Tom Angell, writing for Forbes:
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) said on Saturday that he’s not sure if marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to the use of other, more dangerous substances.
When it comes to the main contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination, you can't get a worse candidate on drug policy than Joe Biden.
Alexander Lekhtman, writing for Filter:
To date, numerous activist groups on both coasts and in the South and Midwest have moved to implement decriminalization of personal use, possession or cultivation of naturally-occurring psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, iboga, or San Pedro and peyote cacti.
This roundup is focused on city-level decriminalization efforts, and is by no means exhaustive. We should also note that there are two statewide efforts underway—to decriminalize in California and to legalize in Oregon. And at the federal level, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has called for decriminalizing psychedelics and funding research.
A look at the current state of psychedelic decriminalization efforts in the country.
Ina Fried and Mike Allen, writing for Axios:
Amid growing health concerns over e-cigarettes, Apple will remove all 181 vaping-related apps from its mobile App Store.
Apple is acting from a good place here, yet still missing the mark. Vaping saves lives, and reducing access to vape technology makes it more difficult for people to choose an alternative to smoking cigarettes. And as far as cannabis vapes go, PAX is already lobbying against this decision:
PAX says that while it respects Apple's leadership, it is concerned with Apple's ban because it prevents consumers in legal stages from "having access to important information and the ability to better control their cannabis experience."
CDC Identifies Vitamin E Oil Additive as a “Very Strong Culprit of Concern” in Vaping-Related Lung Injuries (NORML)
First cannabis-based medicines approved for use on NHS (The Guardian)
The Media Is Spinning the Latest Weed and Birth Defects Study All Wrong (MERRY JANE)
Michigan Teen Receives Double Lung Transplant After 'Enormous' Damage From Vaping (TIME)
Ohio bans vitamin E acetate from medical marijuana vapes after CDC links it to lung illnesses (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Pew Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans Say “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)
Bernie Sanders Wants To Legalize Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)
Apple Removing Vaping-Related Apps From App Store Today Amid Public Health Concerns (MacRumors)
From ‘Veronica Mars’ to toxic vapes: The rise and fall of Honey Cut (Leafly)
You Can Get A Master's In Medical Cannabis In Maryland (NPR)
Mass Lifts Ban on Medical Cannabis Flower Vapes, But Oil Carts Still Restricted (MERRY JANE)
Marijuana Prohibition Is Delaying Federal Response To Vaping Crisis, CDC Says (Marijuana Moment)
Surprise! Michigan adult-use cannabis sales begin Dec. 1 (Leafly)
Young Americans Are Smoking More Weed and Less Tobacco, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)
Millions of Brits using street cannabis to treat chronic health conditions (Health Europa)
How Vietnam veterans expanded America’s cannabis strains (Leafly)
Cannabis Is the Most Effective Treatment for Endometriosis, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)
Neil Young says his US citizenship application is being held up because he uses marijuana (CNN)
Illegal Pot Grows Are Poisoning Animals and the Environment in National Parks (MERRY JANE)
Where Presidential Candidate Deval Patrick Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
What’s Lost When Psychedelic Mushrooms Become Synthetic Psilocybin (DoubleBlind)
Taking a Deep Look at Psilocybin for Depression Research (Psychedelics Today)
Explorer’s Guide: Microdosing Magic Psilocybin Truffles (Maps of the Mind)
DJ fell from cliff in Cornwall and died while on MDMA (Cornwall Live)
‘Beautiful’ girl, 15, died after taking MDMA that cost just £2.50 (The Sun)
A Guide to Taking Ecstasy as Safely as Possible (VICE)
Ayahuasca, Depression and Me (Chacruna)
Meet 5-MeO-DMT, the 'powerful' psychedelic that improves depression in one hour (Big Think)
Project CBD releases special report on synthetic cannabinoids and vaping-related lung injuries (Project CBD)
‘Synthetic Marijuana’ Is A Dangerous Misnomer That People Need To Stop Using (The Fresh Toast)
Amazon and eBay 'must block illicit nitrous oxide sales' (BBC)
Why ketamine is so good against depression (ZME Science)
New fingerprinting technology will reveal whether someone has recently used heroin – even if they have washed their hands afterwards (Daily Mail)
At-home naloxone kits have reversed over 50K opioid overdoses in B.C.: health authority (Global News)
Vancouver pilots new fentanyl-patch program to combat opioid crisis (The Globe and Mail)
Mass. Has The First Jail In The Country That's Also A Licensed Methadone Treatment Provider (WBUR)
