This Week in Psychoactives - 1.10.20

Cannabis

• Scientists Discover Two New Cannabinoids (VICE)

• Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine (Reuters)

• Most employers in Nevada can no longer utilize pre-employment drug tests for marijuana (KSNV)

• Federal Marijuana Reform Will Get Another Congressional Hearing Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• South Dakota: Adult-Use Marijuana Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Specialists warn about risks of cannabis edibles (Medical News Today)

• Don't Panic — Weed Edibles Are Just as Safe as We Thought, Actually (MERRY JANE)

• CBD for Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) (One World Herald)

• Marijuana Will Be Legalized in New York, Cuomo Vows (The New York Times)

• Nova Scotia is nearly out of edibles and other 2.0 products (Leafly)

• Illinois Dispensaries Ran Out of Weed During First Week of Legal Sales (Reason)

• More Than Half of Cannabis Tourists Bring Weed Home, New Survey Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Legal Pot Takes a Bite out of Beer Consumption in Canada (Bloomberg)

• Federal Reserve Bank Examines Marijuana Industry’s Growth (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Survey: 26% of young people have driven high or ridden with a high driver (Leafly)

• Legalizing Medical Marijuana Makes People Have More Sex, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• California’s Mushroom Decrim Campaign Cleared to Begin Voter Signature Drive (Filter)

• Shroom-Therapy Startup Edges Toward FDA Approval (Bloomberg)

• Dave Chappelle And Aziz Ansari Took Magic Mushrooms To Celebrate Comedy Award (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Shroom Dispensaries Become a Thing Anytime Soon? (DoubleBlind)

MDMA

• Use of ‘gateway drug’ MDMA on the rise among young Japanese (The Asahi Shimbun)

Ketamine

• Trump touted a new antidepressant as a solution for veterans. Only 15 have been treated (STAT)

Opioids

• Fentanyl deaths on the rise as drug is added to heroin, warns report (The Guardian)

• Black Americans Were Prescribed Opioids Less Frequently Because Of Racial Bias, New Analysis Shows (WBUR)

• Nasal spray found to be quickest, easiest way to deliver antidote naloxone for opioid overdose (News-Medical.net)

• What We Can Learn From a Tiny Baltic Country's Two-Decade Fentanyl Crisis (VICE)

Methamphetamine

• The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained (Vox)

Caffeine

• Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests (CNN)

Nicotine

• What if a Vaping Tax Encouraged Cigarette Smoking? (The New York Times)

• Juul Hits Deliver More Nicotine Than Cigarettes, Study Finds (Rolling Stone)

• Can 18-Year-Olds Still Buy Tobacco Legally in Arizona? AG Suggests Yes (Phoenix New Times)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines: Another Prescription Drug Problem (The Fix)

Alcohol

• U.S. Alcohol-Related Deaths Have Doubled, Study Says (NPR)

• 'Sober curiosity': Dry January a wellspring for booze-free beverages (The Washington Times)

• The real reason midlife women should give up booze: PROFESSOR DAVID NUTT reveals how alcohol increases risk of breast cancer, bad skin and hot flushes (Daily Mail)

GHB

• GHB: The drug used as a 'rapist's weapon of choice' (BBC)

• Britain’s “Most Prolific” Rapist Spurs Misguided GHB Crackdown (Filter)

Kratom

• Kratom, usually made use of as a replacement for many opioids, is currently prohibited in France (OBN)

Miscellaneous

• Medical University of South Carolina To Launch New Psychedelic Research Center (High Times)

• Transforming psychedelics into mainstream medicines (STAT)

• More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared amid drug war, officials say (The Washington Post)

• The 'psychedelics coach' with drug-fuelled career advice (BBC)

• People are seeing ‘Cats’ while high out of their minds. These are their stories. (The Washington Post)

• This D.C. Group Wants To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms And Some Psychedelic Plants (WAMU)

• Philly’s supervised injection site backers say they won’t delay opening while Justice Dept. appeals (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Addiction Treatment Facilities Fall Badly Short, Shows Federal Study (Filter)

• People Visiting Safe Injection Sites Are Less Likely To Die Compared To Other Drug Consumers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee Backs Decriminalizing Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

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.

