This Week in Psychedelics - 4.7.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• The TSA Sent a Mixed Message About Bringing Weed on Planes (ATTN:)
• California Leaders Want to Block a Fed Move Against Cannabis (Leafly)
• Trump and Cannabis: Which Way Will the Wind Blow? (Forbes)
• What Marijuana Legalization in Canada Could Mean for the United States (TIME)
• The Future of Legal Pot Under Trump: Marijuana Entrepreneurs Speak Out (Reason)
• West Virginia NORML Makes Final Push For Medical Marijuana Legislation (NORML)
• HB 185 – North Carolina's Medical Cannabis Bill (2017) (NORML of North Carolina)
• Hurdles and Hopes in the Development, Production and Distribution of Cannabis (Entrepreneur)
• Houston Has Decriminalized Marijuana, Reveals Conflicting Attitudes and Budget Priorities of Law Enforcement (NORML)
• Colorado Governor Concedes Legal Marijuana Hasn't Turned His State Into a Stoner Hellscape (Reason)
• Diet and the Endocannabinoid System (Reality Sandwich)
• WATCH: John Oliver Explains The Mayhem That Is U.S. Cannabis Law (Forbes)
• Could the extraordinary compound in cannabis that helps kids with epilepsy make you feel better? (Los Angeles Times)
• Oregon's Marijuana Industry Sold 11,000 Lbs. of Pot in 3 Months (TIME)
• The Dallas Cowboys' Owner Is Right: NFL Should Change its Nonsensical Marijuana Prohibition (Reason)
• Govs Urge Sessions to Keep Cannabis Legal (Leafly)
• Hebrew University launches cannabis research center with high aspirations (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
• California Could Become The Cannabis Industry's Safe Haven (Forbes)
• Trudeau's Handling Of The Cannabis Industry Risks Public Safety (The Huffington Post)
• Cashing in on cannabis: how new freedoms began a green gold rush in the United States (The Telegraph)
• KC NORML Successfully Decriminalized Marijuana in Kansas City (NORML)
• What Is Charas Cannabis Concentrate? (Leafly)
• Oregon State Bar Offers Lawyers a Cannabis Section (Willamette Week)
• How to Not Smell Like Cannabis After Smoking: 5 Items to Have On-Hand (Leafly)

LSD

• Scientists show how LSD reduces brain activity related to handling of fear (News-Medical.net)
• 'The Sunshine Makers' brings good vibrations to Netflix (The Contributor)
• Inside the doomsday cult where children were given LSD and had hair dyed blonde to be like sinister leader (Mirror)
• LSD at Lassonde: Microdosing to Enhance Creativity (The Daily Utah Chronicle)
• Coroner: Man killed by Round Lake officer had LSD in his system (Daily Herald)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• An addiction specialist reveals what happens to your brain on Ecstasy (Business Insider)
• Orange police and Lyndon Community's deputy CEO sound warning over Blue Koalas (Central Western Daily)
• A teenager who 'hated drugs' died after taking ecstasy (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Breaking Down the Brew: Examining the Plants Commonly Used In Ayahuasca (Psychedelic Times)
• This psychedelic drug seems to affect the brain in ways that are surprisingly similar to meditation (Business Insider)
• An Artwork for an Age of Anxiety and Ayahuasca? (The New Yorker)
• Who is most at risk of psychosis after ingesting ayahuasca or DMT? (PsyPost)

Dissociatives

• A Dosing Guide for Using Ketamine for Psychedelic Therapy (Psychedelic Times)
• If ketamine helps treat depression, why can't doctors prescribe it? (The Guardian)
• Ketamine for Chronic Pain on the Rise (Medscape)
• Cleveland man high on PCP takes swing at Lakewood night club bouncer, police say (Cleveland.com)
• PCP Blackout Causes Accident; Leads to Arrest (KSST)

Opiates/Opioids

• Heroin became 'epidemic' as race of victims changed (NJ.com)
• When heroin kills, the appeal grows – and policing the drug becomes harder (The Washington Post)
• Massachusetts Doctors Want a Safe Place for People to Use Illegal Drugs (Reason)
• Opioids Aren't the Problem and Chris Christie Isn't the Solution (CounterPunch)
• Does Afghanistan grow more opium poppies than before 2001? (PolitiFact)
• Heroin Users Are Less Likely to Be Dependent But More Likely to Die (Reason)

Kambô

• How to Stay Safe During a Kambo Ceremony If You Have Bulimia (Psychedelic Times)

Kratom

• What Does Kratom Feel Like? (Kratom Guides)
• How To Make Kratom Soap? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• The impact of kava (The Fiji Times)

