This Week in Psychedelics - 5.20.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Will Canada become America's cannabis capital? (The Guardian)
• NFL Player Eugene Monroe Donates $80,000 to Medical Cannabis Research (Merry Jane)
• How One Guy's Illegal U-Turn Brought Down a Cannabis Gang (VICE)
• Cooking With Cannabis (Medical Jane)
• Trouble in Bogota: How the Risks of Homemade Cannabis Remedies are Being Felt in Colombia (Leafly)
• California is poised to become the center of cannabis culture (Los Angeles Times)
• The case for legalizing cannabis (Toronto Star)
• NC Support for Medical at All Time High - 2016 (NORML of North Carolina)
• The Downside to The DEA Rescheduling Cannabis (Merry Jane)
• Cannabis convention controversy: The 'free' samples that'll run you $299 (Alaska Dispatch News)
• House Member Vote To Permit Military Veterans Access To Medical Cannabis (NORML)
• Cannabis-Infused Spa Treatments Are Mom Approved (Merry Jane)
• First Clinical Trial With Cannabis for Huntington's Disease Shows Promising Results (High Times)
• Cannabis By The Numbers: How Much Money Will States Bring in From Marijuana in 2016? (Merry Jane)
• New State Laws Permit Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals (NORML)
• They Called It A Miracle: Cannabis Oil Helps Infant Beat Aggressive Eye Cancer (Reset.me)
• Arizona Cannabis Legalization Has Some Powerful Opponents (ATTN:)
• Cannabis for Canines (Reason)
• Say Why To Drugs – the highs and lows of cannabis (The Guardian)
• Cannabis Prices Are Plummeting Thanks To Legalization (Green Rush Daily)
• Colorado's Lessons from Legal Pot (Reason)
• Best Marijuana Strains for People Who Can't Sleep (ATTN:)
• Cannabis Changes the Game of Real Estate (Eugene Weekly)
• Baird confronted at cannabis conference by illness sufferers (SBS)
• Here Are 5 Highly Reviewed Marijuana Strains for Arousal (ATTN:)
• Anti-Pot Analyst Claims Fatal Crashes in Washington 'Have Risen 122 Percent' (Reason)

LSD

• Watch this brief history of LSD, and glimpse of its future (Boing Boing)
• The first modern images of a human brain on LSD (The Daily Psychedelic Video)
• That Escalated Quickly: Why You Should Do Acid (Daily Nexus)
• Boys take LSD at Donald Trump rally, philosophize about nation's future (Daily Pakistan)
• Vogue Williams reveals she's not doing LSD for new show: 'No drugs for me' (Irish Examiner)
• NH police still investigating bad LSD trip at UMass Outing Club last week (MassLive)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic mushrooms lift severe depression in clinical trial (The Guardian)
• The FDA Calls Psilocybin Trips Food Poisoning, but Mushrooms May Mend the Brain (Inverse)
• Psilocybin and End-of-Life Anxiety: Reducing Stress for Terminal Cancer Patients (Psychedelic Times)
• Psychedelic Mushrooms: Strong Medicine For A Troubled World (Reset.me)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• 7 Ways to Reduce the MDMA Hangover (AlterNet)
• ILLEGAL! Presents: In Love With EMMA (VolteFace)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca: Psychedelic Tea from the Amazon (Live Science)
• Personal Story: How Ayahuasca Helped Me Recover From Bulimia (Reset.me)
• Ayahuasca the Rythmia Way: A Talk with Gerard Powell (Reality Sandwich)
• Chelsea Handler needs to try Meditation instead of Ayahuasca -Subodh Gupta (Obesity Campaign UK)
• Incipient DMT Lab Found in Goleta (Santa Barbara Independent)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Alabama church members smoke pot, eat mushrooms and peyote: those are the sacraments (AL.com)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Man, 21, who had to learn to eat and walk again after taking psychedelic drug 'NBOMe' shares picture of himself in a 10-day coma in hospital to warn others of the dangers (Daily Mail)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine: painkiller, party drug – and possibly next-generation antidepressant (The Conversation)
• Promising Data With Ketamine in Chronic and Phantom Limb Pain (Medscape)
• This Personal Tragedy Gave Me a Mission to Save Our Youth (The Good Men Project)
• Stamford police: Woman stuffs 20 bags of PCP down pants (Stamford Advocate)
• Blue Springs man sentenced to 20 years in prison for PCP conspiracy (KMBZ)

