This Week in Psychoactives - 2.14.20

Cannabis

• Top Mexican Senator Says Marijuana Legalization Bill Will Be Approved This Month (Marijuana Moment)

• Trump Budget Proposes Ending State Medical Marijuana Protections And Blocking DC From Legalizing (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Senate Committee Rejects Marijuana Legalization Bill Days Before Session Ends (Marijuana Moment)

• USDA Won’t Increase THC Limit On Hemp Despite Requests From Farmers And Lawmakers (Marijuana Moment)

• Croatia Introduces Bill to Legalize Recreational Marijuana: MP Mirela Holy (Total Croatia News)

• Students at a Colorado university can soon major in cannabis (Mashable)

• Kentucky Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Bill In Committee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Pro Tip: Don't Ever Inject Marijuana (MERRY JANE)

• Scotland’s first medicinal cannabis clinic to open ‘soon’ prescribing marijuana for chronic pain, depression and anxiety (The Scottish Sun)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Approved By Virginia Senate And House (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed and AI Can Help Us Find New Ways to Get Stoned (VICE)

• Las Vegas dispensary offers free joints to Nevada primary voters (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Can Treat Vomiting and Pain Linked to GI Disorders, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Texas Researchers Say They Found A Way To Help Cops ID Pot With 100% Accuracy – Using Lasers. (KUT)

• Cans suck the THC buzz out of pot drinks. Where does that leave Canopy Growth? (Yahoo! Finance)

• Study: Medical Cannabis Access Associated with Fewer Workers’ Comp Claims (NORML)

• New Hampshire: Home Cultivation Legislation Advances (NORML)

Magic Mushrooms

• Denver Makes History With First Meeting of Psychedelic Mushroom Panel (Westword)

• The Top Psilocybin Mushroom Stocks to Watch in New Year 2020 (Baystreet)

• Cybin Partners With Toronto Centre For Psychedelic Science For Psilocybin Research Project (Benzinga)

MDMA

• UK Teen Dies After Consuming MDMA and Reportedly Being Denied Access to Water (EDM)

• Ira Glass Talks High Maintenance and What Taking Ecstasy Taught Him (GQ)

DMT

• How DMT Switches the Brain’s Reality Channel (Kahpi)

Ketamine

• UK Assessment Agency Rejects Spravato Ketamine Nasal Spray (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Another Round of Research Shows Ketamine May Help Alcoholism (Medscape)

PCP

• Houston is the largest metro area with significant PCP problem, report says (Houston Chronicle)

Opioids

• Study: Opioid Substitution Meds, Not Detox, Prevent Overdose (Filter)

• Injected Heroin Use Still Near All-Time Highs in U.S., May Explain Hepatitis-C Rise (The New York Times)

• What an 1890s opioid epidemic can teach us about ending addiction today (STAT)

Cocaine

• UC researchers develop antibody to neutralize cocaine high (WKRC)

Methamphetamine

• Will “Sobering Centers” Help People Who Use Methamphetamine? (Filter)

• What meth does to your body and why it makes people so manic (Cincinnati.com)

Caffeine

• Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Cravings (And Why You Don't Have To Quit) (NPR)

• New Research Suggests Drinking Coffee Can Help Make Bones Stronger (CBS Philly)

• Is Coffee Good For You? (The New York Times)

Nicotine

• Trump doesn’t want the FDA to regulate tobacco (STAT)

• Dismantling NY Mag’s Disgraceful Hit-Job on Vaping (Filter)

• House committee OKs bill to put nicotine and tobacco purchase age in line with federal law (The Neighbor)

• Proposal would raise legal age to buy tobacco in Idaho to 21 (Twin Falls Times-News)

Benzodiazepines

• Author Jordan Peterson is recovering from physical dependence to benzodiazepine in Russia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

GHB

• Banning GHB at Raves Is Dangerous (TalkingDrugs)

Nootropics

• If You’re Going to Use Nootropics, Shouldn’t You Know Exactly What You’re Taking? (Futurism)

