This Week in Psychedelics - 7.8.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Win-Win for Jamaica and Cannabis Harm Reduction as Marijuana Kiosks Set to Appear in Airports (Psychedelic Times)
• These Pro MMA Fighters Don't Just Use Cannabis, They Embrace It (Leafly)
• New study aims to examine whole-plant marijuana as treatment for sports injuries (The Denver Post)
• The DEA Can't Legalize Medical Marijuana (Reason)
• Does cannabis affect sperm? (Stuff.co.nz)
• Epileptic children to get cannabis-based drug ahead of trials, NSW Premier says (ABC)
• FDA Approves Insys Therapeutics' 2nd Cannabis-Based Drug (Forbes)
• Signatures for Ark. Medical Cannabis Act verified, measure will be on November ballot (KATV)
• Task Force Offers Hints of What Legal Pot Will Look Like in Canada (Reason)
• Attempt to Limit Strength of THC in CO (NORML)
• The One Job the Marijuana Industry Desperately Needs (ATTN:)
• Wine Country Collective Offers Social Cannabis Tastings (Merry Jane)
• Cannabis Capitalist: Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO Bets Big On Pot Growers (Forbes)
• Tech Thursday: Steps To Protecting Cannabis In An Industry Ripe For Lawsuits (Dope Magazine)
• Mixing cannabis with tobacco 'increases risk of addiction': Smoking drug 'makes you 60% LESS likely to want to quit' (Daily Mail)

LSD

• Redman talks about that time he took acid and got shocked with an electric cattle prod (Boing Boing)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psychedelic Safe, Possibly Effective for Refractory Depression (Medscape)
• Psilocybin and the Shadow: Magic Mushrooms as a Tool For Healing Emotional Trauma (High Existence)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Tragic student Jane Khalaf's ecstasy death would have been prevented if she had different hospital treatment (Mirror)
• Heartbroken mum warns teenagers to 'value life' after her daughter died from toxic reaction to ecstasy (Mirror)
• Epsom man died after taking mock ecstasy inquest hears (Get Surrey)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Inside a Psychedelic Healing Retreat (VICE)
• This Swedish island promises shamans and psychedelic tea (The Local)
• 9 Investigates hallucinogenic drug used in local church (WFTV)

Salvia Divinorum

• On Salvia Divinorum (VolteFace)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Convicted dealer linked to teen's NBOMe death pleads guilty to more charges (WRTV)

Dissociatives

• Researchers seeking volunteers to test effectiveness of ketamine in treating alcoholism (iNews)
• Man high on PCP runs car into home on Fourth of July (The Lufkin News)

Opiates/Opioids

• A Conspiracy Theory that became a "Conspiracy Fact": The CIA, Afghanistan's Poppy Fields and America's Growing Heroin Epidemic (Center for Research on Globalization)
• Mexico Now World's Third Biggest Producer of Opium Poppy (teleSUR)
• Push to legalize poppy plantations in Mexico touches on farmers' livelihood (Fox News Latino)
• Naloxone Widely Spread Throughout the United States (World Report Now)
• Naloxone to be immediately distributed to released inmates in Ontario (The Globe and Mail)
• Heroin addiction specialists see younger users getting treatment (9NEWS)

Kratom

• How to Detox with Kratom (Kratom Project)
• The Cost of Kratom for Pain Management (Kratom Project)
• Recommendations For Storing Kratom At Home (Kratom Guides)
• How To Avoid Kratom Abuse (Kratom Project)
• Is Kratom an Opiate Legal High or Medicinal Plant? (Kratom Project)
• Who Sells The Best Kratom Online? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Kava catching on in the US (Radio New Zealand)
• Pacific feels the strain of increased demand for kava (Radio New Zealand)
• Fiji Government makes promise to help struggling kava farmers (ABC)
• Benefits of kava catching on in NZ and beyond (Radio New Zealand)
• Kava thiefs in Fiji have farmers struggling (Radio New Zealand)
• Farmers claim police involved in kava theft in Fiji (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• The African drug some don't want to live without (BBC)
• Uganda: Mairungi Farmers Protest Law (All Africa)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• How Psychedelic Drugs Could Help Treat Addiction (Motherboard)
• From LSD trips to getting caught in the girls' toilets - 9 things you didn't know about Cary Grant (Bristol Post)
• 'People Would Do Anything to Get a Fix': Female Drug Dealers Share Their Stories (Broadly)
• Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Drug Policy (Forbes)
• Finding a Doctor or Medical Professional That Incorporates Psychedelic Integration (Psychedelic Times)
• Are Psychedelics Addictive? Understanding the Cultural and Social Roots of Addiction (Psychedelic Times)
• 5 Bizarre Beliefs About Drugs From History (Bustle)
• What Is Addiction Recovery Coaching? Integrating a Psychedelic Experience with a Recovery Coach (Psychedelic Times)
• Psychedelia isn't dead, just ask videogames (Kill Screen)
• DARE training teaches about new drug trends (West Hawaii Today)

