Ritualistic Ayahuasca Users Tend to Have Positive Health and Psychosocial Well-Being

Eric Dolan, writing for PsyPost:

New research provides evidence that the ritualistic use of the psychedelic drug ayahuasca is not a significant public health concern — and could in fact have potential benefits. The study has been published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

“Ayahuasca is a decoction originally from the Amazon rainforest that has been spread throughout the world. At ICEERS, we are interested in researching the eventual risks and benefits of its use,” said study author Jose Carlos Bouso, the scientific director of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Services in Spain.

“We studied in the past its neuropsychiatric effects on long-term ayahuasca users and did not find any disturbances. Now we are interested in studying the effects of ayahuasca from a public health perspective.”

There are some limitations with this study but its nice to see psychedelic research looking through the lens of positively affecting public health.

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This Week in Psychoactives - 3.1.19

CANNABIS

• Vermont Senate Passes Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• San Francisco will remove more than 9,300 marijuana-related crimes from people’s records (Los Angeles Times)

• THC found more important for therapeutic effects in cannabis than originally thought (Science Daily)

• Portugal Rejects Recreational Cannabis, as Medical Becomes Legal (Talking Drugs)

• Cory Booker just reintroduced a bill that would legalize weed (Roll Call)

• Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids (Science Daily)

• New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Multistate Cannabis Operators Facing Unique Challenges (Forbes)

• Uh-Oh, California Could Run Out of Legal Cannabis by Summer (Leafly)

• Denver just made a big change on social-use cannabis: It will be permanent (The Denver Post)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Approved By Hawaii House Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Studies: Cannabis Exposure Not Associated With Significant Changes In Brain Morphology (NORML)

• This ER doctor is about to launch the first marijuana breathalyzer, and it could completely upend how we do drug testing (Business Insider)

• Maryland Sets Sights on Cannabis Bills—18 of Them (Leafly)

• Florida Senator Wants To Let Voters Decide On Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Delaware: Attorney General Calls For Expanding Use Of Civil Penalties For Marijuana Violations (NORML)

• This Anti-Vaping Bill Bans Everything But Edibles Indoors and Outdoors (Civilized)

• GOP Congressman Files Bill To Protect Native American Tribes That Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Weston-super-Mare cannabis centre to show 'safe use' (BBC)

• Federal Reserve Head Calls For Clarity On Marijuana Banking Issues (Marijuana Moment)

• As Expected The UN Delays Voting On Cannabis (Forbes)

• USDA Gives Farmers A Status Update On Hemp Legalization Plans (Marijuana Moment)

• Rhode Island: Gov. Raimondo’s Proposed Marijuana Legalization Budget Plan (NORML)

• Elizabeth Warren Talks Marijuana In New Hampshire Presidential Campaign Stop (Marijuana Moment)

• Don't Expect A Big, National Cannabis Brand Anytime Soon (Forbes)

• Oregon Lawmakers Weigh Bill Allowing Marijuana Lounges And Cannabis Business Tours (Marijuana Moment)

• Legalized Cannabis Remains a Burning Topic for Employers (Workforce Management)

• FDA Head Reveals New Details About Agency’s CBD Regulation Plans (Marijuana Moment)

• Behind The Scenes With Cannabis Charities (Forbes)

• Marijuana Tax Revenue Should Fund Subway Improvement, New York’s Cuomo And De Blasio Say (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Bootsy Collins Explains How LSD Played A Role In His Split With James Brown’s Band (Live for Live Music)

• Life inside notorious cult The Family where children were starved, tortured and given LSD is revealed by former member (The Scottish Sun)

• A trip with the acid countess: Amanda Feilding and the medical case for drugs reform (New Statesmen)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Sub-Acute Effects of Psilocybin on Empathy, Creative Thinking, and Subjective Well-Being (Taylor and Francis Online)

• Denver Voters Could Decriminalize Psilocybin Mushrooms in May (Psychedelic Times)

