Weekend Thoughts - 4.14.18

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

1. Another week, another update on Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress this week, apologizing and claiming that the company made a "big mistake". You can now click this link (while signed into your Facebook account) to see if your data was shared with the political consulting firm.

2. Ride-sharing app Uber purchased Jump, a dockless bike-sharing app. It's good to see that bike-sharing is becoming more and more common, because that means it'll be a whole lot easier to get around without needing to own a car or bike of your own.

3. Earlier this week, Apple announced that it is now powered by 100% renewable energy worldwide. That means the company's retail stores, offices, data centers, and more are powered by clean energy. It took a lot of investments in solar arrays, wind farms, and other energy storage technologies to get to this point, and I feel like Apple should be commended. Let's hope that other companies will follow suit—and soon.

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

Image by sasint, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.13.18

Cannabis

• Google and Facebook won’t advertise marijuana, even where it’s legal (The Cannabist)
• Former House Speaker John Boehner Is Now Working at a Marijuana Firm Advisory Board (TIME)
• “Salmonella Kratom” and “Rat Poison K2” are two more reasons to go ahead and legalize weed (The Outline)
• Legalised cannabis could help solve America's opioid crisis, studies suggest (The Independent)
• Senate Majority Leader Introduces Bi-Partisan Hemp Legalization Bill (NORML)
• The Ultimate Guide to Cannabinoids in Cannabis (High Times)
• Can You Get Contact High From Weed? (Real Stoned Times)
• Senate Hopeful Cynthia Nixon Says She Wants to Legalize Marijuana (TIME)
• Can Cannabis Help Prevent Domestic Violence? (High Times)
• The country that pioneered "wellness" is adopting cannabis as a cure (Quartz)
• Massachusetts Is The New Testbed for Cannabis Legalization (Forbes)
• Wine veteran hopes to elevate cannabis with wine and food pairings (San Francisco Chronicle)
• How To Treat Eczema With Cannabis (High Times)
• How to Host a Cannabis-Themed Game Night (Leafly)
• Major Coffee Chain Teaming Up With Cannabis Company (High Times)
• Cannabis rules in CA: Are some cities trying to regulate away Prop 64? (OCRegister)
• Cannabis Compound CBD May Offer Medical Marijuana Benefits Without The High (CBS New York)
• Psychiatrist Says Cannabis Should Be Banished From The Planet (High Times)
• Reader: Legal Cannabis Saved Me From Opioids! (Westword)
• 9 Things Cannabis Investors Should Know (Visual Capitalist)
• Why Canadian Cannabis Stocks Are On Sale (Forbes)
• Louisiana veterans advocate for medical cannabis (Leesville Daily Leader)
• How Archytas Ventures Helps Capital-Starved Cannabis Startups Get Equipment (Forbes)

LSD

• Scientists keep "discovering" things stoners already know (Quartz)
• LSD causes congenitally blind man to experience synesthesia-like hallucinations (PsyPost)
• LSD Cured My Eating Disorder (Psymposia)
• Deputies: Babysitter on LSD refuses to leave home, tries to steal toys (The Independent Florida Alligator)
• LSD making comeback as professionals drop ACID before work (Daily Star)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Multi Species Psilocybin Mushroom Dosage Calculator (Psychedelics Daily)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• An analysis of the most common ecstasy pills in the US by name and color (Mixmag)
• Teenager took so many Ecstasy pills at festival his lungs collapsed (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Two Montreal Religious Groups Can Now Legally Import Ayahuasca (VICE)
• Message From Santo Daime Dutch Churches in Response to the Verdict That Makes Santo Daime Illegal in the Netherlands (Chacruna)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• New Research Study Will Look at the Efficacy of Treating Alcoholism with Ibogaine (Psychedelic Times)
• Americans turning to an illegal treatment for heroin addiction (BBC News)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Fake Marijuana Likely Laced With Rat Poison Has Killed 3 People and Sickened More Than 100 (TIME)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Shows Promise For Depression Treatment (The Fix)
• Ketamine Effective as Maintenance Treatment for Anxiety (Psych Congress Network)
• Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter Recorded Boyfriend High on PCP Before Stabbing Her to Death (PopCulture.com)
• Pierce County deputies say man was high on PCP during armed confrontation (Q13 FOX)
• Stamford woman booked for driving high on PCP (The Stamford Advocate)