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This Week in Psychoactives - 1.3.20

Cannabis

• New Law Finally Authorizes Cannabis Cafés in Colorado, the First State to Allow Recreational Sales (Reason)

• Italy court rules home-growing cannabis is legal, reigniting dispute (Reuters)

• Illinois Governor Pardons Over 11,000 People For Marijuana One Day Before Legal Sales Begin (Marijuana Moment)

• Lab says its marijuana breath analyzer will hit the market in 2020 (San Francisco Chronicle)

• Federal Weed Prosecutions Fell by 28% in 2019 (MERRY JANE)

• Illinois Lieutenant Governor Buys Marijuana On State’s First Day Of Legal Sales (Marijuana Moment)

• College Students Binge Drink Less in States with Legal Weed, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Florida Marijuana Lawsuit: ‘Stealth Deadline’ Means Legalization Might Miss 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists Just Discovered a More Potent, Natural Form of THC (MERRY JANE)

• Virginia Prosecutor Announces His Office Will Not Pursue Marijuana Possession Cases (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: Cannabis use rising among depressed Americans (The Mercury News)

• 65 Outstanding Black And Hispanic Men Leading In Cannabis (Benzinga)

• Cannabis IQ drop is a myth, new twin study confirms (Leafly)

• Oklahoma Activists File Revised 2020 Marijuana Legalization Measure To Protect Medical Program (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• World’s First Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Panel Starts Work in Denver (Filter)

• Scientists Solve the Crystal Structure of the Psilocbyin Derviative 4-HO-DPT (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• Stay away from this pill: Urgent warning about deadly blue LEGO-shaped ecstasy tablets with three times the average dose of MDMA (Daily Mail)

• The new year is prime time for unnecessary drug-related deaths – legalising MDMA could stop them (The Independent)

Opioids

• Opioid Deaths Rise When Auto Plants Close, Study Shows (The New York Times)

• Pharmacies Don’t Know How to Dispose of Leftover Opioids and Antibiotics (TIME)

• Synthetic opioids like fentanyl ravaged the US during the last decade. They may do even more damage to Asia in the next (KPLR11)

• Decriminalization is not a radical solution to the opioid crisis. And it would work. (Macleans.ca)

Cocaine

• How to Break Your Casual Cocaine Habit (VICE)

Methamphetamine

• What makes meth so addictive? (Terre Haute Tribune-Star)

• 63% Of Hawaii State Hospital Patients Have Used Meth (Honolulu Civil Beat)

Nicotine

• FDA to Ban All E-Cigarette Pod Flavors Except Tobacco and Menthol (The Wall Street Journal)

• FDA Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes Is Expected to Exempt Open-System E-Liquids (Reason)

• Vape Bans Won’t Make You Safer (The Nation)

• Michigan Supreme Court won't accelerate appeal on e-cigarettes (Detroit Free Press)

• Gov. Cuomo proposes ban of all flavored nicotine, vaping products (News 12)

• U-Haul to Implement Nicotine-Free Hiring Policy for Healthier Workforce (Yahoo! Finance)

Alcohol

• Binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption may damage the heart (Reuters)

• Research Uncovers The Link Between U.S. Demographics And Beverage Alcohol Consumption (Forbes)

• Why I Stopped Calling Myself an Alcoholic (TIME)

• Medical professionals warn of dangers of mixing cold weather and alcohol (KRNV)

• What causes hangovers, blackouts and 'hangxiety'? Everything you need to know about alcohol these holidays (Medical Xpress)

Kratom

• Users cite benefits of kratom, but substance abuse organizations warn of dangers (Longview News-Journal)

Miscellaneous

• Top Ten Psychedelic Moments of 2019 (Psychedelic Times)