Opiates/Opioids

• Mexico debates legalizing opium poppy for medicine (Medical Xpress)
• Dangerous heroin-fentanyl combination fuels overdoses (CBS)
• The Price of This Anti-Overdose Drug Is Skyrocketing (ATTN:)
• 'Opioid Epidemic' Myths (Reason)
• Church must not condemn opium farmers, says Mexican bishop (The Tablet)

Kratom

• Alabama becomes the sixth state to ban Kratom (The Independent)
• How to Get Help with Your Kratom Addiction (Kratom Project)
• Kratom Pain Management Dosage (Kratom Project)
• Is Kratom Daily Use Safe? (Kratom Project)
• Kratom Induced Psychosis Causes (Kratom Project)
• Can you snort Kratom & is it a bad idea? (Kratom Project)
• Kratom Addiction & Withdrawal Side Effects (Kratom Project)
• Ever heard of kratom? NC lawmakers want it banned (WTVD)
• Kentucky Kratom Legality (Kratom Project)

Kava

• Yaqona Industry Recovery Expected To Take 3 To 6 Years (Fiji Sun)

Khat

• Ethiopia: Legal upper qat hooks people, reaps dollars (Anadolu Agency)
• Yemen imposes weekday ban on khat sale (Al Jazeera)
• Somalian man arrested for drugs (Mpumalanaga News)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The War on Drugs May Have Misrepresented Psychedelics; Here's Why That Matters (Medical Daily)
• LSD-Like Drugs Are Out of the Haze and Back in the Labs (The New York Times)
• Why psychedelics could be a new class of antidepressant (The Guardian)
• Psychedelic Artist Alex Grey Plans a Freaky Temple in New York (CityLab)
• The Lingering Legacy of Psychedelia (The New Yorker)
• Creatives, designers and drugs: what are they on, and why? (It's Nice That)
• Countries Show Progress at the UN Meeting, But General Assembly Falls Short on Drug Policy Reform (Psychedelic Times)
• 1970s magazine ads for cocaine paraphernalia (Boing Boing)
• Print Your Own Drugs, For Health and Fun (Reason)
• Psychedelics, Sexuality, and Transformation: An Interview with Author and Podcaster James Jesso (Psychedelic Times)
• Colombia Seizes 8.8 Tons of Cocaine, President Says It's 'Biggest' Find in History (TIME)
• Scientists: Mother's Voice is Like LSD or Magic Mushrooms (Clapway)
• Newsbeat analyses Newcastle University's DIY drug testing kits in a laboratory (BBC)
• Psychedelic Font: How Wes Wilson Turned Hippie Era Turmoil Into Art (NPR)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Weekend Thoughts - 5.14.16

Image by Akuppa John Wigham, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Let's face it—everybody poops. However, the facilities used around the world can be quite different. Here is a collection of photos of toilets from around the world. Compared to some of the countries, I am very grateful to have the levels of sanitation that I enjoy in the U.S. However, Finland's concept of requiring users to text the word "OPEN" to gain entrance to the bathroom seems like it could encourage an elevated level of responsibility. And for the countries that offer squatting toilets, I find that intriguing as well. It's also reminiscent of the Squatty Potty, which, by the way, has one of the best commercials I've ever seen.

2. Speaking of pooping, a report was released this week showing that poultry plant workers have been denied bathroom breaks and required to wear diapers so they don't lose their jobs. Yet another reason not to support the meat industry—companies like Tyson Foods mistreat their employees as well as they treat their "products".

