men who regularly smoke cannabis have increased risk of developing testicular cancer, study claims (Yahoo! News)

• Michael Bloomberg Backs Decriminalization As Marijuana Views Evolve Amid Presidential Run (Marijuana Moment)

• Lil Wayne Just Launched His Own Cannabis Brand (Forbes)

LSD

• NASA prepped for alien communication with 'LSD dolphin sex' experiment (Daily Star)

Magic Mushrooms

• World’s first magic mushroom nasal spray for PTSD and depression (Health Europa)

• Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Magic Mushrooms Turn Blue (MERRY JANE)

• A Glimpse of Life After Magic Mushroom Legalization (Forbes)

• The Keys To Understanding Psilocybin's Medical Value, Market Potential (Benzinga)

MDMA

• How to Legalize MDMA, With the Help of Pharmacies and Nightlife Spaces (Filter)

Ketamine

• 'Bad' ketamine and ecstasy warning after Liverpool clubbers hospitalised (BBC)

Opioids

• Drugs Used to Replace Opioids Linked With Increase in Suicide Attempts Across U.S. (Newsweek)

• 7 Heroin Users Die From Flesh-Eating Bacteria in San Diego (The New York Times)

• MLB Wants Rehab Rather Than Suspension for Players Who Use Opioids (MERRY JANE)

• Congressman calls on airlines to carry naloxone, NARCAN to help fight opioid epidemic (NBC Montana)

• Iowa Organization Offers Free Access to Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug (WHO TV)

Cocaine

• Cocaine deaths in Wales 'quadruple in five years' (BBC)

• Europe becomes cocaine exporter as countries overflow with drug (The Telegraph)

Methamphetamine

• Meth is killing more Utahns than ever before (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Caffeine

• You're Using Caffeine the Wrong Way (Psychology Today)

• What Are Caffeine Pills—And Are They Safe? (Health.com)

Nicotine

• E-cigarettes do NOT increase pneumonia risks: Study suggests vapor does not weaken the immune system in the same way as cigarette smoke (Daily Mail)

• More than 6 million US middle and high schoolers used tobacco products in 2019, report says (CNN)

• Minnesota Is the Latest State to Sue E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Youth Vaping (TIME)

• Marijuana and Nicotine Are Trading Places as Prohibitionists’ Target (Filter)

• Tobacco Companies Win Temporary Reprieve on Low-Nicotine Cigarettes (The Motley Fool)

Alcohol

• Prescription Alcohol Can Help Problem Drinkers (Elemental)

• A nimbler way to track alcohol use—by mining Twitter and Google searches (Medical Xpress)

• Alcohol death rates dropping in Scotland (BBC)

• Alcohol tolerance may have saved our ancestors from extinction (Phys.org)

Kratom

• Flying With Kratom – Can You Take Mitragyna Speciosa On A Plane? (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom vs. Nutmeg: Which Is More Dangerous? (Pain News Network)

Miscellaneous

• Scientist Talks Benefits Of Psychedelics At Federal Health Agency Event (Marijuana Moment)

• Renewed push for pill-testing in more Australian states following latest festival death (The Music Network)

• Study outlines concerns around natural psychoactive substances (Medical News Today)

• Orthogonal Thinker Launches First Psychedelics Lifestyle Brand PsillyLife to Promote Psychedelic Culture and Proprietary Research (Yahoo! Finance)

• Andrew Yang Calls For Investments In Safe Injection Sites For Illegal Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

• Julián Castro Open To Decriminalizing Drugs And Endorses Safe Consumption Sites (Marijuana Moment)

• The Ethical Quagmire of Conducting Drug Trials With Incarcerated People (Filter)

• Successful Alcohol And Drug Recovery Still Hindered By Stigma (Forbes)

• At Penn, people in recovery are helping more patients with addiction enter treatment (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• The nautical beginnings of America’s war on drugs (NavyTimes)

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.29.19

CANNABIS

• Study: Daily Cannabis Use Among Pain Patients Associated with Less Non-Prescription Opioid Use (NORML)

• License revoked for California cannabis vape maker Kushy Punch after state seizes $21M worth of products (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Scientists Just Figured Out Why Some People Hallucinate on Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Another Study Links Vitamin E Additive to Lung Illness (NORML)

• California Is Raising Taxes On Cannabis Again (Forbes)

• Study Finds “Little Support” for Cannabis Impacting Cognitive Abilities (NORML)

• Cannabis reduces headache and migraine pain by nearly half (ScienceDaily)

• Marijuana vaping disease strikes Thai patient (Coconuts Bangkok)

• Additives result in higher toxins for vape users, Portland State study finds (EurekAlert!)