Khat

• Scientists say miraa source of crucial human medicines (The Standard)
• Oman crime: Four arrested for smuggling Khat (Times of Oman)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Breaking Convention 2017: Europe's largest psychedelic conference returns (Psychedelic Press UK)
• How Will We Train the Next Generation of Psychedelic Researchers and Therapists? (Psychedelic Times)
• Tripping out: the highs and lows of psychedelic therapy (Marie Claire)
• What can we learn from China's long history of fighting illicit drugs? (Rappler)
• This Senator's Claims About Flavored Drugs Is Dangerous (ATTN:)

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 - 4.1.17

Image by Neil Piddock, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. First, some bad news. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to roll back FCC privacy regulations that were approved last year, and as a result Internet Service Providers will now be able to sell "sensitive data" like web browsing history without obtaining explicit permission from the user.

2. For a fun read, check out The Arrival of Artificial Intelligence over at Stratechery. Author Ben Thompson gives a brief history of computing and helps to further define "artificial intelligence" and "machine learning". It's definitely worth checking out.

3. When it comes to my yoga practice, I consider myself to be an absolute beginner. While there was a time in my life when it was part of my daily routine, nowadays I am much more infrequent getting on the mat. I came across this ultimate guide to yoga for beginners article and found it inspiring and helpful, so I wanted to share it here. If you're interested in starting or deepening your own yoga practice, give it a read!

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 3.31.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Canada Is Going to Legalize Marijuana in 2018 (TIME)
• Marijuana Treated Like Alcohol? Legislation Filed In Senate and House (NORML)
• Johns Hopkins University Dropped Out of a Clinical Trial for Smoked Cannabis, and Veterans With PTSD Want to Know Why (Reason)
• Are You Overdosing on Cannabis? Preventing Negative Side Effects From Marijuana (Psychedelic Times)
• List of Major Cannabinoids in Cannabis and Their Effects (Leafly)
• Research Suggests Legal Cannabis Is Failing To Corrupt Youth (Forbes)
• First Amendment Victory Over Ban on Political Contributions from Medical Marijuana Businesses in Illinois (Reason)
• Colorado Has a Plan to Avoid a Marijuana Crackdown by President Trump (TIME)
• John Kasich Says Medical Marijuana Has No Place in Stopping Ohio's Opioid Crisis (TIME)
• Georgia lawmakers expand medical cannabis conditions, but still haven't legalized cultivation (The Cannabist)
• Illinois Considers Cannabis Legalization, Seeking Financial Boost (Leafly)
• Wisconsin City Removes Fines for Marijuana Possession and Consumption (NORML)
• Cannabis infused candy floss edibles now exist and they need to come to the UK (Metro)
• Chatting With Chef Dave Hadley: Chopped Winner and Cannabis Connoisseur (Leafly)
• Cannabis growing expo attracts international audience (Northern Nevada Business Weekly)
• Queensland Takes Lead as Australian Cannabis Stocks Soar (Leafly)
• Kansas City Voters to Weigh in on Decriminalization Measure – Yes on 5 (NORML)
• This Patient Was Denied a Kidney Transplant Over Medical Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Could cannabis crowns become Coachella's hot new floral headpiece? (Los Angeles Times)
• 'I gave my dying son cannabis to ease his cancer symptoms and he made a miracle recovery' reveals mum (Mirror)
• The DEA's Approval of This Drug Highlights Its Own Hypocrisy (ATTN:)
• How to Make DIY Cannabis-Infused Lube (Leafly)
• Trafficked and enslaved: the teenagers tending UK cannabis farms (The Guardian)

LSD

• Taking LSD 'could actually heal your brain' rather than just treating mental illness (Metro)
• The extraordinary story of the Welsh LSD ring that supplied 60% of global supply and was worth equivalent of half a billion pounds (Mirror)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• I Saw The Light: Reducing anxiety, stress, depression, more with shrooms (City Paper)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• For women, ecstasy could more easily become a nightmare (The Rival)
• MDMA spike in Tasmanian regional area could be linked to music festival, ACIC says (ABC Online)
• Darwin has highest levels of MDMA consumption according to analysis of waste water by Australian Crime Commission (The Mercury)
• Which capital city in Australia has the dodgiest MDMA? (Happy)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• The Toad of Dawn: 5-MeO-DMT and the Rise of Cosmic Consciousness by Dr Octavio Rettig Hinojosa (Psychedelic Press UK)
• An LGBTQ Guide to Ayahuasca Tourism In South America (Psychedelic Times)
• The Therapeutic Value of Ayahuasca (Reality Sandwich)
• New Business Fad: Tripping on Ayahuasca (The Daily Beast)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Can ibogaine treatment facilitate long-term recovery from addiction? (iBogaine-Thailand)

Morning Glory Seeds

• Why Chewing Morning Glory Seeds Gets You High (Inverse)