• Psychedelic revolution: Initiative to legalize psilocybin in 2020 sprouts in Oregon (Daily Emerald)

• Australia’s psychedelic drug trial (The Saturday Paper)

MDMA

• Capsule v zip lock bag: How the law views the way party drugs are carried (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• What It’s Like to Treat a Psychopath with MDMA Therapy: Interview with Luna (Psychedelic Times)

• Wedded Ecstasy: The Couples Using MDMA to Fix Their Marriages (Fatherly)

• Brit died plunging into Amsterdam canal after taking MDMA and 'behaving strangely' (Daily Star)

• Teen placed in juvenile facility for providing fatal dose of MDMA (The Intelligencer)

• Homicide rap filed against boyfriend of Cebu teen who died of ecstasy overdose (ABS-CBN News)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• What is 2-CP, what does it do and where does it come from? (Mixmag)

• Remembering the Great British Mephedrone Craze (VICE)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Milton bans synthetic marijuana, opiates after teen incidents (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

• Is Synthetic CBD the Future of Cannabis Pharma? (Cannabis Investing News)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine Seems to Ease Depression. We’ll Soon See What Else It Does. (Bloomberg)

• Psychedelic Afterlife? Researchers Determine Which Hallucinogenic 'Trip' is Most Similar to the Near-Death Experience (Daily Grail)

• Ketamine is becoming increasingly popular under clubbers in the Netherlands (Rave Jungle)

• Ontario clinic treating depression with ketamine (CTV News)

• Old drug with racy history is a new suicide prevention weapon (Standard-Examiner)

PCP

• PCP smoker gets prison time for assaulting ex-girlfriend and trying to set her apartment door on fire (Hartford Courant)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Opium-Addicted Parrots Keep Raiding Poppy Farms in India (VICE)

• Allegations Against the Maker of OxyContin Are Piling Up. Here’s What They Could Mean for the Billionaire Family Behind Purdue Pharma (TIME)

• US Quietly Ends Anti-Opium Airstrikes Amid Taliban Peace Talks (Breitbart)

• The Opioid Crisis Isn’t White (The New York Times)

• “Mom, When They Look at Me, They See Dollar Signs” (Mother Jones)

• Bus Driver Overdosing on Heroin Crashes Bus With 12 Students Aboard, Police Say (TIME)

• FDA May Recommend Naloxone Be Co-Prescribed With Opioids (The Fix)

• Carfentanil found in heroin siezed in Uxbridge (Worcester Telegram)

• Naloxone in Maryland schools (WMDT)

• Pain patients on opioids also are getting rescue drug naloxone to prevent overdose (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

COCAINE

• Woman calls police, complains drug dealer sold her sugar instead of cocaine (Newshub)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• KTLA Anchor Chris Burrous Dies After Putting Crystal Meth In Anus (Hip-Hop Wired)

• North Koreans reportedly use crystal meth as casually as cigarettes and are shipping the drug to China (INSIDER)

ALCOHOL

• The Alcohol Crisis In America Has Been Overshadowed By Opioids, But Can No Longer Be Ignored (Forbes)

• Mothers return to pre-pregnancy drinking within five years: study (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Arkansas county sells alcohol after 70-year ban (KLFY)

• New bill would lower blood alcohol content limit for some drivers (ABC 13)

• Smoking and alcohol: Double trouble for the brain? (Science Daily)

• Online poll finds Chinese university students favour alcohol ban on campus (The Drinks Business)

• India toxic alcohol: At least 130 tea workers dead from bootleg drink (BBC)

• Liver transplants tied to alcohol use in the US doubled since 2002 (Health24)

• Is alcohol consumption more helpful than harmful? It depends on your age (EurekAlert!)