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 - 7.2.16

Image by Andrea Kirkby, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. With all of the negative news surrounding us, it can be easy to think that the global state of affairs is getting worse. A lot of that is due to the way news organizations play off of a natural human trait—we are wired to pay more attention to negative news than positive news because that helps us survive in the wild. However, although we may fantasize about things being better "back in the day", the truth is the exact opposite in several ways. The author of the book Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think, Peter Diamondis, has written an article that shows "Why the World is Better Than You Think in 10 Powerful Charts". Among some of the most powerful trends include a significant decline in people living in absolute poverty, a sharp decrease in teen birth rates, homicide rates have dropped to nearly zero compared to the past several hundred years, and both the global years of education and literacy rates have skyrocketed to all-time highs. Rather than obsessing over the negative news that the news organizations want us to focus on, it can be more powerful and inspiring to embrace the evidence that shows that things are getting much better, not worse.

2. Let's face it, getting stopped by the cops sucks. PBS put together a quiz that presents several different investigatory police stop scenarios which asks the reader to determine which of the situations constitute an illegal stop. It's fairly thorough, and definitely worth a read.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 7.1.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Is the DEA About To Legalize Marijuana? (Forbes)
• Marijuana Could Be Legalized in California November Vote (TIME)
• Scientists claim the US government is still limiting cannabis research (Science Alert)
• Cannabis conversation urged at North American Leaders Summit (The Hill)
• The Smart and Big Money Continues to Flow into the Cannabis Market (Forbes)
• Doctors seek to open lab to test medical cannabis for quality (The Baltimore Sun)
• Cannabis Church to hold first service, combats marijuana stigma (Lansing State Journal)
• Corporate Cannabis Has Arrived – and That Might Be a Good Thing (Leafly)
• Ask a Pot Lawyer: Rescheduling Weed (The Portland Mercury)
• Colorado City Official: It Will Take Time to Change 'Opinions That Pot is Bad' (TIME)
• How to Clone Cannabis Plants (Leafly)
• Public Health Service 'ill-equipped' to provide treatment for cannabis users despite surge in numbers seeking help, experts warn (The Independent)
• Father who claimed cannabis oil cured his cancer dies a year later aged just 34 (Daily Mail)

LSD

• Watch What Happens When a Portrait Artist Takes LSD (AlterNet)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• What Are the Effects of Psilocybin Mushrooms? The Medicinal and Spiritual Benefits of Psilocybin (Psychedelic Times)
• Dog accidentally eats Psilocybin Mushrooms, trips tennis balls (theCHIVE)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• 9 Things That Happen in the Brain and Body on MDMA (The Science Explorer)
• What Is MDMA and What Are Its Benefits? Treating Anxiety and Mental Illness with Ecstacy (Psychedelic Times)
• Say Why To Drugs: unravelling the myster-E of MDMA (The Guardian)
• Would legalising ecstasy save lives? (Closer)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• 10 Daily Routines to Prepare for Ayahuasca Ceremonies (Eagle Condor Alliance)
• Australia's DMT Debate Could Reboot Psychedelic Thinking (Inverse)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Mescaline: The Hallucinogenic Equivalent of The Eagles (Inverse)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• The Cost: Why is iBogaine Treatment Expensive? (Ibogaine-Thailand)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine – More Than a Recreational Drug (BrainBlogger)
• Drugs 101: Ketamine (Deep.Dot.Web)
• Dangers of ketamine (The Star)

