This Week in Psychedelics - 8.26.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• These Five States Are Next To Vote On Cannabis Legalization (Green Rush Daily)
• DEA Concession Means Marijuana Could Be Approved As a Medicine (Reason)
• Is Naked Weed Report a Win for Women in the Cannabis Industry? (Merry Jane)
• Marijuana's Mystifying Misclassification (Reason)
• What Will Recreational Marijuana Legalization Mean for California? (Reason)
• Oregon's Legal Marijuana Raised More Than $25 Million in Tax Revenue This Year (TIME)
• Michigan Marijuana Legalization Initiative Probably Won't Make Ballot (Reason)
• Stoner secretly grows cannabis in Glastonbury council's hanging baskets... for 18 years (RT)
• A Greener Weed: Certified Pesticide-Free Cannabis Comes to Colorado (Modern Farmer)
• Trial of cannabis withdrawal spray Sativex popular with middle-aged pothead dads (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• What Gambling Can Tell Us About Legalizing Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Bob Marley's kids launch a new cannabis 'lifestyle brand' in Oregon (The Oregonian)
• Die Antwoord to Launch Their Own Cannabis Product Line "Zef Zol" (Merry Jane)
• To help baby girl, family drives to Denver for cannabis (KOAT)
• Sexist Cannabis: Marijuana relieves pain for men, not women – study (RT)
• Medical Marijuana is as healthy as Medical LSD and Heroin (Clapway)

LSD

• LSD Triggers Strong Activation Of Mind's Semantic Networks, Study Finds (Medical Daily)
• Would you take LSD to give you a boost at work? WIRED takes a trip inside the world of microdosing (WIRED)
• LSD Might Make You More Creative (TIME)
• Beatles' Acid Test: How LSD Opened the Door to 'Revolver' (Rolling Stone)
• Here's What Happens to Your Brain on LSD (Esquire)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Study: Psilocybin Helps Smokers Quit Long Term (High Times)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• With the Proper Setting, Women May Respond Better to MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Than Men (Psychedelic Times)
• How Your Menstrual Cycle Can Affect Your Reaction to MDMA (VICE)
• This Is What Sex on MDMA Is Like (Cosmopolitan)
• Why You Gurn When You Take MDMA (VICE)
• The growing popularity, and potency, of ecstasy and MDMA (BBC News)
• Double-strength MDMA causing 'more mental health issues' (The Week)
• German Police Allegedly Confuse Viagra for Ecstasy in Traffic Stop (THUMP)
• Irish teenager who first did ecstasy in third year: 'Most schools have dealers amongst students' (Irish Independent)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• The science of the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca (Science Alert)
• How Two Plants Combine To Form The Powerful Drug Ayahuasca (Gizmodo: India)
• Filipino tourist dies during Ayahuasca session (Peru This Week)
• Yoga, Ayahuasca, and a Course in Miracles: Notes on the Ongoing Revelation (Reality Sandwich)
• BBC presenter takes drug in Brazil to "get close to God" - and describes his five-hour hallucination (Mirror)
• Police investigating App State student's possible drug-related death, drug lab (WBTV)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Travelers Warned Not to Bring Peyote or Marijuana Creams from Mexico (Breitbart)
• The people who take drugs to see God (BBC News)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Ibogaine treatment costs explained (Genesis Ibogaine Treatment Center)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Centre bans nine new party drugs (DNA: India)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine: The Musical 'Does Not Make You Want to Do Ketamine' (The Village Voice)
• 'Special K' for depression (Seton)
• Stamford Man High on PCP Urinated in Public Near Children: PD (Patch: Stamford)
• Angry, PCP-Using Brother Shoots Pregnant Sister and Kills Her Baby: Prosecutor (Patch: Chicago)
• Man believed to be on PCP in violent struggle with police (The Hour)

Opiates/Opioids

• Seattle Considers Safe Space for Heroin Use (Reason)
• When Chinatown was overrun by gambling and opium dens (New York Post)

Kratom

• FDA Seizes Kratom Pain Relievers Because They Are Too Effective (The Libertarian Republic)
• I-Team: Could a dietary supplement lead to a heroin relapse? (WCPO)
• Does Kratom Cause Weight Loss? (Kratom Project)
• How to Get Rid of Kratom Hangover? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Thousands drinking kava in NZ, but is it a cure or a killer? (TVNZ)
• Launch of Kava Strategy and Quality Standard (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• Hawaiian healing herbs help health (The Garden Island)
• Vatanitawake Speaks Out Against Church Practices (Fiji Sun)