• Increasing alcohol limits in Utah beer gets Senate support (AP News)

NOOTROPICS

• Nootropics Found to be Useful Memory Aid (The Avion)

KRATOM

• Can You Drive on Kratom? Is It Safe To Drive After Taking Kratom? (Kratom Guides)

• Poison reports related to herbal drug kratom soar, new study says (USA Today)

• Is kratom nature’s answer to opioids? (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

• Some patients use Kratom to fight opioid addiction (WESH)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Home Office gives green light to first drug testing clinic (The Guardian)

• Is Scanning Inmates' Mail To Stop the Spread Of Drugs Legal? (The Fix)

• Has the decade-old war on drugs in Asia succeeded? (Al Jazeera)

• Psychedelic therapy — the metamorphosis of mental health care (Medium)

• Legal Weed Did More to Stop Drug Smuggling Than Any Wall (Reason)

• To Fight Addiction, Neronha Calls For Reclassifying Simple Drug Possession From Felony To A Misdemeanor (The Public's Radio)

• Pharma execs offer Senate ideas to lower drug costs – except actually cutting prices (CNBC)

• Joe Biden’s Drug War Record Is So Much Worse Than You Think (Leafly)

• Peganum Harmala, the “Ayahuasca” of North Africa and Eurasia (Kahpi)

• Climax Is The Scariest Movie About Drugs You Will Ever See (Refinery29)

• Magic in the Margins: Interview with an Underground Psychedelic Therapist (Psychedelic Times)

• New study claims microdosing improves focus and fights depression (Mixmag)

• Psychedelics: A Historical Account of Use and Rejection (71 Republic)

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On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

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Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

Polly Wants Crack!

Miranda Aldersley, writing for Daily Mail:

Flocks of parrots believed to be addicted to opium have been ravaging crops on Indian farms in order to feed their bizarre habit.  

Footage recorded in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state shows the birds indulging in the unusual activity of tearing apart poppy seed pods to get to the opium inside - much to the chagrin of the local farmers. 

This is a wild story, but the clickbait headline is simply asinine. I hope for the love of God Almighty that at least one person at the Daily Mail actually knows the difference between crack cocaine and opium, but I know I shouldn’t hold my breath.

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Australia Gives Harsher Punishment for Pills Than Powdered MDMA

Lucy Cormack, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald:

A person can carry three times as much MDMA into a music festival and still be eligible for a $400 on-the-spot fine, in lieu of facing a court, if the drugs are carried in a form other than a capsule, in what legal experts have called a "double standard".

The rule, which falls under a trial policy introduced almost one month ago, comes after the death of two young people at a music festival last year and a recommendation from an expert government-commissioned panel. […]

According to the Criminal Procedure Regulation, a $400 penalty notice may be issued to a person carrying MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine) "in capsule form, [if it] does not exceed a small quantity," defined as 0.25 grams.

In any other form, such as a powder in a zip-lock bag, the instant fine can apply so long as it is less than a trafficable quantity, which is 0.75 grams.

It’s crack cocaine versus powdered cocaine sentencing disparities all over again, but this time it’s MDMA.

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This Week in Psychoactives - 2.22.19

CANNABIS

• Tough cannabis policies do not deter young people – study (The Guardian)

• Marijuana Companies Urged Governor To Ban Cannabis Home Cultivation, Document Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Popular book on marijuana's apparent dangers is pure alarmism, experts say (The Guardian)

• Legalization Coming ‘Within Weeks,’ New Jersey Advocates Say (Leafly)

• Vermont Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Approved By Key Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Thanks to New York City Health Officials, New Yorkers Can No Longer Get CBD in Their Coffee (Reason)

• West Virginia House Passes Medical Marijuana Banking Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Medicinal cannabis: Why has it taken so long to get to patients? (BBC)

• Scientists Actually Did A Study To Confirm That Marijuana Causes The Munchies (Marijuana Moment)

• Denver's second cannabis lounge opens in the Green Mile, making history (Rooster Magazine)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Narrowly Rejected By North Dakota Lawmakers (Marijuana Moment)

• Wisconsin Could Decriminalize Cannabis, Legalize Medical Use (Leafly)

