This Week in Psychedelics - 3.9.18

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Marijuana for Moms (The Atlantic)
• Study: Cannabis Effective At Treating Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia (NORML)
• Cannabis Activism Group Selling 'Jeff Sessions' Rolling Papers (High Times)
• Former Congressional Aide Convicted of Taking Cannabis Bribe (Leafly)
• New studies show that legal cannabis access reduces opioid abuse (The Hill)
• The Beginner's Guide to Cannabis Lingo (Lifehacker)
• Home Pot Delivery Is Cool, but California's Taxes and Regulations Are Still Onerous (Reason)
• Cannabis and Schizophrenia: Do THC and CBD Affect It Differently? (Leafly)
• How Cannabis Entrepreneurs Feel About Sessions' Reversal Of The Cole Memo (Forbes)
• This Country Bans Cannabis While Exporting The Most In The World (High Times)
• California: Sonoma County District Attorney To Vacate Thousands Of Past Marijuana Convictions (NORML)
• Israeli medical cannabis company announces record $110 million deal (The Times of Israel)
• Michigan: Voter Support Grows For Proposed Adult Use Initiative (NORML)
• How does resolving cannabis problems differ from problems with alcohol or other drugs? (Science Daily)
• Part 2, Is Cannabis Legal in New York City? Well... it's Complicated (Leafly)
• Female Cannabis Users Fear Judgement From Others (Green Market Report)
• UK world's largest producer of legal cannabis, finds UN body (The Independent)
• Raid at 'Cannabis Church' Prompts Lawsuit (NBC)
• Cannabis Producer Canopy Bids for Spain's Alcaliber (Bloomberg)
• When It Comes to Pot, Pain, and Cancer, Jeff Sessions Is An Idiot (Reason)
• Better Marijuana Stock: Aurora Cannabis vs. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The Motley Fool)
• Driving and Cannabis Hit the Skids (SF Weekly)
• 10 Things You Should Know About Aurora Cannabis (The Motley Fool)

LSD

• LSD Can Treat Mental Disorders By 'Harmonizing' The Brain (Newsweek)
• LSD alters the neural response to music in a number of brain regions, study finds (PsyPost)
• Tripping on LSD Really Is Like Lucid Dreaming (Live Science)
• Deepak Chopra has tried LSD and pot (Page Six)
• Politics and LSD On the Brain (The Georgetown Voice)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Denver May Get To Vote On Whether To Make Magic Mushrooms Legal (Colorado Public Radio)
• Advocacy groups fight for your right to do magic mushrooms (Salon)
• Stand-Up Comedy on Shrooms (OZY)
• Scientists have uncovered an amazing mystery of hallucinogenic mushrooms (The Bobr Times)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• MAPS Researchers Explore the Potential for Psychedelic Drugs to Treat PTSD (The Runner)
• MDMDA Research Group Now Accepts Monero (XMR) Donations (The Market Mogul)
• Study says Amsterdam's wastewater has highest ecstasy concentration in Europe (Dancing Astronaut)
• Warnings have been made about blue 'Punisher' ecstasy pills (Mixmag)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Scientists Gave Monkeys Ayahuasca and It Helped Their Depression (Discover Magazine)
• Four weekly ayahuasca sessions lead to increases in "acceptance" capacities: a comparison study with a standard 8-week mindfulness training program (Frontiers)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Costa Rica Warns of New Drug Used in Concerts (Prensa Latina)

Dissociatives

• Getting the Inside Dope on Ketamine's Mysterious Ability to Rapidly Relieve Depression (Scientific American)
• Ketamine Infusion May Be Effective for the Short-Term Relief of CRPS-Associated Pain (Clinical Pain Advisor)

Opiates/Opioids

• FDA Chief Wants to Increase Package Inspection to Combat Opioid Crisis (TIME)
• Medical Examiner Exchanged Opioids for Sexual Favors, Prosecutors Say (TIME)
• Trump wants to end the opioid crisis. But what if he is himself its prime symptom? (Spectator)
• The 'moral hazard' of naloxone in the opioid crisis (The Washington Post)
• A New Study Says Naloxone Might Cause More Opioid Deaths. I'm Skeptical. (Mother Jones)
• Are We Reviving Too Many Opioid Overdoses? Is This Really a Question? (Slate)
• Childhood Opioid Overdoses Nearly Doubled in Last 10 Years (TIME)
• The New Opium War (The Signal)
• 'Heroin(e)': The Women Fighting Addiction In Appalachia (NPR)
• Opioid addicts are turning to a clinic in Mexico to break their addiction, but there's a catch. The treatment is illegal in the US. (PRI)
• Record Afghan Opium Crop Signals Violent Year for U.S. Forces (Consortium News)
• Florida Lobbyist Says There's No Data on Opioid Trafficking Laws. There Is. Reason Published It. (Reason)
• Are We Finally Doing Something About the Opioid Crisis? (Disinfo)