Bill Would Require Ohio Pharmacists Be Educated About Naloxone Law (Statehouse News Bureau)
Pa. is treating more opioid overdoses as homicides. Defense lawyers are learning to fight back. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Bill would let Florida schools keep, administer OD antidote naloxone (WPTV)
Narcan carries heavy costs (The Salem News)
A Pack of Feral Hogs Sniffed Out a Cocaine Stash in Italy (Rolling Stone)
Startling number of senior citizens abusing cocaine in the UK (New York Post)
Why Meth Is Making a Big Comeback (VICE)
Meth Has Many Medical Benefits. Stigma Holds Them Back. (Filter)
Her baby was stillborn because of meth, police say. Now she’s charged with murder (Los Angeles Times)
This influencer is trying to make coffee vaping sexy (New York Post)
What to know about caffeine withdrawal headaches (Medical News Today)
What are the health benefits of yerba maté tea? (Medical News Today)
The Vaping Industry Is Furious at President Trump — Could it Cost Him the Election? (Rolling Stone)
Pending Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes in Massachusetts Authorizes Forfeiture of Vapers' Cars (Reason)
Vaping May Be Worse for Heart Health Than Tobacco Cigarettes, New Study Finds (TIME)
New York will raise the age to purchase tobacco starting Wednesday (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
House votes to ban flavored tobacco, heavily tax vaping products (Boston Herald)
Cardiologists warn vaping is so dangerous and addictive it should be banned (Sky News)
With vape curbs pending, White House questions FDA tobacco role (Chicago Tribune)
More vapers are making their own juice, but not without risks (CNN)
What The U.S.-China Trade War Has Meant For North Carolina Tobacco Farmers (WUNC)
Minnesota was winning the war on teen tobacco use. Then vaping became popular. (TwinCities.com)
Denver Wants to Test Out Public Drinking Zones in 2020 (MERRY JANE)
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: The 'heartbreaking' reality (BBC)
Kratom products may cause liver injury, new analysis led by Philadelphia physician finds (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
DEA Kratom Ban Update 2019 (Kratom Guides)
Inside Plan to Bring Kratom Consumer Protection Act to Colorado (Westword)
Hundreds told Clearwater not to ban kratom. Officials were baffled. (Tampa Bay Times)
Kratom may be effective, but not entirely safe to treat alcohol use disorder (News-Medical.net)
Kratom And Your Blood Pressure (Kratom Guides)
Kratom Tea for Improved Sleep (My MMA News)
Kratom Packaging – Right Kind Of Packaging For Kratom (Kratom Guides)
Can You Buy Kratom In San Diego? (Kratom Guides)
Experts Now Warn Chewing Khat Increases Chronic Liver Disease Risk (Newswire)
Paul Stamets Announces the Launch of First-Ever Microdosing App (The Third Wave)
Santa Cruz Will Consider Decriminalizing Psychedelics This Week (Marijuana Moment)
Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are the newest dark alleyways dealers use to sell drugs (Rooster Magazine)
Psychedelics as Anti-Inflammatory Agents (Psychedelic Science Review)
Festival-goers in Victoria could be subject to pill testing in 2020 under new bill (The New Daily)
Study: How Punitive Policies Harm Pregnant Drug Users (Filter)
Cincinnati-area high school announces mandatory drug tests for all students beginning in 2020 (WIS TV)
Postal Service Unveils ‘Drug Free USA Forever’ Stamp Commemorating 1980s Anti-Drug Program (Marijuana Moment)
The Drug Policy Reform Movement Debates Its Next Moves (Filter)
The Sydney students synthesising psychedelics for health research (The University of Sydney)
CSSDP to provide free drug-testing kits to students (The McGill Tribune)
Drug policies used to criminalise the LGBTQIA+ community in Uganda (Talking Drugs)
How psychedelics could reduce existential distress for end-of-life patients (The Varsity)
What is Psychedelic Microdosing? (News-Medical.net)
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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.
Paul Austin at The Third Wave:
On Wednesday, November 13, renowned mycologist Paul Stamets announced the launch of the world’s first mobile microdosing study on the Joe Rogan podcast. Dr. Zachary Walsh is conducting the study in collaboration with MAPS Canada, the BC Centre on Substance Use, and Quantified Citizen. Study results will help researchers better understand the effects of microdosing psychedelics on cognitive performance and mental health.
Participation in this cutting-edge research is completely anonymous as participants will not be asked to identify name, email, or date of birth. Due to the legal status of psychedelics, researchers will not provide the actual microdoses. It is up to each person to source the psychedelic, with a clear understanding that psychedelic use outside of clinical trials is still illegal in almost every jurisdiction.
An app for microdosing research. Interesting.
