Weekend Thoughts - 1.28.17

Image by William Chew, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. The Great Firewall has been strengthened this week because unapproved VPNs will now be illegal to use in China. That means that the Chinese will be unable to access popular websites like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and many others while inside the country's borders. The new law is in effect now and the government plans to leave it in place until at least March 31st, 2018. China certainly isn't the only country that censors Internet access—Egypt, Russia, Cuba, Bahrain, Turkey, Vietnam also limit Internet communications, against the advice from the United Nations Human Rights Control, which argued against the state-sponsored disruption of Internet access and described online privacy as an essential facet of freedom of expression.

2. An artist tied one knot every day of 2016, and it makes for some beautiful art.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 1.27.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Pot Protesters Welcome President Trump With 4,200 Joints (Reason)
• Georgia eases draconian law on cannabis use (The Guardian)
• Israel's Ariel University opens first academic course on medical cannabis (The Jerusalem Post)
• NORML Chapters Organize State Lobby Days for Marijuana Law Reforms (NORML)
• Maine Poised to Push Back Retail Cannabis Until 2018 (Leafly)
• Cannabis and Epilepsy Treatment (Leafly)
• Authorities seize 3,000 pounds of marijuana disguised as watermelons (CBS7)
• Israel to fund research for medical cannabis crops (The Times of Israel)
• Trump's AG Nominee Continues to Waffle on Cannabis (Leafly)
• Using Veganics for Growing Organic Cannabis (Leafly)
• Cannabis workshop educates on new program, future potential (The Guam Daily Post)
• Texas Judge Says Teacher Shouldn't Be Disciplined for Consuming Cannabis in Colorado (Reason)
• How Cannabis Became Illegal in Israel in the First Place (Haaretz)
• Can You Trademark a Cannabis Brand? 'Stash' Case Offers Two Answers (Leafly)
• Inside the #Trump420 Movement (TIME)
• Cannabis Drug Company Zynerba Is Gearing Up For A Big Summer (Forbes)
• Great-grandmother battles Ministry of Healthy over medicinal cannabis products (Stuff.co.nz)
• High Hopes for the Legal Cannabis Industry (PR Newswire)

LSD

• Ever Had a Really Long Acid Trip? Now Science Knows Why (WIRED)
• The Micro-Dose vs. The Mystical Experience: Has LSD Turned its Back on the Psychedelic Revolution? (High Existence)
• When Nixon's Henchmen Plotted to Assassinate a Journalist with LSD (The Daily Beast)
• 'A Really Good Day' Recaps A Month-Long Adventure Of Microdosing LSD (NPR)
• Here's how underground chemist Tim Scully planned to save the world with LSD (The Verge)
• How Tripping On Acid Makes Music More Meaningful (Inverse)
• Why I take LSD at work, a true story (Well+Good)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• How Microdosing Psilocybin May Keep Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) at Bay (Psychedelic Times)
• Magic Mushrooms Can Manage Anxiety And Depression In Cancer Patients; According To Research (iTech Post)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Three Ways You Can Get Involved With the Phase 3 Trials of MDMA as a PTSD Treatment (Psychedelic Times)
• MDMA By Any Other Name: How Street Names Harm the Reputation of Psychedelic Therapy (Psychedelic Times)
• MAPS Looks to Make MDMA into an FDA-Approved Psychotropic Agent (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
• MDMA: a tool for psychotherapy? (The McGill Daily)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Tourist boom for ayahuasca a mixed blessing for Amazon (The Guardian)

Salvia Divinorum

• Murder suspect Harris Binotti filmed losing control while flipping out on mindbending drugs (The Scottish Sun)

Dissociatives

• Researchers Build Multi-Regional Brain Chip to Study PCP's Effects on Brain (medGadget)
• Taking ketamine 'could help alcoholics quit booze', experts claim (Metro)