• Michigan halts sale of marijuana vapes unless re-tested (MSN)

• Alcohol-Related Car Crashes Declined In Idaho After Washington Legalized Marijuana Next Door (Marijuana Moment)

• Feds Will Stop Funding State Addiction Programs That Use Cannabis (MERRY JANE)

• Trinidad And Tobago Government Introduces Marijuana Reform Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• For many, even 'automatic' clearing of marijuana records could be complicated (Crain's Chicago Business)

• Is Weed Safe When You're Breastfeeding? (VICE)

• US Air Force Bans Service Members From Using CBD, Despite its Legal Status (MERRY JANE)

• Joe Biden Walks Back Marijuana ‘Gateway Drug’ Comment After Week Of Criticism (Marijuana Moment)

• Inside the Contentious World of Cannabis Churches (InsideHook)

• Pete Buttigieg Says Marijuana Arrests Signify “Systemic Racism.” His South Bend Police Fit the Bill. (The Intercept)

• Where Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Congressional Candidate Smokes Marijuana And Talks Legalization In Campaign Video (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis legalisation: Does it lead to harder drug use? (BBC)

LSD

• New Zealand-based LSD microdosing trial gets go-ahead (Newshub)

• Inside the Archive of an LSD Researcher With Ties to the CIA’s MKUltra Mind Control Project (The Intercept)

• Thai medical authorities issue warning on recreational 'Magic Paper' hallucinogen (AsiaOne)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• FDA Grants Psilocybin Second Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Resistant Depression (Medscape)

• Scientists Discover New Compounds in Magic Mushrooms (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Depression sufferers should not self-medicate with magic mushrooms, health experts warn (The Telegraph)

• Late frost means magic mushrooms will bloom in the UK on New Year‘s Day (Stock Daily Dish)

MDMA

• Parents of teens, here’s what you really need to know about MDMA (The Conversation)

AYAHUASCA

• Lindsay Lohan's ex-boyfriend Harry Morton was 'hooked on ayahuasca', a psychedelic drug that distorts brain waves to create a vivid 'waking-dream' state — and was once used by the actress who said it 'changed her life' (Daily Mail)

• Don’t Forget Us Native People Behind the Ayahuasca (Kahpi)

• Personal Healing with Ayahuasca Helped Me Be a Better Psychologist (Chacruna)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Doctors warn of the dangers of ingesting nitrous oxide in light of OU student death (WHIO)

KETAMINE

• A Single Dose Of Ketamine Might Help Heavy Drinkers, Study Finds (NPR)

PCP

• Naked man reportedly high on PCP jumps off roof of Kansas City home ‘like Peter Pan’ (FOX 4 Kansas City)

OPIOIDS

• Pioneering Glasgow clinic offers addicts pharmaceutical grade heroin (The Guardian)

• Drugmakers and Distributors Are Under Federal Opioid Probe, Report Says (TIME)

• Heroin Pipes: How the “Hammer” Was Built for Harm Reduction (Filter)

• My friend and I both took heroin. He overdosed. Why was I charged with his death? (The Washington Post)

COCAINE

• Coca Plant Makes a Comeback (Reality Sandwich)

• When Paul McCartney Realized Cocaine Was Terrible for Him (Showbiz CheatSheet)

• Kirstie Alley Traded Cocaine For Flowers As 'Gift' To Herself (TooFab)

CAFFEINE

• Some coffee drinkers claim it causes anxiety. Here's what the science says (Salon)

• Caffeine, Cough Medicines: What's in the Average Blood Transfusion (U.S. News & World Report)

• Calls for probe into 'energy gum' that has more caffeine than Red Bull (Scottish Daily Record)

Nicotine

• Massachusetts Becomes the First State to Ban Flavored Tobacco and Vaping Products (TIME)

• Pennsylvania Officially Raises Age Of Tobacco Purchase To 21 (CBS Pittsburgh)

• New York City Lawmakers Vote to Ban All Flavored E-Cigarettes (TIME)

• CPSC Will Go After Vape Shops That Violate Bottle Rules (Vaping360)

• How the British Approach to Vaping Puts the US to Shame (Filter)

• More People In US Now See E-cigarettes More Harmful Than Tobacco (Medical Daily)

• "Small Vape" Stood Up for Itself at the White House (Vaping360)

• What the E-Cigarette Bans Get Wrong (Slate)