• Best psychedelic videos of 2019 (The Daily Psychedelic Video)

• TripApp Is the Latest Mobile Innovation to Make Drug Use Safer (Filter)

• Do Psychedelic Entrepreneurs Need Psychedelic Experience? (The Trip Report)

• What the future holds for medical psychedelics in Canada (Global News)

• Scientists Uncover ‘Strong Relationship’ Between Psychedelic Use And Connection With Nature (Marijuana Moment)

• A mobile addiction treatment center battles stigma, shame, and rising overdoses in South Philly (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Pete Buttigieg Says We Should Decriminalize All the Drugs (Reason)

• A Code of Ethics for Honest Drug Reporting (TalkingDrugs)

• 1,000 people sent me their addiction treatment stories. Here’s what I learned. (Vox)

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 - 12.27.19

Cannabis

• “Impermissible Levels of Lead” Found in Massachusetts' Legal Weed Vapes (MERRY JANE)

• Travelers caught with weed in Chicago airports won’t be busted, police say (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Federal CBD Regulations Are Finally Coming (MERRY JANE)

• Peoria airport to allow recreational marijuana (CIProud)

• Legal Marijuana Shops Refuse Sales To Underage Customers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana On The 2020 Ballot: These States Could Vote (Forbes)

• South Dakota: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Trump Says He Can Ignore Medical Marijuana Protections Passed By Congress (Forbes)

• Alabama Legislature’s Study Commission Recommends Medical Marijuana Be Legalized (Marijuana Moment)

• Hemp cleans toxic soil and produces clean CBD flower, study finds (Leafly)

• Legalizing Cannabis Has Unexpected Impact on Food and Farming in Humboldt (KQED)

• Three-Fourths Of New Mexico Voters Support Marijuana Legalization, State-Funded Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study reveals what happens to the brain on LSD (Inverse)

Magic Mushrooms

• Denver's psilocybin mushroom policy review panel set to launch in January (9News.com)

• Activists Take Next Step In Campaign To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms In California (Marijuana Moment)

• Paul Stamets Tells Joe Rogan About the Future of Psilocybin Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• More Patients Could Have Access to MDMA Therapy—Before the FDA Approves It (DoubleBlind)

• How — and why — to legalize ecstasy (AlterNet)

Ayahuasca

• Initial Trial of Ayahuasca for Depression Shows Promising Results (Mad in America)

• More Evidence About Ayahuasca ‘Death Cult’ Emerges With Arrest of Lawyer Paul Sulla in Hawaii (Frank Report)

Iboga

• For opioid addicts, African psychedelic ibogaine is last-resort detox drug. Research shows it works, but a legal grey area surrounds its use by clinics (South China Morning Post)

Opioids

• Risk Factors for Opioid Overdose Similar for Teens and Adults (PsychCentral)

• The opioid crisis shows why racism in health care is always harmful, never ‘protective’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Methamphetamine

• Meth boom adds to Afghanistan's opium and heroin woes (Breitbart)

Nicotine

• Federal Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Products Officially Raised to 21 (TIME)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines May Influence Suicide Risk in Anxiety Disorders Depending on Duration of Use (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Benzodiazepines linked to overdose deaths among those treated for opioid dependency (The Pharmaceutical Journal)

• More U.S. Teens Are Overdosing on Valium, Xanax (U.S. News and World Report)

Alcohol

• THC vs Alcohol Impaired Driving (DrugScience)

• Ad stating alcohol is a drug blocked as ‘too political’ (Irish Examiner)

• UNC researchers may have discovered why some casual drinkers develop an alcohol use disorder (WRAL Tech Wire)

Nootropics

• The 5 Most Science-Backed Nootropics for Energy (Psychology Today)

Miscellaneous

• Baba Ram Dass, Proponent of LSD Turned New Age Guru, Dies at 88 (The New York Times)

• Say Hello to World’s First Psychedelic Microdosing Study Mobile App (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Ireland's first supervised drug injection centre gets approved (The Irish Post)

