This Week in Psychedelics - 11.2.18

Cannabis

• Mexican Supreme Court Strikes Down Marijuana Prohibition (Marijuana Moment)

• Thailand Mulling Becoming the First Country in Asia to Legalize Medical Marijuana (TIME)

• NORML Submits 10,000+ Written Comments to the FDA for the Reconsideration of International Marijuana Prohibition (NORML)

• Blood-Sucking Flies Love Marijuana, New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Legal Marijuana Helps Reduce Opioid Harms, Two More New Studies Reveal (Marijuana Moment)

• 4 More States Could Legalize Medical or Recreational Marijuana Next Week (Reason)

• Marijuana In The Governor's Mansion: Record Number Of Candidates Say Legalize It (Forbes)

• Coca-Cola CEO says company has no plans for cannabis drinks (CNN)

• Vancouver, Canada’s Marijuana Capital, Struggles to Tame the Black Market (The New York Times)

• Medical cannabis products available on prescription (BBC)

• New Study Shows How Opinions On Marijuana Shift Based On Who Endorses It (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis oil: Why it could really be the miracle sleep saver (The Telegraph)

• Australia’s cannabis industry set to boom: report (news.com.au)

• Kansas Finally Admits It's Okay to Put Hemp in Beer (Reason)

• Young Advocates Launch Marijuana Legalization Phone Bank To Get Out The Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Pot never should have been illegal in the first place (USA Today)

• Paul Ryan Touts The Benefits Of A Marijuana Ingredient And Industrial Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• Quitting cannabis could lead to better memory and cognition (The Guardian)

• Utah Medical Marijuana Campaign Funding Mainly Slows Down Following Compromise Deal (Marijuana Moment)

• Everything you need to know about CBD, the cannabis elixir that doesn’t get you high (MarketWatch)

• Mother says cannabis oil has been saviour for epileptic son Alfie (The Guardian)

• Advocacy Groups Push Colorado To Make Legal Marijuana Market More Equitable (Marijuana Moment)

• With pot legalized, job openings surge in Canada’s cannabis industry (The Washington Post)

• Marijuana Campaign Ads Are Flooding Airwaves Ahead Of The Election (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Yale scientists have new insight on how LSD works in the brain (Quartz)

• U of A student who stabbed 19-year-old to death while on LSD wins shorter sentence on appeal (Edmonton Journal)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Study Shows Beneficial Effects of Microdosing "Trip Truffles" (Inverse)

• Is Medicalization the Only Way to Legalize Psilocybin and Ibogaine? (Chacruna)

• Shroom for improvement: FDA lists psychedelic drugs as ‘breakthrough therapy’ for depression (RT)

• These folks used to raise money for the planet, now psychedelic mushrooms (Rooster Magazine)

• A handful of psychedelic "Atlantis" mushrooms in Amsterdam (Boing Boing)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• MDMA-Assisted Therapy For PTSD Edges Closer To FDA Approval After Largest-Ever Trial (IFLScience)

• DJ David Morales released without charge after ecstasy arrest at Japanese airport (The Sun)

• Mum recalls heartbreaking moment daughter, 15, died after taking ‘dark web’ MDMA pill (The Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• DMT Is the Drug for Our Collective Crisis of Meaning (Medium)

• Ayahuasca For the First Time at 64 Years Old: Interview with Rhea Consalvo (Psychedelic Times)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine trial suspended following concerns around informed consent (Outsourcing-Pharma.com)

Opiates/Opioids

• Opioid Antidote Can Save Lives, But Deciding When To Use It Can Be Challenging (NPR)

• Poppy farmers seek comprehensive solution to illicit drug problem (Myanmar Times)

• Can you grow opium poppies in New Zealand? (Stuff.co.nz)

• Giant heroin spoon left outside Massachusetts Statehouse (StarTribune)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• What Psychedelic Research Can and Cannot Tell Us about Consciousness (Scientific American)

• The fix is worse than the problem: A reply to psychedelic researchers (Metaphysical Speculations)

• Why did shamanism evolve in societies all around the globe? (Aeon)

• Portugal’s drug policy shows what common-sense approach looks like (San Francisco Chronicle)

• psychedelic.support creates a network for psychedelic therapists (Psymposia)

• The Ideal Society In Terms Of Psychoactive Substances (Maps Of The Mind)