Opiates/Opioids

• Heroin injection sites may open soon in U.S. (Lancaster Online)
• How Repealing Obamacare Could Impact the Drug Crisis (ATTN:)
• The Story Behind the Viral Photo of an Opioid Overdose (TIME)
• Recent deaths prompt state warning about carfentanil (Centre Daily Times)
• Bill Maher: Heroin 'a Gateway to Being a Republican' (Rolling Stone)

Kratom

• America's war against opioid addiction - and the battle for kratom, the dietary supplement that has changed thousands of lives (The Telegraph)
• Kratom: What We Know (Medscape)
• Another blow to fighting opium addiction with the scheduling of Kratom (Psychedelic Press UK)

Kava

• Santo kava farmers fear 'silent killer' investor threat to their production (Asia Pacific Report)
• Board: Women's Kava Drinking Worrying (Fiji Sun)
• Woman Clan Leader Says Men Also Abuse Kava (Fiji Sun)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• BREAKING: Attorney General Vote Delayed (NORML)
• How College "Psychedelic Clubs" are Changing the Conversation on Drugs (Leafly)
• Monero, the Drug Dealer's Cryptocurrency of Choice, Is on Fire (WIRED)
• Why psychedelic drugs are having a medical renaissance (PBS)
• Pill testing sounds like a great idea, but there's a catch (The Age)
• Better living through mushrooms (City Pulse)

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 are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Weekend Thoughts - 1.21.17

Image by smalljude, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. An interesting analysis of Terence McKenna's oft-used quote "Culture is not your friend." The author takes apart the reasons why Terence's advice may be somewhat half-baked.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 1.20.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Massive meta-study confirms the health benefits of cannabis (Engadget)
• Hackers Cripple Leading Marijuana Sales System (Fortune)
• Legislators Seek To Delay The Enactment Of Voter-Initiated Marijuana Laws (NORML)
• Can Cannabis Oil Help Heal Wounds? (Live Science)
• D.C. Weed Group Has Rolled 5,500 Free Joints for the Inauguration (TIME)
• German Parliament Greenlights Plan for Cannabis Prescriptions (Leafly)
• Why Republicans Want to Legalize Marijuana's Cousin (ATTN:)
• Cannabis Oil Vs. Hemp Oil, Hash Oil 2017: Facts And Myths About Alternative Cancer, Pain, And Stress Treatments (Medical Daily)
• Residents Fear the Nightclub Shooting Means Mexico's Drug War Has Come To Their Town (TIME)
• Cannabis feminism: The new movement that has high hopes for the future (Well+Good)
• Humboldt County Cup Forced to Move by Police (NORML)
• WATCH: The new world of weed: why cannabis is having a renaissance moment (Salon)
• Cannabis does help MS patients - but scientists can't work out which strain did the trick (Daily Mail)
• Our Favorite Satirical 'Onion' Joe Biden Articles Feature His Love of Cannabis (Leafly)
• Want to Buy a Cannabis Store? For $50 Million You Can Own Six (Leafly)
• How two small cities became the kings of cannabis in the Denver metro area (The Denver Post)
• Marijuana Regulators Target Home Cultivation (NORML)
• What are Popcorn Cannabis Buds? (Leafly)
• Cannabis advocates demand reform in 2017 (KCEN)
• What You Need to Know About This Marijuana-Related Illness (ATTN:)
• Cannabis Software Companies Seek to Legitimize the Marijuana Industry and Cash In (LA Weekly)

LSD

• The Sunshine Makers documentary offers a thrilling look at the history of LSD (Irish Examiner)
• Tiny Amounts of LSD for Depression (The Atlantic)
• Meet the Man responsible for the '60s LSD scene (New York Post)
• I Dropped Acid and Saw Into the Future: My Surreal First Time At CES (The Daily Beast)
• That Time Roger Corman Took LSD for The Trip (Den of Geek!)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Why psychedelics like magic mushrooms kill the ego and fundamentally transform the brain (Business Insider)
• Mushrooms, Hallucinogens & LSD Making a Comeback in Teeny-Tiny Microdoses (Billboard)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Police investigate man's death after bad batch of MDMA hospitalises 20 people (ABC Online)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Can Ayahuasca, the 'Sacred Plant' of the Amazon, Help Addiction and Depression? (The Good Men Project)
• Sexual Assault in the Amazon (New York Magazine)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• The Avante Institute Opens New Ibogaine Therapy Center (Digital Journal)
• Veteran Pot Activist Sees Ibogaine as Plant Ally in Addiction Fight (AlterNet)