Absinthe

• It's National Absinthe Day! Here's How to Enjoy the Potent Green Drink (Parade)
• Absinthe is having a moment in Baltimore. Here's what to know about the mythical green spirit (The Baltimore Sun)
• Dancing With the Green Fairy: 4 Absinthes to Try Right Now (The Manual)

Kratom

• Salmonella Found In Kratom Samples As Multi-State Outbreak Expands (Forbes)
• Kratom: Why Did the FDA Declare the Herbal Supplement an Opiate? (Rolling Stone)
• Nine Leading Scientists Support The Safe Use Of Kratom In The US (Kratom Guides)
• Four Leading Kratom Researchers Urge FDA To Focus On Science Rather Than Rhetoric (PR Newswire)
• Wash. State Health Dept. Says Do NOT Consume Kratom (Sky Valley Chronicle)
• Kratom For Stress Relief (Reports Healthcare)
• Why the Asian Herb Kratom is all over the news? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Flavoured kava for NZ market (The Fiji Times)

Khat

• Khat consumption induced chronic liver disease; is it all autoimmune? (MedCrave)
• Kwale bans sale and consumption of miraa (Citizen TV)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Just One Psychedelic Drug Trip Can Cause Changes In Personality That Could Last Years (Newsweek)
• The Eleusinian Psychedelic Psychedelic Rebirth Rites of Ancient Greece are Making a Comeback (Ancient Origins)
• Mother Nurture: Female Shaman Defines Girl Power in Male-Dominated Culture (Pulitzer Center)
• Report: Imprisoning Drug Users Doesn't Stop Drug Use or Prevent Overdoses (Reason)
• The changing political realities of drug policy (Drug WarRant)
• Benzo Conversion Tool Updates and Discussion (TripSit)
• Unifying Theories of Psychedelic Drug Effects (Frontiers)
• Have a Safe Trip: The Zendo Project Guides Festivalgoers Through Bad Drug Experiences (Dope Magazine)
• Hundreds of drug-fuelled soldiers facing the boot after testing positive for cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in just four months (Mirror)
• Zig Zag Zen: An Interview with Author Allan Badiner (Psychedelic Frontier)
• Oslo is among Europe's worst for drug use (The Nordic Page)

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.

Breathing Meditation - An Introduction

Image by 4144132, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This is the third post in a series featuring helpful meditation techniques. The first post focused on introducing mantras and the second post covered compassion meditation.

In previous blog posts about meditation I have discussed the benefits I have experienced by committing to a regular meditation practice, and introductions to mantras and the concept of compassion meditation. Another technique that can be used while meditating is to focus on the breath. In this article I will introduce the concept of breathing meditation and explore some simple ways to incorporate it into your own meditation practice.

What is Breathing Meditation?

In almost all forms of meditation, there is an object of focus. (There is one meditation approach that some call "do-nothing meditation" that involves letting go of any particular focus and instead allowing thoughts to come and go on their own—all while being fully aware of what is happening.) The other meditation techniques that I have introduced have involved mantras and compassion as the focus objects, and breathing meditation places its focus on the breath. There are various ways to focus on one's breath and this technique can yield many positive effects for the practitioner.

How Can Breathing Meditation Help?

There are several benefits that you may experience when practicing breathing meditation. To start with, focusing on the breath can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. If you struggle with any or all of these things, think about how great it would be to go through life with a sense of inner peace and a calm mind—believe it or not, that's actually achievable by sticking to a consistent meditation practice. If you're liable to lose your cool when you get frustrated, you may want to give breathing meditation a try. It can help you let things go and regain composure when tempers flare. Breathing meditation can also sharpen concentration skills, because part of the practice involves maintaining focus on one thing at a time. And these benefits don't just happen while you're on the yoga mat—practicing mindful breathing during a meditation session can actually help you cultivate mindfulness in everyday life situations as well. Focusing on something for an extended period of time can even affect your thought process. After some experience practicing breathing meditation, you may notice that your mind is less distracted by wandering thoughts. All of these benefits can lead you to live a more enjoyable life.

How to Practice Breathing Meditation

First things first, you should find a quiet, serene space in which to meditate. In order to reduce the potential for distraction, there should not be any loud noises or off-putting odors in the space. Indoor spaces do tend to have less distracting sounds, however you can always head outside if you prefer to enjoy the fresh air. Just make sure that there are not any cars or people nearby.