• The future of psychedelic science: What the next decade holds (New Atlas)

• A New Way To Quit? Psychedelic Therapy Offers Promise For Smoking Cessation (NPR)

• Portland Activists Begin Gathering Signatures For Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• What Makes A Good Psychedelic Guide? (Maps of the Mind)

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 - 12.20.19

CANNABIS

• Marijuana’s Ten Biggest Victories Of 2019 (Forbes)

• Illinois cannabis dispensaries open New Year’s Day for adult-use sales (Leafly)

• New Jersey: Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Bill into Law (NORML)

• Italy legalizes 'cannabis light' (The Local)

• Opioid Prescriptions Down In States With Legal Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Lawmakers Pass Marijuana Referendum to Send to Voters in 2020 (TIME)

• Kids Aren't Buying Weed From Legal Pot Shops, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Majority Of Americans Support Marijuana Legalization, Two More New Polls Show (Marijuana Moment)

• State recalls cannabis vape cartridges tainted with deadly vitamin E acetate (Detroit Metro Times)

• Survey shows boom in marijuana vaping among school kids (WHDH)

• Regular Cannabis Use Linked to Changes in Heart Structure, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• EPA Approves Pesticides For Hemp In Time For 2020 Growing Season (Marijuana Moment)

• Zenabis recalls mislabeled CBD gelcaps that actually contained THC (Leafly)

• Millions of Americans are driving under the influence of marijuana, CDC says (CNN)

• Atlanta Will Seal Records for Minor Weed Offenses by February (MERRY JANE)

• Oklahoma Activists Take First Step To Put Marijuana Legalization On State’s 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Indiana resists legalization, but it’ll be a hot issue in 2020 state elections (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Legalization Measure Officially Qualifies For South Dakota 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Elizabeth Warren Files Marijuana Bills For Veterans And Immigrants (Marijuana Moment)

• Patients rally in Ecuador for legal use of medical cannabis (San Francisco Chronicle)

LSD

• Microdosing LSD for Alzheimer’s proves safe in early human trial (New Atlas)

• Paul McCartney Disturbing Teen Drug Claim Revealed (Alternative Nation)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Andrew Yang Says He’s ‘Very Open’ To Legalizing Magic Mushrooms (The Inquisitr)

• 'Magic mushroom' ingredient could be used to treat depression, study says (CNN)

• E. coli Could Produce a Popular Psychedelic for Therapeutic Use (Scientific American)

• Psilocybin: Four Important Takeaways from a Clinical Trial (Psychology Today)

• 5 Fast Facts About Magic Mushroom Compounds (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• MDMA Is Inches Away From Getting FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)

• Why MDMA must be reclassified as a Schedule 2 drug (Health Europa)

• MDMA-assisted couples therapy: How a psychedelic is enhancing intimacy and healing PTSD (The Conversation)

5-MEO-DMT

• Psychedelic drug 5-MeO-DMT induces rapid changes in inflammatory markers (PsyPost)

• Psychedelic Toad Makes People More Accepting and Less Depressed, Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze: The Impact of Climate Change, Development, and Psychonauts on the Sonoran Desert Toad (Psychedelics Today)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• More than a dozen children collapse after vaping fake cannabis oil laced with ‘spice’ (The Independent)

• DEA approves synthetic marijuana for big pharma company against legalization (Stock Daily Dish)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Doctors issue warning after 'whippits' misuse lands B.C. woman in hospital (CTV News)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine-like drug for depression gets UK licence (The Guardian)

• In 2019, a ketamine-based antidepressant raised hopes and concerns (ScienceNews)

OPIOIDS

• We have a solution for the opioid epidemic. It’s dramatically underused. (Vox)

• Purdue's Payments to the Sackler Family Grew Amid Scrutiny Over the Opioid Epidemic, Court Filing Shows (TIME)

• Naloxone Dispensing Sees Major Increase In Last Two Years (Indiana Public Media)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• A New Drug Scourge: Deaths Involving Meth Are Rising Fast (The New York Times)