Opiates/Opioids

• Mexico's opium poppy farmers are fed up with the job's dangers (VICE)
• Heroin use at 20-year high in US drug 'epidemic', UN says (Fox News)
• UN report says plunge in opium production won't affect heroin supply (Daily Times)
• Inside the Twisted Economics of a 1949 Saigon Opium Detox Clinic (TIME)
• Coprescribing Naloxone With an Opioid Aids Chronic Pain (Medscape)
• Heroin Overdose Deaths Have Tripled in 5 Years, DEA Says (ABC News)

Kratom

• Why Are States Rushing to Ban Kratom? (Merry Jane)
• Taking Kratom on an Empty Stomach – Is it needed? (Kratom Project)
• 'Legal Psychoactive' Drug Concerns NC Lawmakers, Health Officials (WCQS)
• Which Type of Kratom is Good for Sleep and Fibromyalgia? (Kratom Guides)
• Using Kratom for Premature Ejaculation (Kratom Project)

Kava

• I tried a cup of kava, the South Pacific drink that some say could replace alcohol – here's what it was like (Business Insider)

Khat

• Embu miraa farmers demand inclusion in task force (Citizen TV)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The fascinating, strange medical potential of psychedelic drugs, explained in 50+ studies (Vox)
• Four Reasons Gay People Might Have Better Insight Into Addiction and the Drug War (The Influence)
• How to Tell If Your Drugs Have Gone Bad (VICE)
• Psychedelic drugs: what hallucinating is all about (The Guardian)
• The Scientific Way to Create a Music Festival Drug Schedule (Inverse)
• International Day Against Drug Abuse: How UK deals with new psychoactive substances (International Business Times)
• Dealers Reveal the Sketchiest Places Your Drugs Have Been (Complex)
• These maps show how dangerous illegal drugs flow around the globe (Business Insider)
• 4 types of drugs and what they do to your body: Heroin, Cocaine, Meth and LSD (India Today)
• Trips and Traps: Psychedelics Seek Legitimacy in the World of Modern Medicine (VolteFace)
• The Difference Between Being Happy and Being High (VICE)
• Startups and psychedelics: Founders trip on smart drugs (The Financial Express)
• Shamanic Healer Anahata Ananda Talks About Shamanic Breathing to Create the Psychedelic Experience and Conscious Relationships on Psychedelic Milk International Podcast (Benzinga)

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 - 6.25.16

Image by Stephanie Kraus, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. I have been a ginormous fan of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós for the past 10+ years, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the band has released a new song—for the first time in three years! In fact, it's a music video, rather than just a song. Fair warning—the music may be beautiful, but the video is a bit graphic (on the gory side, really). But still, it's worth checking out if you're as big of a fan as I am. If you're brand-new to Sigur Rós, I would suggest checking out their albums Taak and ().

2. For fans of the science fiction film Blade Runner, check out this extremely thorough typographical and design analysis of nearly every frame of the movie. For anyone who is unaware of Blade Runner, it is a movie adaptation of the canonical science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick. Both are very well-known in the science fiction genre, and are well worth exploring.

3. The spontaneous light shows that accompanied artists like the Grateful Dead back in the 1960s were essentially live art experiments that produced never-before-seen visual effects. An interview with one of the prominent visual artists at the time, Bill Ham, explains the environment that these light shows were surrounded by and the techniques that were used to produce the effects. The interview is a bit long (albeit it well worth the read), but it's also worth clicking through to take a look at the art itself.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.24.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Is Legalization Coming to Naples, Home of Mafia-Controlled Cannabis? (Leafly)
• Microsoft is going into the marijuana business, but the cannabis cloud is already crowded (Quartz)
• Colorado Survey Finds Adolescent Marijuana Use Did Not Rise After Legalization (Reason)
• How Can Cannabis Help People with Sickle Cell Anemia? (Leafly)
• Why not allow cannabis clubs in Colorado? Debate rages (The Cannabist)
• How Does Cannabis Consumption Affect Neurodegenerative Diseases? (Leafly)
• Croatia Makes Medical Cannabis History: How Did It Happen? (Leafly)
• We went to one of the largest marijuana business conferences in the world – here's what it was like (Business Insider)
• What Situations Make You Paranoid When You're High? We Debated Cannabis Paranoia (Leafly)
• Cannabis Can Literally Mend Your Broken Heart (Green Rush Daily)
• Titans' Derrick Morgan wants NFL to study health benefits of cannabis (ESPN)
• Will Cleveland Celebrate Its Next Title with Decriminalized Cannabis? (Leafly)
• Pot Fans Unite At Cannabis Conference In NYC (CBS New York)
• Dogs fall ill after eating discarded cannabis in a park (The Telegraph)