• Vape debate: Are e-cigarettes wiping out teen smoking? (AP News)

ALCOHOL

• Does Drinking Alcohol Literally Shrink the Brain? (SciTechDaily)

• A Brain Network for Alcoholism? (Psychology Today)

• Stamford and the bottle: Study shows alcohol is a problem in city (Stamford Advocate)

• Utah underage drinking declines to record low (The Salt Lake Tribune)

NOOTROPICS

• Some Nootropics Contain a Substance Unapproved by the FDA (VICE)

KRATOM

• Which Liver Enzymes Metabolize Mitragynine (Net Newsledger)

• Retail sale of kratom supplement banned in Monument (Colorado Springs Gazette)

• Poison Control Centers Saw 5,000% Increase In Calls About Kratom Exposure (WOSU)

KAVA

• Fijian kava arrives in New Zealand pharmacies (NZ Herald)

• The viability of kava in healthcare — sensations of euphoria and relaxation (The Market Herald)

MISCELLANEOUS

• How Drugs Won the War on Drugs (Mixmag)

• Leaked Documents Say Roughly 2,000 NY Prisoners Affected By Erroneous Drug Tests (Gothamist)

• Are over-the-counter psychedelics in our future? (Big Think)

• Federal Health Agency Hosts Talk On Psychedelics Research (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic studies on depression recruiting subjects in the Netherlands (Stitching OPEN)

• Nearly 100 Cities Are Considering Decriminalizing Psychedelics, Map Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Is this the way the drug war ends - not with a bang, but a whimper? (Politics.co.uk)

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.22.19

Cannabis

• Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Congressional Committee In Historic Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Biden Says Marijuana Might Be A Gateway Drug (Forbes)

• Britons who legally smoke cannabis in the US 'risk being deported' (The Guardian)

• Pure CBD Does Not Trigger Positive Drug Tests for Weed, New Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Thailand Will Soon Allow Its Citizens To Grow Cannabis At Home To Sell To The Government. (Forbes)

• Colorado Supreme Court Rules Convicts Can Use Medical Weed While on Probation (MERRY JANE)

• Hemp-Derived CBD Helps Chronic Pain Patients Reduce Opioid Use, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Medical Cannabis Isn't Working in the UK (VICE)

• Access to Legal Cannabis Leads to a Decline in Sleep Aid Sales (MERRY JANE)

• NJ Lawmakers Plan to Put Legalization on 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Virginia Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Filed For 2020 After Democrats Reclaim Legislature (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Are Doctors Still So Reluctant To Prescribe Medical Cannabis? (HuffPost)

LSD

• Silicon Valley's extreme new productivity hack: LSD (GQ)

Magic Mushrooms

• Are Magic Mushrooms The Next Frontier For The Cannabis Industry? (The Fresh Toast)

MDMA

• Dad pushes for drugs to be legalised after sons on MDMA die side-by-side (Mirror)

DMT

• Scientists Discover Psychedelic DMT Creates Waking Dream State in Brain (Newsweek)

Ayahuasca

• Can the psychedelic drug ayahuasca help fight suicide? (PsyPost)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Designer Drugs: My Addiction to Research Chemicals (The Fix)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Under the Radar: Synthetic Cannabinoids and Vaping-Related Lung Injuries (Project CBD)

Ketamine

• Ketamine’s potential to fight alcohol abuse has a major problem (Inverse)

• Side effects mild, brief with single antidepressant dose of intravenous ketamine (ScienceDaily)

Opioids

• Doctors Are Cutting Patients Off Opioid Medications Too Fast, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Surgeon General To Purdue Students: Carry Naloxone, Get Screened For Addiction Risk (WJCT)

Methamphetamine

• ‘Meth. We’re on It’: South Dakota’s Anti-Meth Campaign Raises Eyebrows (The New York Times)

Tobacco

• President Trump Backing Off Banning Vaping Flavors Popular With Teens (TIME)

• Bill Passed by Massachusetts House Would Allow Police to Seize Cars from Vapers who Possess DIY or Black Market E-Liquids (Tobacco Analysis)

• Juul Sued by Two States for Allegedly Marketing E-Cigs to Kids (MERRY JANE)

• American Medical Association Calls for Immediate Ban on All E-Cigarettes and Vaping Products (TIME)

• Philippines' Duterte Says He Will Ban E-Cigarettes, Threatens To Arrest Vapers (NPR)

• Apple to remove vaping apps from store (Axios)

• Influential U.S. doctors group calls for ban on vaping products (Reuters)