CAFFEINE

• New insights into anti-obesity mechanisms of caffeine (New Atlas)

NICOTINE

• Congress Approves Raising Age to 21 for E-Cigarette and Tobacco Sales (The New York Times)

• Vaping Damages Your Lungs, But Is Still Safer Than Smoking, a Long-Term Study Suggests (TIME)

• WHO launches new report on global tobacco use trends (World Health Organization)

• Instagram bans influencers from getting paid to promote vaping and guns (CNBC)

• Plan to ban tobacco sales to anyone under 21 will hit the military too (Military Times)

• Addictive nicotine in Juul nearly identical to a Marlboro: study (Reuters)

• US permits sale of cigarettes with 95% less nicotine (The Seattle Times)

• Why is Texas throwing high schoolers in jail just for vaping? (Washington Examiner)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• Benzodiazepine Overdose Rates Increasing in Teens (MD Magazine)

• Problem Drinking Linked to Higher Benzo Use (Sleep Review)

• Are benzodiazepines the new opioids? (Medical Xpress)

ALCOHOL

• Two standard alcoholic drinks a day no longer safe, health officials say (The Guardian)

• The sale of alcohol at the University of South Carolina athletic events has been approved (ABC News 4)

• My Friends Serve Underage Kids Alcohol. Should I Speak Up? (The New York Times)

NOOTROPICS

• People Tell Us About Using ‘Smart Drugs’ to Max out Their Productivity (VICE)

KRATOM

• Justice minister says he’ll speed up kratom decriminalisation (The Thaiger)

• Five uses of mitragyna speciosa (The Leaf Online)

• Kratom for Chronic Pain? (WholeFoods Magazine)

KANNA

• Kanna: The Soothing Succulent of the San People (World of Lucid Dreaming)

KAVA

• Kava and anxiety: What science says about the popular plant supplement (Inverse)

• Increased Import Of Kava For Personal Consumption Allowed Into Australia (Fiji Sun)

• Welcome to Kava Culture: A Spreading Alternative to Reduce Anxiety (Filter)

DATURA

• Vet on call: Watch out for datura plant, an animal killer (Daily Nation)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Drug Prohibition Makes Illegal Drugs Cheaper and More Lethal, New Report Finds (MERRY JANE)

• On Drug Decriminalization in the United States (Playboy)

• The Vaping-Related Lung Disease Outbreak May Be Coming to an End (TIME)

• More Americans Facing Murder Charges in Drug Deaths (Truthdig)

• Call for pill tests as more than 50% of music festivalgoers say they take drugs (The Guardian)

• How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment (The Appeal)

• Why Chronic Microdosing Might Break Your Heart (Chacruna)

• “The state only detains, beats and kills us”: Testimonies from women who use drugs in Mexico (Talking Drugs)

• How to Trip Sit (DoubleBlind)

• Why Doctors Are Turning to Psychedelics to Treat Depression and Addiction (Men's Journal)

• Could Micro-Dosing Psychedelics Lift Depression? (Psychology Today)

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 - 12.13.19

CANNABIS

• Marijuana Legalization Could Be Coming To These States In 2020 (Forbes)

• Six Cases of Vaping Illness Linked to Legal Weed Vapes Sold in Massachusetts (MERRY JANE)

• Officials list pot vape brands reported in US outbreak (AP News)

• Heavy Metal Injury Caused by Vaping Confirmed in First Case Study (MERRY JANE)

• No vapes for Newfoundland and Labrador either (Leafly)

• MLB Officially Removes Marijuana From Banned Substances List For Baseball Players (Marijuana Moment)

• People with Depression Are Twice as Likely to Use Pot, New Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• California Declares Pot Smoke and THC a Risk to Pregnant Women and Fetuses (TIME)

• Weed Doesn’t Make Us Stupid, Yet Another Study Confirms (MERRY JANE)