• Worldwide Marijuana Conferences Confirm The Business Of Weed Is Officially Legit (Forbes)

• Liberal Democrats Overwhelmingly Support Marijuana Legalization, Survey Data Reveals (Marijuana Moment)

• Study Shows That Bees Like Hemp, And That’s Great News For The Environment (Marijuana Moment)

• Mothers Demand Baltimore Police End Marijuana Arrests And Instead Focus On Murders (Marijuana Moment)

• Survey Says: Price, Quality, and Access Are Key for Canadian Consumers (Leafly)

• Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Key New Hampshire House Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Florida Senate panel takes another step toward lifting ban on smokable medical marijuana (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

• Virginia Law Would Protect Students Who Use CBD and THC-A Oils (Leafly)

• Marijuana Businesses Plea For Congress To Provide Banking Access (Marijuana Moment)

• End the cannabis banking problem (The Hill)

• Cannabis on Campus: A Deep Dive Inside Higher Education Pot Policy in Medical Marijuana States (Civilized)

• Proposed packaging regulations for cannabis edibles decried as excessive, wasteful (The GrowthOp)

• Where Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Alaska cannabis industry cites uncertainty with new governor (The Seattle Times)

• France's Softening Stance On Cannabis Opens Up Huge Economic Potential (Forbes)

• CBD Is Now Regulated and That May Be a Good Thing (Pain News Network)

• Lawmakers Push FDA To Allow CBD-Infused Food Products (Marijuana Moment)

• Medical marijuana is on the rise in Australia, but we still don't know a lot about how it works (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

LSD

• We Finally Have Evidence on Whether Microdosing LSD Can Help With Your Work (ScienceAlert)

• 4th USS Ronald Reagan Nuclear Electrician Pleads Guilty to LSD Posession (The Daily Beast)

• Tapping the Potential of LSD (Jewish Journal)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Psychedelic mushrooms just put Denver at the center of the national drug debate — again (The Denver Post)

MDMA

• Victorian MP Admits To Taking Drugs She Believed Were MDMA (Ten Daily)

• The dangers of taking MDMA when you’re on antidepressants (Metro)

• Decades ago, ecstasy — yes, MDMA — was used in marriage counseling (Big Think)

• MDMA Could Revolutionize Care for Trauma, a Social Worker’s Perspective (Psychedelic Support)

DMT

• From the Vasty Deep: The Reality of DMT Entities and Other Spirits (Psychedelic Times)

AYAHUASCA

• Plant Hallucinogen Holds Hope for Diabetes Therapy (Infosurhoy)

PEYOTE

• Tribal Law Exempts Peyote for Native American Church Members (Lakota Country Times)

IBOGA

• New Roots Ibogaine Addiction Treatment Clinic brings Ibogaine to California (Digital Journal)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Louella Michie trial: Drug that killed woman at Bestival 'makes trees look like demons and giant dinosaur creatures', court hears (The Independent)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• K2, a potent synthetic drug, is on the rise in Philly, challenging police and outreach workers (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Autopsy confirms OU student died of asphyxiation due to nitrous-oxide (The Athens News)

• The laughing gas parties of the 1700s — and how they sparked a medical breakthrough (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Boca Raton Regional Hospital offers nitrous oxide during childbirth (WFLX)

• Another Austin hospital offering laughing gas to help moms manage pain during labor (KVUE)

• Warnings issued over nitrous oxide 'drug abuse' after evidence of increasing use across Bromsgrove District (Bromsgrove Standard)

KETAMINE

• FDA Panel Endorses Johnson & Johnson Ketamine Nasal Spray For Treatment-Resistant Depression (KSRO)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Purdue’s Sackler embraced plan to conceal OxyContin’s strength from doctors, sealed deposition shows (STAT)

• For first time in Mass., male inmate will get methadone (The Boston Globe)