Dissociatives

• CBS News Features Amazing New Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment With IV Ketamine By Dr. Ashraf Hanna (Yahoo! Finance)
• Cleveland man admits killing friend while watching NBA game high on PCP (Cleveland.com)
• Man high on PCP crashes into ambulance outside ER (EMS1.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• New Mexican heroin 'China Blanca' threatens United States (Raw Story)
• Afghanistan's Opium: No End in Sight (The Globalist)
• Demand for Naloxone Drives Up Costs, But Could Cost Lives (Time Warner Cable News)
• How opiates literally grab hold of our brains (Prince George Citizen)
• The former heroin addict helping to direct Transporting 2 (The Guardian)

Kambô

• The Challenges for Western Companies Trying to Create Synthetic Compounds From Kambo (Psychedelic Times)
• A Guide to Increasing Fertility and Taking Kambo During Pregnancy (Psychedelic Times)

Kratom

• What happens if kratom becomes illegal? (PBS NewsHour)
• Could Kratom Help Treat Opioid Addiction? (NET Nebraska)
• How long does Kratom stay in your system? (Kratom Guides)
• 5 Best Types Of Kratom You Must Try In 2017 (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Is Kava Or Kratom Better? (Kratom Guides)
• Agriculture Department to tackle kava pricing: Director Ravo (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• Vanuatu company accused of exporting kava 'trash' throws industry in turmoil (Asia Pacific Report)
• Ask Away: What are the rules on kava? (New Zealand Herald)
• Investors taking over kava business a worry for Santo farmers (Vanuatu Daily Post)

Khat

• Qat Business Booming in Ethiopia and Kenya (Ezega)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• President Obama Commutes Sentences of 330 Inmates Convicted of Drug Crimes (TIME)
• Hallucinogens: Future of Mental Health Treatment? (WebMD)
• Why the Psychedelic Community Should Support Cluster Headache Research (Psychedelic Times)
• PCP to psychedelic fish: uncover the stories behind the world's strangest drugs (The Guardian)
• The Debate Over This Inauguration Day 'Smoke Out' (ATTN:)
• What Happened to the Psychedelic Revolution? (Reality Sandwich)
• Drug Lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Is Being Flown to New York (TIME)
• The Future Of Psychedelic Medicine (The Huffington Post)
• New undergraduate think tank explores psychedelics (Yale Daily News)
• Psychedelic drugs now used in human studies (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Obama's Belated Drug War Retreat (Reason)

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 are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Book Review - Bhagavadgita

The Bhagavad Gita is a traditional Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata. It is essentially a dialogue between a prince named Arjuna and his guide, Lord Krishna. It takes place right before a battle in a war between families that Arjuna is expected to fight. The text introduces many concepts in Hinduism, including dharma, yoga, bhakti, karma, and more.

I really wanted to like this book. Having purchased it over ten years ago, going into reading it with the knowledge that it is one of the most important Hindu texts, and listening to people like Duncan Trussell quote it and explain it in his podcast built it up in my mind, but ultimately, this was a tough read for me and I didn't get much out of it. That's likely due to the fact that I didn't understand most of it.

I'm going to go ahead and blame my experience with this text on the edition that I read, rather than on the text itself. Fear not, I plan to read a few alternative versions of the Bhagavad Gita over the next several years. I already have several in mind, but if you have any that you would recommend, please let me know!

2/5 stars. 97 pages.