Khat

• County sees first convictions in khat case (Bloomington Pantagraph)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The Mainstreaming of Psychedelics (High Times)
• Almost 1,800 People Have Died in Seven Weeks in the Philippines' War on Drugs (TIME)
• The Ancient Roots of Psychedelic Harm Reduction at Modern Festivals (Psychedelic Times)
• Alcohol Prohibition Was a Dress Rehearsal for the War on Drugs (Reason)
• A Psychedelic Right (VolteFace)
• Growing research finds psychedelics effective in treating disease (The Baltimore Sun)
• Psychedelics: The Trip from Criminality to Validity (Reality Sandwich)
• Is Sex Better on Drugs? (Thrillist)
• Blame the War on Drugs for stoned, face-eating murderers (Boing Boing)
• College Student Who Tried to Bite Man's Face Off Told Cops: 'You Won't Find Any Drugs in Me' (TIME)

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 - Still Here

Cover image photo taken by David Wilder.

Ram Dass is an American spiritual teacher well-known for his bestselling 1971 book Be Here Now, as well as his personal and professional relationships with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the 1960s, his travels to India and relationship with his guru Neem Karoli Baba, and for founding the charitable organizations Seva Foundation and Hanuman Foundation. He wrote the book Still Here: Embraced Aging, Changing, and Dying after experiencing a stroke in 1997.

The book covers many topics (mostly related to aging and dying) that a person may encounter on their spiritual path. As we age, many things change with our physical bodies and minds, as well as our roles in society. However, Ram Dass attempts to point out that there is another level of being—the Soul level, which is experiencing reality through a human body while simultaneously being untethered to it.

A section discussing changes with our minds—due to the aging process—introduces the concept of mindfulness practice and covers several mentally-related common fears of aging: senility, loneliness, embarrassment, powerlessness, loss of role and meaning, and depression. Following that, Ram Dass gives some advice for facing those fears head on.

The next section covers bodily changes that occur due to aging, such as discontent with body image, low energy, focusing on a list of physical woes, the difference between healing and curing, working with pain, and disease.

Following the discussion on the body, Ram Dass explains how our societal roles change and shift during the aging process, how to live in the present moment, learning to die, and the effects (both positive and negative) that a stroke had on his life.

I greatly enjoyed this book. Like Be Here Now, it is filled with wisdom and sage advice for spiritual travelers. I would recommend this to anyone interested in stepping further down their own spiritual path, especially those who are currently in the later stages of life. I imagine that Still Here would have a lot to offer the average person that is on the verge of entering the next phase of their Soul journey.

4/5 stars. 206 pages.

Weekend Thoughts - 8.20.16

Image by k f, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. Following last week's news that the DEA declined the opportunity to reschedule (or preferably, deschedule entirely) cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act, deciding to keep it in Schedule I, a tier reserved for substances that have "a high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use". This will seem completely absurd to anyone who has educated themselves about cannabis, as the plant does not tend to lead to addiction and has a large array of medical uses. I have already sent and encourage you to send a message to your state Senators requesting them to reschedule cannabis at the federal level. The above link will make the job extremely easy for you—all you need to do is click it and fill out your information. Please let your local representatives know how you feel about this issue, because the DEA is showing no signs of using scientific research to determine their decisions, and that means we the people need to step up, speak up, and be heard.

2. In an unexpected announcement, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it will end its use of private prisons after officials concluded that they are both less safe and less effective at providing correctional services than those run by the government. According to Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, in a memo instructing officials to either decline to renew contracts for private prison operators when they expire or "substantially reduce" the contracts' scope, the goal is "reducing – and ultimately ending – our use of privately operated prisons". Private prisons have a range of issues, including higher assault rates (both by inmates and staff) and eight times as many contraband cellphone confiscations than state-run prisons each year on average. There are numerous examples of how terrible these prisons have been, however perhaps a more sensible approach would be to reform our criminal laws so that there are less people going to prison in the first place.