Dissociatives

• How Ketamine's Neurological Functions Make It a Promising Psychedelic for Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Times)
• Ketamine: A Club Drug That May Be the Future of Antidepressants (Big Think)
• Is ketamine use for depression safe? (ABC Online)
• Police: Man high on PCP strips naked, trashes Turkey Hill (WFMZ)
• Frederick man ran from officers, tossed jar of PCP, police say (The Frederick News-Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• The Fanged Fish That Drugs Its Enemies With Opioids (Wired)
• Seattle to let heroin addicts shoot up in first-ever government 'supervised injection facility' (The Blaze)
• Donald Trump's Opioid Commission Is Stacked With Prosecutors and 12-Steppers (Reason)
• Australia was waging a war on opium smuggling in early 1900s (Daily Telegraph)
• Who's Next? Perspectives on Fentanyl Poisoning and the Opioid Crisis (Reality Sandwich)
• Naloxone nasal spray possibly saves lives, but is hard to find (The Telegraph)
• Proposal Would Bill Naloxone Recipients for Drug Costs (Maine Public)
• Heroin Use Is Spiking Among White Americans (TIME)
• Fentanyl, the Opioid Crisis and Naloxone (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Educating Public on Naloxone Options Key to Dealing with Opioid Epidemic (Pharmacy Times)
• Parrots on high branches gorge on poppies feeding opium addiction (Daily Mail)

Absinthe

• I got drunk off of absinthe and didn't hallucinate. What gives? (ScienceLine)

Kratom

• How To Ease Kratom Withdrawal? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Fiji kava exporter calls for price regulation (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Miraa chewing causes serious mental problems, study reveals (The Standard)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• DEA Seized $4 Billion From People Since 2007. Most Were Never Charged with a Crime (Reason)
• The Future of Permanent Psychedelic Sanctuaries Beyond Festivals (Psychedelic Times)
• Bill Clinton Said He 'Didn't Inhale' 25 Years Ago—But the History of U.S. Presidents and Drugs Is Much Older (TIME)
• Detroit Police Department Blames Drug War for Shooting So Many Dogs (Reason)
• Efforts launched to legalize marijuana, heroin, cocaine, LSD and other drugs in Arizona (FOX 10)
• LAUGHING AND LEARNING ABOUT PSYCHEDELICS (Dope Magazine)
• Detroit Argues Dogs Killed in Drug Raid Were 'Contraband' Because They Were Unlicensed (Reason)
• Sad Legislation or SADDEST Legislation?: The Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act of 2017 (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.

Two-Year Blogiversary!

Image by Colin Knowles, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Today marks the Two-Year Blogiversary of Think Wilder. When I started this blog back in 2015, I had no idea how long I would stay interested enough in the project to keep cranking out regular posts, but at this point in time I can say that I'm as motivated as ever before and have some fun and exciting future things in the works!

Last year's One-Year Blogiversary came with a full 2.0 redesign, which improved on the visual aspects of the site's presentation and also made navigating through the site much easier. Today's post doesn't bring any site improvements, however I would like to make a formal promise that readers will see more featured posts (in other words, posts other than the regular This Week in Psychedelics and Weekend Thoughts columns) this year. I'm planning to dedicate more of my time to writing for the blog and coming up with some new additions as well.

To those of you reading this post, thank you for your continued support and staying along while I learn how to make this project even better! And as always, keep thinking wilder! 

Weekend Thoughts - 3.25.17

Image by Jason Cline, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. One of the major focuses in life right now is paying off all of my debts. So far, my girlfriend and I have saved up an emergency fund, paid off our credit cards and automobile, and all we have left is to pay off our student loans. Seeing the financial progress over the past several years has been very gratifying to me. I especially enjoyed this article describing Anthony Bourdain's financial freedom journey. He spent the majority of his life not paying attention to his finances—never having a savings account, ignoring AmEx and failing to file his taxes to the IRS. Bourdain turned everything around and is now in a much better position financially. Stories like these help keep me motivated, so I wanted to share them with the Think Wilder audience. If you're currently in debt, I'd consider checking out Dave Ramsey's advice.

2. This article concerning 10 "spiritual" things people do that are total bullshit was full of some great reminders for me as I continue navigating my own spiritual path. I remember a period in my life where I was considering using my "spirituality" as an excuse to not pay down my debts, which is listed as #2 in the article. I know that I've fallen prey (and been on the receiving end) of #4: "Judging others for expressing anger or other strong emotions, even when it's necessary to do so." I find that one to be tied to #6: "[Overemphasizing] 'positivity' in order to avoid looking at the problems in their lives and in the world." While the article gets somewhat repetitive, I did find it to be a good "check your spirituality" exercise, and would advise others to take a look!

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