• Are Nootropics And Brain Supplements Side-Effects Free? (KHTS)

Kratom

• Missouri lawmaker proposes bill to ban kratom (KFVS)

• The 7 Dangers of Vaping Kratom You Might Not Know (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous

• Move Over, Pot: Psychedelic Companies Are About to Go Public (Bloomberg)

• Trump Again Applauds Death Penalty For Drug Offenses (Marijuana Moment)

• Everything You Should Know About the Campaign to Decriminalize Naturally Occurring Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• Eleusis Benefit Corp: Taking the “Psychedelic” Out of Psychedelics (Psymposia)

• The Emergence of a New Market: Psychedelic Science Conferences (Chacruna)

• Conservative Indiana Adopted Needle Exchanges But Still Faces Local Resistance (Kaiser Health News)

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 - 2.7.20

Cannabis

• Bernie Sanders Pledges Legal Marijuana In All 50 States On Day One As President (Forbes)

• Businesses Are More Profitable And Innovative In States With Legal Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Nepal’s Communist Party Wants to Legalize Weed and Ban Booze (MERRY JANE)

• Vermont Committee Unanimously Approves Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales (Marijuana Moment)

• Another Vermont House Committee OKs Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales (Marijuana Moment)

• Gallup: Twelve Percent of Adults Acknowledge Smoking Marijuana (NORML)

• Virginia Lawmakers Approve Another Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• CBD May Treat Psychosis Rather Than Cause It, Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Liberal Americans Are Six Times More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Conservatives, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Whoopi Goldberg's cannabis company has shut down (CNN)

• Cannabis in South Africa: the duplicity of colonial authorities (TalkingDrugs)

Magic Mushrooms

• Inside the Campaign to Legalize Magic Mushrooms in California (Reason)

MDMA

• Speech Pattern Technology Can Now Detect If You’re High on MDMA (MERRY JANE)

5-MeO-DMT

• Supportive Context is Associated With Positive Effects From Inhaling 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Science Review)

• 5-MeO-DMT: The 20-Minute Psychoactive Toad Experience That’s Transforming Lives (Forbes)

PCP

• What is PCP? The ‘angel dust’ drug used in Netflix’s The Stranger (The Tab)

Opioids

• The highs and lows of the opium trade in southern Africa (TalkingDrugs)

• "Gray death" drug is so dangerous, police say you shouldn't even touch it (CBS News)

Cocaine

• A fingerprint can show if someone has taken cocaine or just touched it (New Scientist)

• Enhanced cocaine vaccine blocks the high in mice (Futurity)

Caffeine

• Caffeine has been a boon for civilization, Michael Pollan says. But it has come at a cost. (The Washington Post)

Nicotine

• The vaping 'flavor ban' goes into effect today. Here's what it does (The Hill)

• Mismatched tobacco laws could put federal funding for NC at risk (The News & Observer)

• American Lung Association Gives Arizona Failing Grades in Tobacco Control Report (Phoenix New Times)

• American Lung Association gives Georgia low grades for tobacco use (11Alive.com)

• Michigan receives 'F' grade for tobacco prevention, new report shows (WWMT)

Alcohol

• Baby boomers are the booziest generation – and are driving a 60 per cent rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions (The Telegraph)

Kratom

• Natural herb kratom may have therapeutic effects and relatively low potential for abuse or harm (Medical Xpress)

• Maryland bills aim to restrict kratom (The Southern Maryland Chronicle)

Kava

• The great kava boom: how Fiji's beloved psychoactive brew is going global (The Guardian)

Miscellaneous

• Measure To Decriminalize Psychedelics Advances In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists find a new trippy link between psychedelics and climate change (Inverse)

• Psychedelics linked to persisting reductions in cannabis, opioid, and stimulant use (PsyPost)

• Could wearable microdosing technology be a thing one day? (Psymposia)

• DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment Shows Decrease in Drug Overdose Deaths (Pharmacy Times)

• A New Nonprofit Is Betting on Psychedelic Therapy (Outside Magazine)