LSD

• THE LONG, STRANGE TRIP OF LSD (SFGate)
• Scientists: Caffeine is Harmful, Unlike Cocaine and LSD (Clapway)
• Documentary: Czechoslovak Communists experimented with LSD (Prague Daily Monitor)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic Mushrooms for Mental Health (Brain Blogger)
• Live Every Day Like You're On Mushrooms (The Atlantic)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Global Drug Survey Warns It's the "Worst Time in a Generation" to Take MDMA (The Science Explorer)
• Three 12-year-old girls in hospital after taking ecstasy (The Guardian)
• Mum whose teenage son died of ecstasy overdose warns predatory drug pushers are deliberately designing pills for children (Mirror)
• Ecstasy pills increasingly made with child-friendly logos, says expert (The Guardian)
• Ecstasy link to teenager who died after music event at The O2 (The Wharf)
• St Columb father-of-two died after MDMA overdose (Cornish Guardian)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Plant Medicine Science: How Ayahuasca Works to Treat Depression (GroundReport)
• SBS2 Celebrates Vice Partnership By Doing Ayahuasca With James Franco (SBS)

Dissociatives

• Bench murder trial for maniac driver who slammed into florist while high on PCP, meth begins (New York Daily News)
• Police: Drunken man had more than 50 grams of PCP (Bryan-College Station Eagle)
• Naked man likely took PCP before trying to break into Garfield Heights home, report says (Cleveland.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• Heroin use in U.S. reaches "alarming" 20-year high (CBS News)
• Walgreens Leads Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse in Washington with New Programs to Help Curb Misuse of Medications and the Rise in Overdose Deaths (PharmiWeb.com)
• Why Are Dealers Cutting Fentanyl into Recreational Drugs? (VICE)
• What Gary Johnson Should Have Said About Heroin (Forbes)
• Popping pain pills: Opiate addiction has become bigger problem than heroin, cocaine in the past (Naples Daily News)
• Poppylands: Understanding Myanmar's addiction to heroin (Al Jazeera)
• 5 steps to reverse an overdose: How to use naloxone (CBC News)
• Mexico is growing 61000 new acres of opium (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Kratom

• The Ins and Outs of Using Kratom as an Alternative Addiction Treatment (Psychedelic Times)
• What to Do When You Are Addicted to Kratom (Kratom Project)
• Kratom, the obscure tea that NC senators want to keep away from the kids (The News & Observer)
• Kratom Experience – How Does Kratom Make You Feel (Kratom Project)

Kava

• The Rise Of The Kava Bar (VinePair)
• Vanuatu's kava cup runs low as thirst increases for drink of choice (The Guardian)
• Call to regulate kava consumption age (The Fiji Times)
• Mid City Now Has a Kava Bar (Eater New Orleans)

Khat

• Kenya: Muguka Farmers Demand Inclusion in Miraa Taskforce (AllAfrica)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Michael Pollan Explains Why Psychedelic Drugs Are the Ultimate Meal for Your Mind (Mother Jones)
• How Getting High and Listening to Music Games Your Dopamine Reward System (Inverse)
• Is Brazil the New Epicenter of Psychedelic Science in the World? (The Huffington Post)
• Drugs and Violence: It's More Complicated Than You Think (VolteFace)
• Psychedelics on the Dark Web (Deep Dot Web)
• Here's a Plan: Drug-Test the Rich (ATTN:)
• Drug trafficker gets 20 years thanks to emails he never sent (Engadget)
• Beyond Psychedelics 2016: Global Psychedelic Forum in Prague Takes a Holistic Approach (Psychedelic Times)

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.