• How Wily Teens Outwit Bathroom Vape Detectors (WIRED)

• Smokers who switch to vaping rapidly boost heart health in trial (Yahoo! News)

Kratom

• What Causes Kratom Wobbles & How To Treat It? (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom and Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know (Diabetes Insider)

Khat

• Miraa, muguka crawling with germs, study says (Standard Media)

Miscellaneous

• Where US Psychedelic Decriminalization Efforts Stand Right Now (Filter)

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

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.15.19

Cannabis

• CDC Identifies Vitamin E Oil Additive as a “Very Strong Culprit of Concern” in Vaping-Related Lung Injuries (NORML)

• First cannabis-based medicines approved for use on NHS (The Guardian)

• The Media Is Spinning the Latest Weed and Birth Defects Study All Wrong (MERRY JANE)

• Michigan Teen Receives Double Lung Transplant After 'Enormous' Damage From Vaping (TIME)

• Ohio bans vitamin E acetate from medical marijuana vapes after CDC links it to lung illnesses (Cincinnati Enquirer)

• Pew Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans Say “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)

• Bernie Sanders Wants To Legalize Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Apple Removing Vaping-Related Apps From App Store Today Amid Public Health Concerns (MacRumors)

• From ‘Veronica Mars’ to toxic vapes: The rise and fall of Honey Cut (Leafly)

• You Can Get A Master's In Medical Cannabis In Maryland (NPR)

• Mass Lifts Ban on Medical Cannabis Flower Vapes, But Oil Carts Still Restricted (MERRY JANE)

• Marijuana Prohibition Is Delaying Federal Response To Vaping Crisis, CDC Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Surprise! Michigan adult-use cannabis sales begin Dec. 1 (Leafly)

• Young Americans Are Smoking More Weed and Less Tobacco, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Millions of Brits using street cannabis to treat chronic health conditions (Health Europa)

• How Vietnam veterans expanded America’s cannabis strains (Leafly)

• Cannabis Is the Most Effective Treatment for Endometriosis, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Neil Young says his US citizenship application is being held up because he uses marijuana (CNN)

• Illegal Pot Grows Are Poisoning Animals and the Environment in National Parks (MERRY JANE)

• Where Presidential Candidate Deval Patrick Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• What’s Lost When Psychedelic Mushrooms Become Synthetic Psilocybin (DoubleBlind)

• Taking a Deep Look at Psilocybin for Depression Research (Psychedelics Today)

• Explorer’s Guide: Microdosing Magic Psilocybin Truffles (Maps of the Mind)

MDMA

• DJ fell from cliff in Cornwall and died while on MDMA (Cornwall Live)

• ‘Beautiful’ girl, 15, died after taking MDMA that cost just £2.50 (The Sun)

• A Guide to Taking Ecstasy as Safely as Possible (VICE)

Ayahuasca

• Ayahuasca, Depression and Me (Chacruna)

5-MeO-DMT

• Meet 5-MeO-DMT, the 'powerful' psychedelic that improves depression in one hour (Big Think)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Project CBD releases special report on synthetic cannabinoids and vaping-related lung injuries (Project CBD)

• ‘Synthetic Marijuana’ Is A Dangerous Misnomer That People Need To Stop Using (The Fresh Toast)

Nitrous Oxide

• Amazon and eBay 'must block illicit nitrous oxide sales' (BBC)

Ketamine

• Why ketamine is so good against depression (ZME Science)

Opioids

• New fingerprinting technology will reveal whether someone has recently used heroin – even if they have washed their hands afterwards (Daily Mail)

• At-home naloxone kits have reversed over 50K opioid overdoses in B.C.: health authority (Global News)

• Vancouver pilots new fentanyl-patch program to combat opioid crisis (The Globe and Mail)

• Mass. Has The First Jail In The Country That's Also A Licensed Methadone Treatment Provider (WBUR)

• Bill Would Require Ohio Pharmacists Be Educated About Naloxone Law (Statehouse News Bureau)

• Pa. is treating more opioid overdoses as homicides. Defense lawyers are learning to fight back. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Bill would let Florida schools keep, administer OD antidote naloxone (WPTV)

• Narcan carries heavy costs (The Salem News)

Cocaine

• A Pack of Feral Hogs Sniffed Out a Cocaine Stash in Italy (Rolling Stone)

• Startling number of senior citizens abusing cocaine in the UK (New York Post)

Methamphetamine

• Why Meth Is Making a Big Comeback (VICE)