Opiates/Opioids

• Surgeon General Advises Greater Use of Naloxone to Help Save Lives (Reason)
• Naloxone Stops Opioid Overdoses. How Do You Use It? (The New York Times)
• How to Get Naloxone (Tonic)
• One Woman Got Facebook to Police Opioid Sales On Instagram (WIRED)
• Scotland gathers evidence from Australia on safe drug rooms (The Herald)
• Trump Is Freaking Out About the Wrong Border: Killer Fentanyl Is Coming From Canada (The Daily Beast)
• Notre Dame researchers say they found link between rising heroin deaths and OxyContin (WSBT)
• Study: Despite decline in prescriptions, opioid deaths skyrocketing due to heroin and synthetic drugs (The Washington Post)
• Former Mexican President Fox calls for opium poppy legalization (Reuters)
• Overdose Deaths Dropping, But Narcan Costs Rising (Firehouse)
• Carrying Naloxone While Black: When Saving a Life Could Cost Me My Own (Philadelphia Magazine)
• Narcan in Every Medicine Cabinet: Will Increasing Naloxone Access Save Lives? (The Fix)
• Maine Lawmakers OK Plan to Lower Age for Naloxone Access (U.S. News & World Report)
• Naloxone Saves Lives, But Does It Also Enable Opioid Addiction? (WCPO)
• Overdose Deaths Are the Product of Drug Prohibition (Reason)
• As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom (The Washington Post)

Kratom

• A mysterious 'supplement' with a viral following has been linked to salmonella — and the outbreak is still spreading (Business Insider)
• FDA Warns of Dangers to Kratom Consumers (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Is Kratom as Dangerous as the FDA Claims? It's Hard to Tell (MedShadow)
• Kratom And Salmonella: AKA Advises All Kratom Vendors To Act Responsibly And Be Transparent (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom Recall in Colorado Could Lead to More Product Seizures (Westword)
• Reader: Keep kratom from FDA overreach (Colorado Springs Independent)

Kava

• Kava plants worth $10000 stolen (Matangi Tonga)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit (The New York Times)
• Australia missing psychedelic drug 'renaissance' for mental health (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Trump Administration Is Considering Allowing Mandatory Drug Testing for Food Stamp Recipients (TIME)
• Sewage Study Reveals That Americans Took Way More Drugs During Two Major Events In 2017 (IFLScience)
• Albuquerque New Mexico to End the City's Asset Forfeiture Program (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Awakening into Psychedelic Spirituality: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• The FBI Has Announced a $20 Million Reward for a Fugitive Mexican Drug Lord (TIME)
• Healing with Movement, Psychedelics and Breathwork: Interview with Samuel Lee, MD (Psychedelic Times)
• Our Ancestors Got High, Too (Discover Magazine)
• Psychedelic drugs could be the answer to mental illness: study (Starts at 60)

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.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Blast Off with Psychedelic Astronaut

One of my friends and fellow psychonauts has created a website to showcase his awesome original psychedelic art and share a bit of his life story through his blog. The website features a psychedelic directory that you can use to quickly find out about the various people, places, and things in the psychedelic world. And he re-blogs excellent trippy psychedelic content that he finds on a daily basis. I encourage you to check out the new site at Psychedelic Astronaut!

Image provided by Psychedelic Astronaut.

Use This Calculator to Determine the Proper Dosage for Several Species of Psilocybin Mushrooms

Psychedelics Daily has created a multi-species psilocybin mushroom dosage calculator that can be used to determine the proper dosage for various species of psilocybin mushrooms.

This is helpful because potency can vary widely from one species to another. However, since the potency can also vary across even a single species depending on growing conditions, moisture content, feeding material, and other variables, this calculator is an approximation.

The calculator also includes guides on preparing microdoses of magic mushrooms, things to know about psilocybin mushrooms, and information about how they might be the cure for migraines. I encourage you to check out this resource and share it with the psychonauts you know.

Image by fractal_ken, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

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Weekend Thoughts - 4.7.18

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

1. Remember two weeks ago when the news about Facebook's latest scandal broke? At that time, we thought there were only 50 million Facebook profiles that were affected. Now the latest update is that Cambridge Analytica actually accessed up to 87 million users' data. I'm with Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber on this one—the actual number is probably a lot more than 87 million, and Facebook will probably announce a larger number in the near future. This is known as the "Drip-Drip-Drip" PR strategy, and it allows the company involved to break the news about a scandal with a low number and then increase it after the buzz has died down. A sneaky tactic to be sure, but effective nonetheless.

2. Fans of the front page of the Internet have something to look forward to, as Reddit is getting a major redesign soon. I'm not sure that this will get me to use the site any more than I did previously (which was essentially no use at all), but it's still welcome news.

3. A rumor started going around this week claiming that Apple is going to quit using Intel processors in its Mac lineup, instead opting to manufacture its own chips in-house. I'm interested to see how that plays out—while Apple has been extremely successful with its homemade mobile processors, the desktop processor game is a totally new and uncharted territory for the company.

4. Probably the biggest news this week was that a YouTuber who was frustrated by the company's censorship practices went and shot up YouTube's headquarters in California. She was a vegan and animal rights activist who had a very strange and disturbing YouTube channel. After shooting a few people in the office, she ended up killing herself. It's a really bizarre and tragic story, but on the bright side—at least no YouTube employees were killed.

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

Image by troubletrace_ux, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.