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 - 1.31.20

Cannabis

• New Mexico Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois Is Already Getting a Weed Lounge, Just Weeks After Legalizing (MERRY JANE)

• Berkeley Council Votes To Allow Cannabis Consumption In Lounges (CBS San Francisco)

• First Alaska retail pot shops get approval for on-site consumption (Anchorage Daily News)

• Local Australian Marijuana Legalization Law Takes Effect This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Cleveland City Council approves eliminating fines, jail time and criminal records for low level marijuana possession (Cleveland.com)

• Key Virginia Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Bill, While Broader Legalization Study Advances (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Helps Protect HIV Patients’ Brains From Deteriorating, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• President Trump: Marijuana Makes You “Lose IQ Points” (NORML)

• Abnormal imaging findings key to EVALI diagnosis in vapers (Medical Xpress)

• Find That CBG and CGC Can Kill Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells (MERRY JANE)

• Missouri Activists Launch Signature Drive To Put Marijuana Legalization On 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis vaping devices reimbursement approval for Canadian veterans (Health Europa)

• American Cannabis Stocks Are Working Their Way To Wall Street (Forbes)

• Legalization may mean more cannabis and less alcohol in colleges (Medical News Today)

• U.S. Military Reiterates That CBD Is Off Limits To Service Members (Marijuana Moment)

• Across Utah more students are reporting using marijuana (KUTV)

• Weed-Sniffing K-9s in New York Are Getting Hounded into Early Retirement (MERRY JANE)

• Pennsylvania: Marijuana possession arrests decline statewide (NORML)

Magic Mushrooms

• Andrew Yang Wants To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

Iboga

• 'I cannot claim to have prevailed': Miami University professor reinstated after iboga tree suspension (Cincinnati.com)

• Special Forces: How Ibogaine is Helping Former Special Operations Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Chicago Shop Owner Gets Prison Sentence For Selling K2 Laced With Rat Poison (High Times)

• Synthetic cannabinoids on the rise in Toledo, costing taxpayers thousands for EMS (WNWO)

Opioids

• Tom Steyer Calls For Marijuana Legalization And Opioid Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Could a Naloxone Implant Have a Major Impact on the Overdose Crisis? (Filter)

• Federal Crackdown On Fentanyl Analogues Repeats the Mistakes of the Drug War, Advocates Say (The Appeal)

Caffeine

• Everyone is making coffee wrong, study suggests (Fox News)

Nicotine

• WHO Report: Tobacco Use is Declining Worldwide (Vaping Post)

• International Experts Slam World Health Organization’s Deceptive Vaping Release (Filter)

• Wisconsin can’t enforce tobacco age at 21 because of state law, causing confusion at stores (WQOW)

• Study: Teens with ADHD Face Increased Risk for Nicotine Addiction (ADDitude)

Kratom

• Reasons why kratom is getting more popular in the past decade (Augusta Free Press)

Miscellaneous

• Santa Cruz City Council Approves Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Goop on psychedelics isn’t bad, it’s just boring (WIRED)

• Psychedelic drugs may reduce depression and anxiety by increasing psychological flexibility (PsyPost)

• Heroin and cocaine can be injected safely in UK's first 'mock drugs room' (Sky News)

• Oakland Activists Unveil Plan To Legalize Sale Of Psychedelics This Year (Marijuana Moment)

• Music festivals responsible for minuscule percentage of drug deaths (The Age)

• Are Investors Ready To Change Their Minds About Psychedelic Drugs? (Forbes)

• Drug deaths summit to take place in Glasgow (BBC)

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 - 1.24.20

Cannabis

• Cannabis compound could be weapon in fight against superbugs (The Guardian)

• Mexican Lawmakers Plan To Pass Amended Marijuana Legalization Bill Before End Of April (Marijuana Moment)

• No, A Study Didn’t Say Cannabis Impairs Driving Once You’re Sober (Forbes)

• Joe Biden Again Says No To Marijuana Legalization Without More Studies (Marijuana Moment)