• Meth Has Many Medical Benefits. Stigma Holds Them Back. (Filter)

• Her baby was stillborn because of meth, police say. Now she’s charged with murder (Los Angeles Times)

Caffeine

• This influencer is trying to make coffee vaping sexy (New York Post)

• What to know about caffeine withdrawal headaches (Medical News Today)

• What are the health benefits of yerba maté tea? (Medical News Today)

Tobacco

• The Vaping Industry Is Furious at President Trump — Could it Cost Him the Election? (Rolling Stone)

• Pending Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes in Massachusetts Authorizes Forfeiture of Vapers' Cars (Reason)

• Vaping May Be Worse for Heart Health Than Tobacco Cigarettes, New Study Finds (TIME)

• New York will raise the age to purchase tobacco starting Wednesday (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

• House votes to ban flavored tobacco, heavily tax vaping products (Boston Herald)

• Cardiologists warn vaping is so dangerous and addictive it should be banned (Sky News)

• With vape curbs pending, White House questions FDA tobacco role (Chicago Tribune)

• More vapers are making their own juice, but not without risks (CNN)

• What The U.S.-China Trade War Has Meant For North Carolina Tobacco Farmers (WUNC)

• Minnesota was winning the war on teen tobacco use. Then vaping became popular. (TwinCities.com)

Alcohol

• Denver Wants to Test Out Public Drinking Zones in 2020 (MERRY JANE)

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: The 'heartbreaking' reality (BBC)

Kratom

• Kratom products may cause liver injury, new analysis led by Philadelphia physician finds (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• DEA Kratom Ban Update 2019 (Kratom Guides)

• Inside Plan to Bring Kratom Consumer Protection Act to Colorado (Westword)

• Hundreds told Clearwater not to ban kratom. Officials were baffled. (Tampa Bay Times)

• Kratom may be effective, but not entirely safe to treat alcohol use disorder (News-Medical.net)

• Kratom And Your Blood Pressure (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom Tea for Improved Sleep (My MMA News)

• Kratom Packaging – Right Kind Of Packaging For Kratom (Kratom Guides)

• Can You Buy Kratom In San Diego? (Kratom Guides)

Khat

• Experts Now Warn Chewing Khat Increases Chronic Liver Disease Risk (Newswire)

Miscellaneous

• Paul Stamets Announces the Launch of First-Ever Microdosing App (The Third Wave)

• Santa Cruz Will Consider Decriminalizing Psychedelics This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are the newest dark alleyways dealers use to sell drugs (Rooster Magazine)

• Psychedelics as Anti-Inflammatory Agents (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Festival-goers in Victoria could be subject to pill testing in 2020 under new bill (The New Daily)

• Study: How Punitive Policies Harm Pregnant Drug Users (Filter)

• Cincinnati-area high school announces mandatory drug tests for all students beginning in 2020 (WIS TV)

• Postal Service Unveils ‘Drug Free USA Forever’ Stamp Commemorating 1980s Anti-Drug Program (Marijuana Moment)

• The Drug Policy Reform Movement Debates Its Next Moves (Filter)

• The Sydney students synthesising psychedelics for health research (The University of Sydney)

• CSSDP to provide free drug-testing kits to students (The McGill Tribune)

• Drug policies used to criminalise the LGBTQIA+ community in Uganda (Talking Drugs)

• How psychedelics could reduce existential distress for end-of-life patients (The Varsity)

• What is Psychedelic Microdosing? (News-Medical.net)

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.8.19

Cannabis

• Mexican Supreme Court Grants Marijuana Legalization Deadline Extension (Marijuana Moment)

• House Panel Votes To Let Students With Drug Convictions Keep College Aid (Forbes)

• CDC confirms 2,051 cases of vaping-related lung injury (Engadget)

• Medical cannabis trial will target 20,000 UK patients (The Guardian)

• Quebec raising age of cannabis consumption to 21 in the new year (Leafly)

• Skinny Pot: Could Weight-Loss Weed Be Next? (Rolling Stone)

• Senior Citizens Are Canada's Fastest-Growing Weed-Using Demographic (MERRY JANE)

• Millions of cannabis plants in California with ‘black market’ value of $1B seized and destroyed (Fox News)

• Cannabis Reduces Suicidal Thoughts in People Suffering From PTSD, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Poll: Most Americans Support Ending Federal Cannabis Criminalization (NORML)

• Calling It ‘Cannabis’ Instead Of ‘Marijuana’ Doesn’t Boost Legalization Support, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Alaska Recalls Weed Grower's Product Over Alleged Eagle 20 Contamination (MERRY JANE)