• Bees Like Big Hemp And They Cannot Lie, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• A Company Is Sending Cannabis and Coffee to Space to See if They Mutate (VICE)

• Applying CBD Topically Can Help Jaw Pain and Facial Stress, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Study: Marijuana Retailers Not Selling to Underage Customers (NORML)

• States prepare to purge tens of thousands of pot convictions (Los Angeles Times)

• Trinidad And Tobago Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis and driving study casts doubt on zero-tolerance limits for THC (Global News)

• Israel Is Finally Allowed to Export Medical Cannabis Overseas (MERRY JANE)

• NHS approves CBD drugs for the first time (Leafly)

• ‘You smoke weed?’ Teacher says her medical pot use led to harassment in suburban district (Chicago Sun Times)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• New psilocybin trial data explores group psychedelic sessions (New Atlas)

• Oregon Activists Begin Signature Gathering For 2020 Drug Decriminalization Initiative (Marijuana Moment)

• Magic Mushroom Pill Is Being Developed to Treat Diabetes and Stop the Munchies (MERRY JANE)

• New Psilocybin Microdosing Data: How Much is Too Much? (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• Study: MDMA may have a surprising effect on our ability to learn (Inverse)

• MDMA Could Be Tailored to Make It More Suitable for Treating Mental Illness (Scientific American)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Spice related hospital admissions in Sheffield fall (The Star)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Netherlands set to ban recreational use of laughing gas (NL Times)

KETAMINE

• Genetic Lead Suggests Ketamine May Benefit Autism, Tourette's and Schizophrenia (MedicalResearch.com)

OPIOIDS

• In documents, US officials said almost everything they did to end opium farming in Afghanistan backfired (Stars and Stripes)

• Home Depot faces Twitter backlash after blaming opioid crisis for recent rise in store thefts (USA Today)

• Ten years ago, OxyContin sales dominated Philly’s pharmacies. How the powerful painkiller helped fuel a crisis. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• A Dire Shortage of ADD Meds Is Pushing Some Patients to Street Meth (Filter)

CAFFEINE

• Nestle Is Planning To Make Caffeinated Water As A Solution To Midday Drowsiness (Delish)

NICOTINE

• Ban on vape sales in Massachusetts ends Wednesday — what happens next? (The Boston Globe)

• The FDA Can Now Regulate Vapes and E-Cigs Like Tobacco, Court Rules (MERRY JANE)

• Pace of Flavor Bans Accelerated in 2019 (CSP Daily News)

• Palo Alto: Council unanimously supports banning e-cigarettes, flavored tobacco (The Mercury News)

• Bill to raise minimum age to buy tobacco products in Kentucky to 21 pre-filed (WKRC)

ALCOHOL

• Yet More Research Links Even Light Drinking to a Higher Cancer Risk (Gizmodo)

• Study debunks the myth that an imposed floor on alcohol prices would punish the poor (Phys.org)

GHB

• What is GHB?: Dangerous party drug linked to multiple overdose deaths (9News)

NOOTROPICS

• How to Use Nootropics for Social Interactions (Psychology Today)

KRATOM

• Kratom leaves to be left out of new narcotics list in Thailand (AsiaOne)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Everyone Should Understand the Potential Heart Risk of Psychedelics (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Silicon Valley’s psychedelic wonder drug is almost here (Fast Company)

• This Was The Decade Drug Overdoses Killed Nearly Half A Million Americans (BuzzFeed News)

• Study: Prior Authorization Requirement for Addiction Meds Is Killing NY Drug Users (Filter)

• Bill would require drug screenings for children at their annual physical (WKBW)

• ACT pushes for national pill-testing after study finds it encouraged people to ditch unsafe drugs (The Guardian)

• Pete Buttigieg Backs Supervised Injection Facilities For Illegal Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

• 'Drugs Without the Trip' Might Be Peak Silicon Valley (VICE)

• Ten Must-Experience Events For The Cannabis & Psychedelic Community In 2020 (Forbes)

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.