• Psychedelics and Witchcraft — The Truth About Hallucinogenic “Hexing Herbs” (Psychedelic Frontier)

• “Zombies” and Rotting Flesh: The Media Just Loves Halloween-y Depictions of People Who Use Drugs (Filter)

• DEA Says Meth Use Has Never Been Higher; Survey Data Say Otherwise (Reason)

• Horizons: The Psychedelic Conference Where Old Meets New (The Third Wave)

• It’s Time for the Psychedelic Renaissance to Join the Harm Reduction Movement (Chacruna)

• Global Drug Survey 2019: Kiwis urged to get frank about their drug use (Stuff.co.nz)

• Wave of Burning Man-Related Drug Arrests Won't Go to Trial (Reason)

• 5-Year-Old Has Meth Poisoning After Trick-or-Treating. It Probably Wasn't the Halloween Candy. (Reason)

• Evidence is mounting that psychedelic drugs can help treat diseases. Here are the most promising uses (Pulse)

• Drugs: Perspectives in Social Sciences (Chacruna)

• Setting the record straight with Robin Carhart-Harris and Enzo Tagliazucchi (Metaphysical Speculations)

• Further Response to the Psychedelic Neuroimaging Researchers (Metaphysical Speculations)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 10.26.18

Cannabis

• Canada Nearly Runs Out of Weed After Legalization (Fortune)

• Mexican Government Officials Visit Canada To Learn About Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• New Gallup Poll Finds 66 Percent Of Americans Want Marijuana Legal (NORML)

• Facebook Opens Its Doors To Cannabis Entrepreneurs (Forbes)

• Cannabis oil improves Crohn's disease symptoms: study (CTV News)

• Liverwort could prove to be more medically effective than cannabis, research suggests (Science Daily)

• People With Marijuana Convictions Should Know About National Expungement Week (Marijuana Moment)

• How Cannabis Prohibition Has Made Marijuana More Dangerous (Forbes)

• When Will Marijuana Finally Be Legalized Nationwide? Researchers Have A Forecast (Marijuana Moment)

• NEW POLL: Majority of North Dakotans Ready to Say YES to Legalization (NORML)

• Police warning: Korean weed smokers in Canada to face criminal charge (The Korea Times)

• Utah State Senator Tries Marijuana on Camera to Show Why State Should Support Legalization (TIME)

• New York Bill Would Require Medical Marijuana Be Covered By Public Health Insurance (Marijuana Moment)

• Is the Word ‘Marijuana’ Racist? (Reason)

• Three New Studies Reveal How Legal Marijuana Can Help Curb Opioids (Marijuana Moment)

• No Labels: Cannabis Branding Is No-Go In Canada (Forbes)

• Anti-Marijuana Group Wants ‘Mandatory Assessment’ For Consumers (Marijuana Moment)

• Chris Christie Finally Recognizes Marijuana Legalization As States’ Rights Issue (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Wasted $21,000 to Jail a Man for 15 Months Over $10 of Cannabis (Civilized)

• New York Liquor Stores Want To Sell Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• 'Weed the People’ Explores Medical Marijuana for Kids With Cancer (TIME)

• Marijuana Questions Will Drive Wisconsin Voters To The Polls In November, Survey Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• One of the largest cannabis companies is going public on the New York Stock Exchange (Business Insider)

• John Boehner Is Now Selling Marijuana Stock Tips (Marijuana Moment)

• Washington Still Doesn’t Know What Good Marijuana Is (Or How To Test For It) (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Bradenton man had bad reaction to LSD, fatally stabs victim, deputies say (Fox 13 News)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• COMPASS Pathways Receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Psilocybin Therapy for Treatment-resistant Depression (PR Newswire)

• Statement on MycoMeditations (Psychedelics Today)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• The teenagers killed after taking MDMA ecstasy drugs in Devon and Cornwall (Cornwall Live)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• A Film About Ayahuasca and PTSD Makes History in the US (PR Newswire)

• Susan G. Komen President Achieves Total Breast Cancer Awareness During 3-Day Ayahuasca Retreat (The Onion)

Dissociatives

• Form of ketamine could soon be licensed for treatment-resistant depression (Pulse)

Opiates/Opioids

• FDA Meeting Aims to Increase Availability of Naloxone for Reducing Opioid Overdose Deaths (Pharmacy Times)