• Three More Ohio Cities Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Measures, But Three Others Are Defeated (Marijuana Moment)

• The NYPD Bragged About a Big Pot Bust. Turns Out It Seized 106 Pounds of Legal Hemp. (Reason)

• Problematic Marijuana Use Is Declining Among People Who Consume Every Day, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Americans Think Weed Is Much Safer Than E-Cigs or Tobacco, Poll Finds (MERRY JANE)

• One-time exposure to cannabinoids during early pregnancy can impair fetal development (News-Medical.net)

• Illinois Will Ban Cannabis Use in Public Housing, Despite Legalization (MERRY JANE)

• Drake is launching a Canadian cannabis brand (Leafly)

• Don't blame legal cannabis for the vaping health crisis, focus on black market THC (USA Today)

• How legalising cannabis in London would crush violence and the illegal drugs trade (The Independent)

• Can cannabis help with lupus? Patients recommend it, but research is lacking (Leafly)

LSD

• Logan Paul buys Timothy Leary's LSD ranch in California for $1M (SFGate)

Magic Mushrooms

• Activists File Ballot Measure To Legalize Psilocybin Mushrooms In California (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Johns Hopkins Medicine has Just Begun to Research Psilocybin Mushrooms (PR Newswire)

MDMA

• NHL Players Are Swapping Out Opioids for Cocaine and Ecstasy, Report Says (MERRY JANE)

• Young woman's split second decision to swallow two MDMA capsules because she feared cops would catch her with the illegal drugs led to her death (Daily Mail)

DMT

• What is DMT? What makes it dangerous? (CBS 17)

Ayahuasca

• Fake News About Ayahuasca’s Archeological Antiquity (Chacruna)

Ketamine

• Ketamine Use for Pain Not Associated With Hepatotoxicity, Adverse Drug Events (MD Magazine)

• Ketamine Holds Promise in Derailing Veteran Suicide (PR Web)

PCP

• Trick-or-treat gum balls tested for possible PCP in Lake Stevens (KOMO News)

• Claymont man pleads guilty to murdering ex-wife while they took PCP, watched TV (WDEL)

Opioids

• Drug reversing effects of opioid overdose to be handed out in England (The Guardian)

• Naloxone use by London police saves 103 lives so far in 2019 (Global News)

• Feds Warn Of Heroin-Laced Vape Solution After Two High Schoolers Hospitalized (CBS Dallas Fort Worth)

• Naloxone underprescribed to high-risk patients, Maine researchers say (Press Herald)

• Advocates fear new opioid panel will minimize harm reduction focus (Calgary Herald)

Cocaine

• The NHL seems to disagree about its cocaine usage (New York Post)

Methamphetamine

• A Medication To Treat Meth Addiction? Some Take A New Look At Naltrexone (NPR)

• Trick-or-Treaters on US Air Force Base Handed 'Goodies' That Resemble Crystal Meth (Newsweek)

• Cheap and powerful 'meth 2.0' is ravaging communities and slowly killing its victims (USA Today)

Tobacco

• New Study Casts Further Doubt on Warnings That Vaping Is a Gateway to Smoking (Reason)

• Juul Halts Sales of Mint E-Cigarettes, Its Best-Selling Flavor (TIME)

• The US vaping flavour ban: twenty things you should know (The Counterfactual)

Benzodiazepines

• The Evolution of Designer Benzodiazepines (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Nootropics

• The Risks of Nootropic Use (Psychology Today)

Miscellaneous

• Can a Trip-Free Psychedelic Still Help People With Depression? (VICE)

• Is the 'War on Drugs' Over? Arrest Statistics Say No (The New York Times)

• Trump calls for ‘war’ on drug cartels after 9 Americans killed in Mexico (Los Angeles Times)

• Another UK Parliament Committee Is Calling For Drug Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Psychedelics Could be the Future of Anorexia Treatment (Elemental)

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Voices Support For Decriminalizing Psychedelics (Marijuana Moment)

• Oklahoma Frees Hundreds of Minor Drug Offenders From Jail (MERRY JANE)

• Fewer young people are going into drug treatment – thanks to the government, there’s virtually nowhere left to get it (The Independent)

• Mexico’s drug policy is failing. That’s why the cartels are on the offensive. (The Washington Post)

• Could a combination of psychedelics and meditation treat depression? (Medical News Today)

• Rap and Hip-Hop Mention Drugs and Booze More Than Any Other Genre, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

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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.