• Four-in-ten U.S. drug arrests in 2018 were for marijuana offenses – mostly possession (Pew Research Center)

• Michigan recalls 9,380 marijuana vaping products over vitamin E acetate concerns (MLive)

• Cannabis store burglaries on the rise in Denver (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Virginia Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Medical Marijuana Could Improve Sleep Quality for Chronic Pain Patients (MD Magazine)

• Yet Another Study Finds That Weed Helps with Endometriosis (MERRY JANE)

• Study: Cannabidiol may not ease sleep problems, especially for regular users (FOX40)

• Proposed 10% THC Limit in Washington Could Wreck Its Entire Weed Industry (MERRY JANE)

Magic Mushrooms

• Company Gets Trademark For The Word ‘Psilocybin,’ Frustrating Decriminalization Advocates (Marijuana Moment)

• Neuroscience study uncovers psilocybin-induced changes in brain connectivity (PsyPost)

• An American Psilocybin Marketplace Might Look Like This (PRØHBTD)

MDMA

• The FDA Just Expanded Access to MDMA as a Therapy for PTSD (VICE)

• Will MDMA Beat Cannabis to Gaining FDA Approval? (DoubleBlind)

• Gwyneth Paltrow reveals husband Brad Falchuk helped her through an 'emotional' MDMA trip in Mexico (Daily Mail)

Ayahuasca

• Drinking Ayahuasca Can Increase Mindfulness And Cognitive Flexibility For At Least 24 Hours (IFLScience)

• The Dangers of the Ayahuasca Tourism Boom (Kahpi)

Peyote

• Matthew McConaughey Reveals He Once Took Peyote In A Cage With A Mountain Lion (ET Canada)

Iboga

• A Hallucinogenic Root Is Pitched to Davos Set as Treatment for Opioid Addiction (Bloomberg)

Opioids

• Pharmaceutical Company Founder Gets 5 1/2 Years for Pushing Opioid (TIME)

• Just 2% of patients who need anti-opioid drug naloxone get it (UPI)

• People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them (Reason)

• Why Harsher Fentanyl Penalties Will Exacerbate the Overdose Crisis (Filter)

Nicotine

• Nebraska only enforcing "Tobacco 19" amidst federal "Tobacco 21 Act" (KHGI)

• Vaping is still at least 95% lower risk than smoking - debunking a feeble and empty critique (The Counterfactual)

• Nebraska bill would move tobacco, nicotine use age to 21 (NTV)

• Bill raising Florida's legal tobacco age passes senate committee (WCTV)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines might be a 'hidden element' of the US' overdose epidemic -- and doctor visits for prescriptions are increasing (CNN)

Alcohol

• Fewer Americans Are Binge Drinking, But Those Who Are, Are Drinking More (TIME)

Kratom

• Release the Kratom: Inside America's Hottest New Drug Culture (WIRED)

• Kratom set to be legalised in parts of the country (Bangkok Post)

• Benchmark for Kratom manufacturing and products in the US (News Anyway)

Khat

• The wild ride of East Africa's favorite stimulant (Washington Post)

Miscellaneous

• Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Legalizing Drugs (Forbes)

• New Vermont Bill Would Decriminalize Psychedelics And Kratom (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelics Can Be Used to Treat PTSD, Finds Yet Another Clinical Trial (VICE)

• Psychedelic Drugs Like LSD and Magic Mushrooms Linked to Transformative Experiences, Feeling Connected With Others (Newsweek)

• Idaho Senator Files Bill To Decriminalize Drug Possession (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.