3. As a longterm Apple fan (the first Apple product I owned was a second-generation iPod from 2002), I greatly enjoyed this in-depth interview with Tim Cook, and highly suggest giving it a read if you can block off some time to give it your full attention. The conversation commemorated his fifth year as CEO of Apple and the production of the billionth iPhone. The interview covers topics like Apple's future product plans, approaches to security and privacy, Tim's experience as CEO and memories of former-Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the company's international tax practices, and more.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 8.19.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Why We Should Demand That Congress Reschedule Marijuana (NORML)
• 9th Circuit Says Feds May Not Prosecute State-Legal Medical Marijuana Suppliers (Reason)
• Arizona Is the Fifth State Where Voters Will Decide Whether to Legalize Pot This Year (Reason)
• Canada to allow medical patients to grow own cannabis (Fox News)
• Medical cannabis in Israel to become more accessible (Haaretz)
• Post-Traumatic Marijuana: Some Military Veterans Are Embracing the Drug as Scientists Scramble to Study it Effects (TIME)
• Cannabis and Blue Dreams of Unity at the DNC Convention (The Weed Blog)
• When Treating Bipolar Disorder with Cannabis, Research Suggests the Amount of CBD May Be Key (Psychedelic Times)
• Poll: Two-Thirds Of Californians Support Legalizing Retail Sales Of Marijuana To Adults (NORML)
• Is Cannabis Better for Chronic Pain Than Opioids? (Leafly)
• The NHS are testing a cannabis product for the first time (The Independent)
• Majority back decriminalisation of cannabis use, poll suggests (Radio New Zealand)
• How an Ailing Artist Helped Unite Italians Around Cannabis (Leafly)
• SF pot dispensary vibe: The country club of cannabis clubs (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Reasonable Doubt: the history of marijuana law in Canada (NOW Magazine)
• Marijuana Advocates to DEA: Talk to the Hand (ATTN:)
• Oregon's cannabis fair celebrates growing pot industry (KHOU)

LSD

• The secret LSD-fueled experiment that inspired Stranger Things (The Guardian)
• How to build IKEA furniture on LSD (The Boston Globe)
• New study shows LSD's effects on language (Medical Xpress)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psychedelic mushrooms growing alarmingly popular among middle schoolers (WTVM)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Why So Many People in the UK Are Dying from Ecstasy Overdoses (VICE)
• Science Reveals Whether Sex Feels Best on MDMA, Alcohol or Weed (Maxim)
• Why Do So Many Women Keep Dying At This Music Festival? (Broadly)
• Mixmag Launches Campaign for Safe Ecstasy Usage (EDM Tunes)
• Expert discusses MDMA research (Medical Xpress)
• Brit holidaymaker in hospital after suspected overdose in Ibiza nightclub (The Sun)
• Man jailed after supplying ecstasy to friend who died at Sterosonic festival (The Guardian)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca Benefits And Risks: Hallucinogenic Drug May Enhance Meditation (Medical Daily)
• Visions, purging and Peru: what happened when I went to an ayahuasca retreat (Yahoo! Lifestyle)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• CBP Reminds Public that Peyote is Prohibited Item (KRGV)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Iboga Healing and the Collective Unconscious (Reality Sandwich)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• 'Zombie Drug' Paranoia Resurfaces After Teen's Terrifying Homicidal Outburst (Reason)
• Proposed N-Bomb drug law change too harsh, contends Drug Foundation (Stuff.co.nz)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine May Be The Next Great Hope In Treating Mental Illness (The Huffington Post)
• Australia's largest trial of ketamine to treat depression begins (Scimex)
• Could ketamine help heavy drinkers cut down on booze? (Dazed)
• Apparently intoxicated, half-naked man blocks roadway; police suspect PCP (The Examiner)

Opiates/Opioids

• FDA paves a path for OTC naloxone (Behavioral Health)
• People Are Overdosing on 'Game of Thrones' Heroin (TIME)
• A Life-Saving Overdose Drug Is Getting Harder to Afford (ATTN:)

Absinthe

• This Isn't Your Grandfather's Absinthe (Munchies)

Kratom

• How Can Kratom Be a Stimulant, Sedative, and Hallucinogen, too? (Kratom Project)
• 3 Things Pharmacists Should Know About Kratom (Pharmacy Times)
• PTSD and Kratom (Kratom Project)
• What are the best ways to take Kratom? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Methodist church relaxes certain conditions of smoking and kava ban (Fijivillage)
• Kava company reached out to the world (The Fiji Times)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Which Drugs Make Your Dick Shrink the Most and Why (VICE)
• Philippine Leader Duterte Calls U.N. 'Very Stupid' For Criticizing His Drug War (TIME)
• The global drug wars have failed, how can DU30's 'war' succeed? (The Manila 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.

Weekend Thoughts - 8.13.16

Image by Matsukin, 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 was fortunate to attend a fantastic art exhibition with Salvador Dali's works at the North Carolina Museum of Art earlier this year, and so when I came across this article titled The Mystical World of Salvador Dali, I thought it would be worth sharing on this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. For those who are not familiar with Dali, I would suggest checking out his profile page at Artsy, which includes a biography, over 340 of his works, exclusive articles, and up-to-date exhibition listings.

2. I find this video of extended-release pills dissolving to be mesmerizing. Not only is the feat of developing and manufacturing a pill that will slowly release its contents impressive, but watching them dissolve into stunning color-rich art is a tad psychedelic as well.

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