It's incredibly important to get as comfortable as possible at the beginning of your meditation. It really doesn't matter if you are sitting in lotus position, walking in a garden, or lying down on the couch—making sure you are comfortable in whatever position you choose for your meditation session will have a lot of influence over your experience.

Once you settle into a position, try to notice and relax your body. Begin to tune into your breath. Simply focus your attention on your breath, noting each inhale and exhale. If your mind starts to wander, that is completely fine. Distracted or uncontrolled thoughts are normal to experience, so you should not beat yourself up. Instead, gently redirect your attention back to the breathing when your mind has drifted a bit.

If you are trying to calm yourself when you are stressed, it may help to take an exaggerated, slow breath. Deeply inhale through your nostrils for several seconds, hold your breath for a few seconds, and exhale through your mouth for longer than you did when inhaling.

Another type of breathing meditation is known as pranayama, also known as the nine round breathing technique. To perform this technique, cover the left nostril and breathe in and out through the right nostril for three full breaths, including both the inhalations and exhalations. Then cover the right nostril and breathe through the left nostril for three full breaths. Finally, breathe through both nostrils for three more full breaths. At this point, you can continue your breathing meditation with other techniques.

You may begin to notice that when one breath ends, the next breath begins. Try to observe each breath without trying to change it. If you feel like you are manually controlling your breath, you can try focusing on the sensation in your nostrils or the rise and fall of your chest.

One sure-fire method you can use to focus on the breath is counting. Count one on the inhale, two on the exhale, three on the inhale, and so on up to ten. Then start back over at one. This method can help even the most distracted meditator focus on her breath.

Breathing meditation can be done its own or as a preliminary practice that helps calm the mind in preparation for more difficult meditation techniques such as reciting mantras or practicing compassion.

Conclusion

Breathing meditation is one of the easiest and most effective meditation techniques available. Focusing on the breath can help calm your mind and reduce stress and anxiety. If you're a bit of a hothead, this technique might help cool you down when your buttons are pushed. And it may help improve your concentration. No matter who you are or how much meditation experience you have, everyone has a breath that they can focus on. Breathing meditation is a simple practice that can produce excellent results. I encourage you to give it a try.

Namaste.

Weekend Thoughts - 3.3.18

Image by Marisa04, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. Car ownership is expected to plummet in the coming decades. In fact, the amount of young Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 who hold a driver's license has already dropped from 76 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in 2013. And that trend does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Assuming that this decline continues, the ride-hailing business is poised to expand past Uber and Lyft. New services headed up by companies like Bosch, Sony, and Avis are getting involved in this industry. I'm excited that more ride-hailing services seem to be on the horizon because more competition in this area could end up being better for consumers.

2. In the ever-evolving technology space, security is becoming increasingly more important. Major US cell phone carriers are hard at work on a new open mobile authentication standard. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon say that they have a solution that could roll out later this year that will replace the flawed two-factor authentication protocol that is currently in use. Currently known as multi-factor mobile authentication, this method will provide better security than the existing two-factor type. If it ends up working as well as these carriers are claiming, we will all benefit.

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 3.2.18

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Maine: Lawmakers Push To Rewrite 2016 Voter-Approved Marijuana Law (NORML)
• UK Parliament Members Blame Own Party for Blocking Medical Cannabis Vote (Leafly)
• Acclaimed Illustrator Reveals the Secrets of Great Cannabis Packaging (Leafly)
• Marijuana man makes $1 million a year running a 'bud and breakfast' hotel (The Sun)
• Tech behind cryptocurrency unites with cannabis (New York Post)
• This UK Cafe Is Selling Cannabis-Infused Treats (High Times)
• In Hollywood, Cannabis Is Part of the Creative Process (Leafly)
• Why It's So Hard to Dose Weed (Wired)
• Colorado Is Finally Getting Its First Cannabis Club (Forbes)
• Missouri: Medical Marijuana Initiative Effort Reaches Signature Milestone (NORML)
• Ex-FBI official hoping to blaze a path to Congress as 'cannabis candidate' (CNN)
• Racial Disparities Persist Among NYC Marijuana Possession Arrestees (NORML)
• Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Marijuana's Schedule I Prohibited Status (NORML)
• Most UK cannabis 'super strength skunk' (BBC)
• Cannabis Access Consistently Linked With Lower Opioid Use: Studies (NORML)
• Will Hawaiians Who Use Medical Pot Lose Their Right to Own a Gun? (Reason)
• Anti-Pot Group Releases Scathing Report Card on Commercial Cannabis (Westword)
• Tribes Cut out of California Cannabis Market Might Grow Their Own (Leafly)
• Legal Cannabis Industry Poised For Big Growth, In North America And Around The World (Forbes)
• Cannabis 101: The science behind your high (The Weekender)
• Ebony Costain Is Changing The Way You Buy Cannabis (Forbes)
• What We Can Learn from the Man Who Ate Cannabis and Had a Meltdown High Above the Pacific Ocean (The Stranger)
• Better Marijuana Stock: Aurora Cannabis vs. Cronos Group (The Motley Fool)
• Molson Coors 13F: Legalized Marijuana May Hurt Our Beer Sales (Investopedia)