3. I'm a huge Hunter S. Thompson fan, so I was excited to see that a short documentary this week that focused the collaboration with him and artist Ralph Steadman that covered the 1970 Kentucky Derby, which resulted in the jaw-dropping book The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved. I'd highly suggest reading the book, but at the very least you can get a sufficient teaser by watching the documentary.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.13.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• State Department Says DEA Is Wrong on Marijuana Monopoly (Marijuana.com)
• This car is made out of cannabis hemp (New York Post)
• Britons want cannabis to be legalised - change is inevitable, says ex-minister (The Guardian)
• Study Questions Laws Against Driving While on Marijuana (TIME)
• Colombians Rally for Cannabis Reform (Merry Jane)
• Gary Johnson's Cannabis Consumption Is Irrelevant To His Presidential Fitness (Forbes)
• Vacant California prison could be turned into cannabis production site (SFGate)
• CBS News Caught Blatantly Distorting Cannabis Study, Says Legal Pot Doubles Fatal Car Crashes (MintPress News)
• At 2016 NYC Cannabis Parade, a push for legalizing pot (Crain's New York Business)
• Group marches to Arch advocating legal cannabis use (Fox 2 Now)
• Parents seek cannabis oil to treat kids (WRBL)
• Poll: Swing State Voters Favor Marijuana Legalization (NORML)
• Chatbot can answer all of your cannabis questions (ReadWrite)
• First Lawsuit of Its Kind Blames Marijuana for Murder (Reason)
• Talking With Teenagers About Marijuana (The New York Times)
• The Absurd Reason This Student Was Suspended Over Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Cannabis Saved My Life—Myoclonic-Astatic Epilepsy (Reset.me)
• Pot Matters: Cannabis and Veterinary Medicine (High Times)
• There's a Major Problem Marijuana Legalization Has yet to Address (ATTN:)
• High hopes riding on 'Cannabis Car' (The Sacramento Bee)
• The 5 Best Marijuana Strains for Arthritis (ATTN:)
• Chef Chris Sayegh Is Ready To Serve You Cannabis Cuisine (Inquisitr)
• Fake money and fake weed (Boing Boing)
• Rise in children as young as 10 selling cannabis: Number convicted at highest level in a decade (Daily Mail)

LSD

• How the 'Acid King' Won a Lawsuit Against the US Government (VICE)
• How LSD Breaks Down Your Reality Tunnels and the Science Behind Psychedelic Ego Death (Psychedelic Times)
• The Link Between LSD and Music (TrendinTech)
• I Was the Haçienda's Resident Acid Dealer (THUMP)
• Naked teenager roamed Ellesmore Port high on LSD (The Chester Chronicle)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Two People Accused in Psychedelic Mushroom Growing Operation (WDAY)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Federal Approval Brings MDMA From Club to Clinic (Silicon Valley's Metro)
• Deadly 'LEGO' ecstasy pills warning as two women rushed to hospital (Daily Star)
• Two men arrested after cops seized £5million worth of ecstasy 'Super Pills' just days after teen died (The Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca Tourism Is Ripping Off Indigenous Amazonians (VICE)
• Mineral 'Church' Seeks Exemption From DEA, County Approval (Centralia Chronicle)
• How I Overcame Anxiety And Found Spiritual Fulfillment Through Ayahuasca (Reset.me)
• Sheriff: Ashland couple arrested for DMT drug lab in California (KTVL)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• URI Student Caught with LSD, Shrooms, DMT, Mescaline and More, Police Say (Patch)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• The Rise of Synthetic Drugs (Summit BHC)

Dissociatives

• Is Special K the Anti-Depressant We've Waited For? (The Daily Beast)
• Ketamine and Depression: A Breakthrough? (Discover)
• Why Won't the UK Legalise Ketamine As an Anti-Depressant? (VICE)
• APD: Woman arrested in South Austin for DWI with child in car was high on PCP (KEYE TV)
• South Windsor man gets 10 years for PCP-fueled stabbings (WTNH)
• Police Taser knife-wielding man high on PCP (The Hour)

Opiates/Opioids

• Purdue Pharmaceuticals Misled Doctors about Its Bestselling Painkiller (ATTN:)
• Push continues for legal poppy farming (Mexico News Daily)
• Opioid Addicts Are Abusing This Common Over-The-Counter Medication (ATTN:)
• Prince's Death Highlights Problems With Opioid Overdose Antidote Naloxone (Tech Times)
• Where Will Opioid Panic Lead? How About Regulating Your Access to Diarrhea Medication? (Reason)
• White House Drug Czar Pushes For More Spending on 'Access' to Opioid Addiction Treatment (Reason)

Kambô

• The Brits Using Amazonian Frog Poison to Fight Depression and Alcohol Abuse (VICE)

Kratom

• Can Kratom Aggregate Psychosis? (Kratom Project)
• Kratom: What is it, and why did Alabama ban it? (The Star Beacon)
• Kratom Interactions with SSRI Medications (Kratom Project)
• Kratom usage to ease cancer pain (Kratom Project)
• Buying Kratom in Missouri & Legality (Kratom Project)
• Kratom Legality in Ohio (Kratom Project)