• 'Heroin buyers club' vision unveiled for legal heroin sales in B.C. (CBC)

• Intranasal naloxone now available in Australia (Australian Journal of Pharmacy)

• Blaming pharma alone for opioid crisis is shortsighted | Opinion (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Naloxone proposal for London facilities fails committee vote, decision left to council (Global News)

• Bill Filed in Maryland to Create Safe Opioid Injection Sites (WBOC)

• Sandoz Inc. launches authorized generic version of buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film (PR Newswire)

• FDA may recommend overdose reversal drug alongside opioid prescriptions (CNN)

• Trump “Most Excited” About China Executing People for Selling Fentanyl (Talking Drugs)

• A Tale of Two Cities in the Grips of the Opioid Crisis (The Nation)

• Indiana nonprofit will offer free naloxone, training in Muncie (Muncie Star Press)

COCAINE

• The Rumours Are True: Sydney Really Is The Cocaine Capital Of Australia (Junkee)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Mexican Meth Fuels an American Crisis (The Wall Street Journal)

• Meth's quiet resurgence (Columbia Missourian)

ALCOHOL

• Drinking contexts associated with early onset of alcohol intoxication among adolescents (ScienceDaily)

• Daniel Radcliffe says he used alcohol to cope with immense 'Harry Potter' fame (Fox News)

• Cannabis May Pose a 'Long-Term Risk' to the Alcohol Industry (Fortune)

• These 52 celebrities don't drink alcohol (Midland Reporter-Telegram)

• Alcohol is getting expensive - and other reasons why you should drink less (Health24)

ABSINTHE

• Spoiler: Absinthe isn't trippy (PGH City Paper)

NOOTROPICS

• The Best Nootropics for Productivity, Focus, and Cognitive Performance (Better Humans)

KRATOM

• Poison Control Calls for Kratom Rose Sharply, but the Caveats Are Crucial (Inverse)

• Backlash continues following Kratom ban (WCBI)

• Kratom Imported by Denver Company Seized by the Feds (Westword)

• Kratom: A Nationwide Ban Will Be Deadly (71 Republic)

• Benefits of Buying Kratom Powder Online vs Capsule Form (WORLDHAB)

• Is Kratom a Performance Enhancer or a Lethal Opioid? (Outside Magazine)

• Health Benefits of Kratom Powder and Why You Should Buy It (Kerala News 24/7)

• What to know about kratom capsules and how to stay best informed (Augusta Free Press)

KHAT

• Researchers find ties between Africa’s khat use and liver disease (Africa Times)

• Somali traders say no to Kenyan khat (CGTN)

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit (Slate)

• El Chapo's Lawyers Are Pushing for a New Trial After Report Jurors Read News Stories About Him (TIME)

• El Chapo Highlighted Mexican Corruption, but Drug Money Also Lubricates U.S. Border (The New York Times)

• Phony Houston Drug Warrant Prompts FBI Investigation and Review of 1,400 Cases (Reason)

• Decades before the pill testing debate these little bins caused an uproar (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• How I Started South Carolina’s Only Formal Syringe Exchange (Filter)

• How to Think about Weird Psychedelic Beings (Kahpi)

• Study of Microdosing Psychedelics Finds Mixed Bag of Effects (PsychCentral)

• MAPS Canada charts the way for psychedelic therapy (The McGill Tribune)

• New Zealand university students offered free drug-testing in 'harm-prevention' first (The Guardian)

• Australia drug use: Meth and cocaine up, MDMA and heroin down (Infosurhoy)

• Democratic 2020 Candidates on Cannabis and Other Drug Policy (Talking Drugs)

• The Harvard Science of Psychedelics Club (The Harvard Independent)

• Kitty Flipping, Nexus Flipping and other dangerous drug mixtures (Rave Jungle)

• COLUMN: New medical research shows benefits of psychedelic drugs (Daily Toreador)

• What IF psychedelics can heal? (Purdue University)
  

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On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

---

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.