LSD

• LSD Study Reveals Unprecedented 'Harmonic' Reorganization of Brain (Inverse)
• The Beckley Foundation Intends To Study Links Between Microdosing LSD And Creativity (Forbes)
• Prof. David Nutt: 'It's irrational to deny people access to LSD' (Radio New Zealand)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Study: Mushrooms became hallucinogenic to keep away insects (UPI)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Using MDMA to Treat Eating Disorders (Psychedelic Times)
• Ecstasy, party drug of '90s, makes a roaring comeback (Clarion Ledger)
• Assumed dodgy ecstasy batch reason thirteen people hospitalised in Christchurch (Newshub)
• MDMA warning after six children taken to hospital in Scotland (The Independent)
• Model died after 'overdosing on MDMA and ketamine' at music festival (Metro)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Federal lawsuit forces Oklahoma City airport security to modify their handling of Native American objects (NewsOK)
• A Peyote Tipi Ceremony with Puyallup Tribal Leader Ramona Bennett (The Stranger)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• How the Shamanic Medicine Iboga can Resolve and Heal Childhood Trauma (Reality Sandwich)
• Maryland Lawmakers Consider Using Ibogaine To Treat Addiction (CBS Baltimore)

Dissociatives

• Additional Review of Ketamine as Fast Acting Antidepressant is Promising (PsychCentral)
• Ketamine Now Being Used in Los Angeles clinic to treat Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) (PRWeb)
• Hartford Police: Man Set Fire To House After Family Confronted Him About PCP Use (Hartford Courant)

Opiates/Opioids

• Inside the secret lives of functioning heroin addicts (CNN)
• How America Can Win the Drug War in Afghanistan (The National Interest)

Kratom

• FDA oversees destruction and recall of kratom products (The National Law Review)
• Kratom, Marijuana Can Help People Kick Opiates, Addiction Expert Says (Westword)
• Kratom Likely Source For Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak, CDC Says (The Fix)
• Why Kratom Shouldn't Be Swept Up in the Opioid Crackdown (The Crime Report)
• FDA raises death count from kratom, a natural opioid (CBS News)

Kava

• Kava Kava: An Ancient Herb For Stress And Anxiety (Reports Healthcare)
• Alternative to alcohol: Michigan's first Kava Bar in Grand Rapids (The Rapidian)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• President Trump Suggests Executing Drug Dealers (TIME)
• Getting High with the Most High: Drugs in the Bible (Ancient Origins)
• Bitcoin Mega-Philanthropist 'Pineapple' Talks About Psychedelic Research (Forbes)
• Neuroendocrine Associations Underlying the Persistent Therapeutic Effects of Classic Serotonergic Psychedelics (Frontiers)
• The Untapped Potential of Psychedelics in Mental Health Treatment (Conatus News)
• A Single Psychedelic Drug Trip Can Change Your Personality for Years (Live Science)
• Are psychedelic drugs about to become the new prozac? (Well+Good)
• Long-Term Effects Of Psychotropic Drugs Are 'Cloaked In Mystery' (NPR)
• Cocaine, LSD and Ketamine: They Reveal Drug Network in the US Navy (Maritime Herald)

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 - 2.24.18

Image by suketdedhia, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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

1. A new 3d-printed smartphone microscope attachment will be able to examine samples as small as 1/200th of a millimeter. That's plenty accurate for scientists to conduct research. And as a bonus, the device does not require external light or power sources and can be made by anyone with access to a 3d printer, since the development team is sharing the 3d printing files publicly. This type of innovation is exciting because it will enable more scientific research to be conducted, which will further help us understand our world.

2. Bike-sharing is back again this week with a thinkpiece from Wired that explores the possibility that bike-sharing will become more competitive with car-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. According to research in other parts of the world, electric bikes can disrupt other travel modes (like public transit, taxi, and ridesharing) because they are easy to use, have the benefit of additional power, and are capable of traveling from point A to point B without reaching as much congestion or experiencing multiple transit transfers. Only time will tell if this proves true in America, the land of the automobile. But here's hoping...

3. Although Amazon opened its first automated grocery store a year late, the company plans to open as many as six more cashierless Amazon Go smartstores later this year. Although the specific locations have not been announced yet, they are expected to show up in Seattle and Los Angeles.

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