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychoactives - 1.17.20

Cannabis

• Hawaii’s Marijuana Decriminalization Law Is Officially In Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists discover the reason why anxious people smoke marijuana (Inverse)

• Pot seizures jumped at U.S. border in the year after Canada legalized cannabis (CBC)

• Black Swan: rare Jamaican cannabis strain could treat pancreatic cancer (Health Europa)

• Report: Federal Marijuana Prosecutions Declining (NORML)

• New Jersey: Court Affirms Employer Must Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses (NORML)

• Medical Marijuana Is an Ideal Replacement for Opioids, Another Study Confirms (MERRY JANE)

• New CDC Report Highlights the Risks of Black-Market THC Vapes (Reason)

• Weed impairs driving skills long after the high is gone (FOX6Now.com)

• New Approach Montana aims to put two legalization measures on 2020 ballot (Leafly)

• New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed After Governor Puts Issue On 2020 Agenda (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Delivery Drones Are Coming to Seattle This Spring (MERRY JANE)

• Colorado lawmakers want to stop employers from firing people for using weed in their personal time (The Denver Post)

• Marijuana Record Expungement Movement Growing Rapidly, Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Can Workers Still Get Fired For Using Marijuana In Legal States? (BroBible)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Take New Approach To Marijuana Legalization For 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• More pets accidentally eating marijuana (WNEM)

• Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Shifts Focus To 2022 Instead Of This Year (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study Finds ALD-52, 1P-LSD, and 1B-LSD Are Prodrugs of LSD (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

• A Single Dose of Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Reduce Anxiety for Nearly Five Years (MERRY JANE)

• COMPASS Pathways Granted Patent Covering Use of Its Psilocybin Formulation in Addressing Treatment-resistant Depression (PR Newswire)

• Psychedelic Events Are Going Mainstream, Where The Much-Maligned Mushroom Industry Focuses On Mental Health (Forbes)

Ayahuasca

• We Are Harvesting the Ayahuasca Vine at an Alarming Rate (Kahpi)

• 'I wake up and I'm a baby': an NFL star's journey into ayahuasca (The Guardian)

• How Can You Drink Ayahuasca Legally in the U.S.? (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca, Nazis, and the Life of Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (Kahpi)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• The World’s First LSD Microdosing Kit is Here (DoubleBlind)

Nitrous Oxide

• Laughing gas can ease symptoms of depression in just two hours by acting on a brain chemical with no side-effects, new research suggests (Daily Mail)

• Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban (The Guardian)

• UAMS first hospital in central Arkansas to offer laughing gas for women in labor (KTHV)

Opioids

• Up to a third of opioid overdose deaths might be suicides, researcher concludes (Medical Xpress)

• Heroin, Fentanyl Deaths Drop in Medicaid Expansion States (U.S. & News Report)

Cocaine

• A Cocaine Nasal Spray Just Received FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)

Methamphetamine

• Meth overtakes marijuana, now most reported drug in Tennessee crime labs (WJHL)

Caffeine

• Using caffeine as a tool to study information processing (Medical Xpress)

Nicotine

• Vaping crackdown: School system will send e-cigarette users to alternative school (AL.com)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepine prescriptions reach ‘disturbing’ levels in the US (New Scientist)

Alcohol

• The Latest Findings on Why It’s So Hard to Quit Drinking (Elemental)

Kratom

• Kratom to Be Removed as Type-5 Narcotic in Thailand (Chiang Rai Times)

• Kratom Business From Colorado Breaks New Ground in Oregon (Westword)

• The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug? (NPR)

• Kratom Lab Testing and Why It Matters (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Vanuatu stops issuing kava export licences, moves to tighten regulations (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous

• Explosive growth of plant medicine movement aims to help heal the world (Chacruna)

• Activists Take Steps To Decriminalize Psychedelics In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)

• How researchers and advocates of color are forging their own paths in psychedelic-assisted therapy (WHYY)

• The DEA seized her father’s life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred, lawsuit says (The Seattle Times)

• A Report From the Rocky Path to Legal Psychedelics (Playboy)

• Johns Hopkins Scientists Give Psychedelics the Serious Treatment (Scientific American)

• Ukraine paves the way for innovative harm reduction in the EECA region (TalkingDrugs)

• Roadside drug tests failed by 185 drivers during festive campaign (BBC)

• BBC Duped into Promoting Marketing Scheme for Microdosing Psychedelics (Psymposia)

• NYC To Host Economics Of Psychedelics Investing Summit (Benzinga)

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.