Kava

• Vendors face kava shortage (Fiji Broadcasting Corporation)
• Event Spotlight: Kava Lounge Launches A Month Of Herbalism Workshops (Hoodline)
• Vegan restaurant Zend Conscious Lounge plows profits back into community (Vancouver Sun)

Khat

• Oman crime: 2,000 packets of Khat seized in Dhofar (Times of Oman)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Scientific research using psychedelic drugs is surging overseas - why not here? (The Age)
• Researchers develop a drug-sniffing car that can pinpoint your stash (Engadget)
• Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Guzman Moved to Prison Near U.S. Border (TIME)
• How Tylenol Could Influence Your Personality (ATTN:)
• Morning Glory Seeds From Home Depot Are a Good Proxy for LSD (Until You Vomit) (Inverse)
• Why I Came Out Of the Psychedelic Closet (Reality Sandwich)
• Newsbeat analyses Newcastle University's DIY drug testing kits in a laboratory (BBC)
• Opinion: A Sober Look at Psychedelic Research (Albi)
• Michelle Rodriguez Coped With Paul Walker's Death With Psychedelics And Fast Cars (Inquisitr)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Book Review - Distrust That Particular Flavor

Cover image photo taken by David Wilder.

William Gibson is best known for his fictional works, including best-selling novels like Neuromancer and Zero History. He also has a fascinating Twitter account, that includes a lot of interesting quips and retweets. It's well worth following, in my opinion. I have read all three of his trilogies (Sprawl trilogy, Bridge trilogy, and Blue Ant trilogy), a short-story compilation titled Burning Chrome (in which he coined the term "cyberspace"), and a collaborative novel he wrote with Bruce Sterling called The Difference Engine, and this book was next in the queue for me (I am in the ongoing process of reading many authors' works in chronological order, Gibson included).

Distrust That Particular Flavor is different from the rest of Gibson's works because it is non-fictional: a collection of essays, articles, speeches, introductions, book and music reviews, travel journalism, etc. that he wrote over the past few decades. It's a refreshing take from an author that I have grown to admire over the past decade or so for his fictional works.

The book takes us to foreign lands like Singapore and Tokyo, analyzes the evolution of communication media, observes of the early forms of the Internet, pays tribute to famous writers like H.G. Wells and George Orwell, details Gibson's obsessive quest to find wrist watches on premodern eBay, and many more interesting tidbits. I especially liked how autobiographical some of the pieces were at times. This was a really easy read for me, which is exactly what I was looking for at this point in time.

For now, Distrust That Particular Flavor provided an excellent set of pieces that should tide me over until I re-dose with Gibson's latest novel, The Peripheral, published in 2014, which I am greatly looking forward to tackling sometime in the (hopefully) near future.

5/5 stars. 260 pages.

Weekend Thoughts - 5.7.16

Image from Francis Chung, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Although it is the safest it has been to be a U.S. police officer since alcohol prohibition, cops and firefighters have been pushing to make themselves a protected class under the federal hate crimes statute. Dubbed the "Blue Lives Matter" bill, cops are attempting to appeal to lawmakers emotionally to receive additional protections related to their occupations, rather than the set of currently-approved protected class guidelines. Right now, a hate crime is defined by Congress as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." The proposed change would add the following: "...because of actual or perceived membership or service in, or employment with, an organization, or because of actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer or firefighter." Any perceived crime against police officers would be classified as an act of hate and add another five years to a person's sentence. Considering both the record-high numbers of civilians being murdered by cops and the record-low numbers of police officers being murdered by civilians, this initiative seems a bit unnecessary to say the least, and perhaps even entirely blind to the actual situation at hand.

2. Trees are pretty awesome. They contribute a lot of positive things to an ecosystem, are amazing to look at, and have a special superpower—an incessant appetite for human-made objects. Here is a collection of photos of trees growing to eat things attached or next to them.

3. Learning to navigate around a city can be difficult, but a recent article from the excellent blog Zen Habits gives some advice for learning how to create a mental map of any location. There are plenty of tips and tricks that will help you map both new and familiar locations! The most helpful advice that I picked up from the article was to continually be aware of which direction I am facing—something that I have not developed in the past. This article would be helpful for those planning to travel to lands far away or become more in tune with their current cities.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.