• First ever state-funded heroin injection centre will cater for 60 addicts a day (Irish Examiner)

• Chicago Hospitals Send Opioid Patients Home with Naloxone (Bloomberg Law)

Kratom

• Can You Smoke Kratom Powder? What Are The Possible Effects? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Harry and Meghan: Duke sips kava drink as royals land in Fiji (BBC)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Are Legal Psychedelic Therapies Next for Canada? (High Times)

• 'War On Drugs' Has Been a 'Spectacular' Failure, Leading to Thousands of Murders and Human Rights Abuses, Report Says (Newsweek)

• Free Water and Drug Education at Music Festivals Now Sanctioned by Department of Justice (Psychedelic Times)

• Finally, there’s a group giving grants to students researching psychedelics (Psymposia)

• It’s time to debunk prohibitionist narratives and calls for monopolies within psychedelic science (Psymposia)

• Drug Overdose Deaths Have Fallen Over the Last Year, Data Shows (TIME)

• Candidates Oppose Safe Injection Sites to Get an Edge Over the Other (Reason)

• A brief history of American drug panics (The Spectator)

• Why India's narco cops are finding it hard to crackdown on the new-age drug dealer (The News Minute)

• Interview with French Psychedelic Society Founder Vincent Verroust (Psychedelic Times)

• Kacey Musgraves Reveals Which Song She Wrote Under the Influence of Psychedelics (Pop Culture)

• Psych Congress Opens With Deep Dive Into Psychedelics (Psych Congress Network)

• Op-Ed: Microdosing psychedelics — Cure for hacks, hype, or what? (Digital Journal)

• The woman who says psychedelic 'medicine' cured her PTSD (Radio New Zealand)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics 10.26.18 Will Be Delayed

This week’s TWIP column will be a bit delayed, as I’m going to be taking a short break from blogging for a few days. In fact, I am hitting the road tomorrow and heading to northern Florida for this year’s Hulaween music festival. This will be my third consecutive year attending the festival, and I’m super stoked to kick back, relax, and enjoy some awesome music and mindbending light shows for a few days.

If you happen to be also going to Hulaween, contact me and we can meet up!

I’ll be back early next week and should have the 10.26.18 TWIP out by Halloween. Thanks for your patience. 👻🎃👽

Image by kpr2, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 10.19.18

Cannabis

• Canada becomes second country to legalise recreational marijuana (BBC)

• Congressman Issues ‘Blueprint To Legalize Marijuana’ For Democratic House In 2019 (Forbes)

• Democrats And Republicans Clash Over Which Party Will Lead On Marijuana In 2019 (Marijuana Moment)

• Still More Evidence That All Weed Is the Same (Motherboard)

• Marijuana Research Is Exploding In The Age Of Legalization, New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• As Canada Legalizes Marijuana, It Moves to Pardon Pot Possession (TIME)

• Cannabis May Be Worse for Teen Brains Than Alcohol (Healthline)

• Thousands Respond To FDA’s Marijuana Rescheduling Comment Request (Marijuana Moment)

• Canada Has Legalized Marijuana. Here's What That Means For American Travelers (TIME)

• Marijuana and the midterms (The Hill)

• Cannabis Legalization in Canada Is a Giant, Imperfect Leap Forward (Filter)

• High-end marijuana retailer MedMen just spent $682 million on the largest US cannabis acquisition in history (Business Insider)

• DECRIM, an Inference from a Year of Data in Atlanta – Most Cops Don’t Care (NORML)

• CEO Predicts Cannabis Industry Can Bank Legally By Christmas (Forbes)

• Cannabis health products are everywhere – but do they live up to the hype? (The Guardian)

• Doctors Who Use Weed Off-Duty Are Getting Their Licenses Suspended (Tonic)

• Why Big Tobacco Entering The Cannabis Space Makes Sense (Forbes)

• Trump Administration Has Calm Response To Canadian Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Review: Thousands Of Peer-Reviewed Studies Specific To Medical Cannabis Have Been Published Over Past Decade (NORML)

• Legalizing cannabis is the best way to protect kids from its harmful effects (CNN)

• Is the Midwest Ready for Recreational Marijuana? (Governing)

• Michigan Officials: Legal Marijuana Will Create Even More Revenue Than Activists Predicted (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis could disrupt a $500 billion market, says CEO of top marijuana maker after deal with DEA (CNBC)

• Marijuana And Tobacco Appear In Almost Half Of Popular Music Videos, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Canada cannabis legalisation: ‘We know the world is watching’ (BBC)

• Marijuana Ingredient Reduces Anxiety During Public Speaking, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• MS sufferer avoids jail for importing cannabis-based drug (BBC)

• Zzz Natural: The Cannabis Brand Aiming To Solve America's $400 Billion Sleeping Problem (Forbes)

• SXSW Goes Big On Marijuana Panels For 2019 (Marijuana Moment)

• Banking Lobby Surveys Members On Problems Serving Marijuana Businesses (Forbes)

• GOP Congressman Visits Marijuana Dispensary With Bus Full Of Senior Citizens (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis edibles will soon be a $4 billion business (Yahoo! Finance)

• Marijuana Legalization in Canada Has Companies Chasing a Green Rush (The New York Times)

• Man Sends Marijuana Samples To Feds… To Make A Legal Point (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis and coffee: the hippie speedball has been perfected (Rooster Magazine)

• North Dakota’s Marijuana Legalization Supporters Outraised By Opponents, Filings Show (Marijuana Moment)

• Voters in One Wisconsin Town Face 7 Marijuana Ballot Questions (Reason)

• Watch: 80-Year Old Michigan Marijuana Patient Recounts Possession Arrest In New Documentary (Marijuana Moment)

• Melissa Etheridge Talks Art, Culture and Marijuana Advocacy In The Legalization Era (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• How LSD influenced Western culture (BBC)

• LSD turns 75 as scientists again consider medical benefits (Sky News)

• Russian Faces 10 Years in Prison for LSD Mail Order From Britain (The Moscow Times)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Different cognitive effects of dextromethorphan and psilocybin observed in new study (PsyPost)

• Beyond Psilocybin: Mushrooms Have Lots of Cool Compounds Scientists Should Study (Discover Magazine)

• Magic Mushroom Drug Evolved to Mess with Insect Brains (Scientific American)

• Far-Out Facts About Psychedelic Mushrooms (Maxim)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• We’re Too Excited About MDMA’s Potential for Treating PTSD (Slate)

• Sheffield student's MDMA death: Dealers are jailed (BBC)

• Chilling moment laughing men spike drink with MDMA before forcing woman to down it and sexually assaulting her (The Sun)

• 'Like a hug from everyone who loves you' — how MDMA could help patients with trauma (The Pharmaceutical Journal)

• Octopuses on MDMA (University Observer)

• Ecstacy warning issued by judge as man admits to offering the drug to people in Stealth (Nottinghamshire Live)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• No charges after death investigation at ayahuasca church (WFTV)

• Rythmia Review: My Week At a Legal Luxury Plant Medicine Retreat Center in Costa Rica (High Existence)

• Multiple (and Subtle) Bodies: Entheogenic Incorporation in the Santo Daime Tradition (Part 2) (Reality Sandwich)

• Ayahuasca ceremonies: Meet the Irish people who've tried the 'key to the universe' (Independent.ie)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• The Peyote People: Interview with Mario Gómez Mayorga on Huichol Plant Medicine Traditions (Psychedelic Times)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine could be legal as an NHS depression treatment in 18 months (Metro)

• Can ketamine for pain replace opioids in emergency care? (Medical News Bulletin)

• Springfield man, arrested after firing a gun on Maple Street, found to be in possession of PCP and cocaine, police say (MassLive)

Opiates/Opioids

• Injection site client's fatal OD raises concerns of new naloxone-resistant drugs (Ottawa Citizen)

• Miami police say they’ll offer opioid addicts rehab instead of arresting them (Miami Herald)

• Southeast Asia swapping opium with coffee (Geographical)

• Congress Needs an Opioid Intervention (Reason)

Absinthe

• Lawrenceville Distilling looks to lift spirits by producing absinthe drink (TribLIVE)

• Drinking Absinthe With Rupert Everett (And Talking About Oscar Wilde) (Forbes)

Kratom

• Ohio Plans to Ban Kratom—And the DEA May Be Close Behind (Filter)

• PurKratom Vendor Reviews: Strains, Pricing, Coupons (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Fiji Kava to become the first kava listing on any global stock exchange (Pacific Islands News Association)

• This Ancient Kava Tea Ceremony May Reduce Your Modern Anxiety (Organic Authority)

Khat

• Depression, anxiety, and stress and their association with khat use: a cross-sectional study among Jazan University students, Saudi Arabia (Dove Medical Press)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• How meditation and psychedelic drugs could fix tribalism (Vox)

• Historian Explains How Women Have been Excluded from the Field of Psychedelic Science (Chacruna)

• Here Comes the Legal Case for Medicinal Psychedelics (VICE)

• FDA Calls Out Vaping Company for Putting Erectile Dysfunction Drugs in Its Products (TIME)

• High court orders thousands more drug cases dismissed (Cape Cod Times)

• On Treading Lightly Through the Lion’s Den: The Path to Psychedelic Legitimacy (Chacruna)

• The Hidden Victims of Britain's Ecstasy Deaths (VICE)

• Psychedelic moral enhancement (ResearchGate)

• Recreational drug use in Australia is now ‘mainstream’ and how it’s dealt is changing rapidly (news.com.au)

• Trump Slams ‘Very Unfair’ Drug Sentences (Reason)

• The bid to ban 'poppers': public health necessity or an act of discrimination? (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• The UK should emulate Canada and legalise cannabis – it makes sense from an economic and moral perspective (The Independent)

• Ohio Will Vote on a Sentencing Reform Bill in November (Reason)

• An enlightened approach to “illegal” drugs will revolutionise medicine and science (ScienceNordic)

• California Makes a Fool of VP Mike Pence (Drug WarRant)

• How MDMA, magic mushrooms and LSD help cancer patients cope, and cure addictions (South China Morning Post)

• Having a ‘Good Trip’ with comedian Shane Mauss (City Pulse)

• Acid test – Are hallucinogenics finally shaking off their taboo? (Irish Medical 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 are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Book Review - Fran

This was the third book in the Frank series of unpredictable wordless comics that I have had the chance to read so far. It’s a bit newer compared to almost all the other books in the series, which cartoonist Jim Woodring started pumping out more than 25 years ago. Fran was published in 2013, and it features Frank’s soulmate (named Fran), who was a new character to me. Allegedly, it is somehow simultaneously both the prequel and the sequel to Woodring’s 2011 book Congress of the Animals, but I haven’t read that one yet.

A typical Frank comic takes the reader along for one of Frank’s kooky misadventures after another. The books are usually set in the Unifactor, which is the alien landscape that Frank inhabits. However, Frank apparently left his home in Congress of the Animals for uncharted lands, where he ended up finding and wooing Fran.

In Fran, the two lovebirds start their day with ample cordiality, but they end up getting into a heated lover’s quarrel and Fran sets off to have some alone time. She embarks on a hair-raising solo adventure, seemingly untouchable by an array of dangers, even though she comes across several would-be threatening and intimidating creatures and situations.

Heartbroken and regretful for his actions during the fight, Frank and his two adorable pets Pupshaw and Pushpaw follow Fran’s tracks in an effort to find her. Along the way, Frank travels through time and space to otherworldly locales and ends up confronting a mirror version of himself in a random house. While all of this is happening, Fran is off lackadaisically enjoying herself in her own happy-go-lucky way.

As I found in the other books of his, Woodring’s unique sense of humor is quirky and playful in Fran, with an spiritual undercurrent running throughout every page of the book. I love this funny quote from the inside of the dust jacket:

So do yourself a favor and take the plunge. You can’t stay cooped up on the outside of this book forever!

I got a good chuckle out of that. And it’s not too often that I laugh even before I start reading a book!

So what did I think about Fran? Worry not—it’s another mindbending Woodring masterpiece and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride it took me on. However, I didn’t like it quite as much as the other Frank comics I have read—Weathercraft and The Portable Frank. In fact, if you’re considering taking a plunge into this world, I’d suggest you start with one of those two instead. Similar to Weathercraft (and Congress of the Animals), Fran features one long narrative instead of several vignettes.

Aside from comparing it to other books in the series, Fran is an awesome story and definitely worth checking out. No matter which one you start with, you can’t go wrong—there’s nothing quite like Jim Woodring’s Frank series.

3/5 stars. 120 pages.

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If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my reviews of Weathercraft and The Portable Frank.