Another LSD Chemist Is Being Released From Prison

More info from the team at Psymposia:

Update: (July 26, 2020 / 1:38 PM): Psymposia has confirmed that Clyde Apperson’s request to be released to home confinement prior to his October 11, 2028 release date has been approved, and he is currently at a residential reentry center in Seattle pending full release. Apperson was arrested in 2000 with William Leonard Pickard, and was sentenced to 30 years without the possibility of parole.

This is one of the most exciting stories I’ve seen since I first started following psychedelic news back in 2006. Not only is it positive, but it’s both completely unexpected and uncharacteristic of how drug war prisoners are typically treated. It seems that the COVID-19 pandemic is the catalyst that influenced the decision to release Pickard; I wonder if it has anything to do with Apperson’s release too? Perhaps something bigger is going on.

Freeing these two men, who were locked up because they committed nonviolent victimless “crimes” 20 years ago, has been a long time coming. Maybe this will start a trend. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we started to see even more people in this situation freed from unjust imprisonment? I certainly think so.

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More Info on William Leonard Pickard's Pending Release From Prison

Justin Hampton has some additional details that came out in an article today at Lucid News:

Pickard has continually appealed his case, including the RIS/CR petition which eventually won his release. The petition, alongside changes to sentencing guidelines, Pickard’s advancing age, and COVID-19, were most likely factors in Pickard’s release, according to Michael Dupler, a longtime friend of Pickard who has campaigned for his release. “Leonard’s sentence has been reduced to ‘time served’ with five years of supervised release. The actual release will happen within the next 14 days, but probably sooner,” he reports.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I shared the piece from Psymposia last night (since this is such a huge claim and it came completely out of left field), but I’m glad to see that this news does appear to be true after all. Hampton goes into detail on Pickard’s background and history in this Lucid News article, so if you’re looking for more information on his release then be sure to check it out.

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LSD Chemist William Leonard Pickard to Be Released From Prison

Russell Hausfeld, writing for Psymposia:

Julie Holland (@BellevueDoc) is reporting that LSD-chemist and longtime drug war prisoner, William Leonard Pickard, is being released from prison. Pickard has been locked down since 2000 and was slated to serve two life sentences without parole.

Huge news for Pickard, as well as for the psychedelic community at large.

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This Week in Psychedelics - 7.24.20

Cannabis

• FDA Announces Recall Of Dozens Of Hemp Products For Humans And Pets (Marijuana Moment)

• New York Senate Approves Bill Protecting Medical Marijuana Patients From Eviction (Marijuana Moment)

• Montana County Officials Say Marijuana Legalization Measures Will Qualify For State Ballot, Campaign Confirms (Marijuana Moment)

• NHS planning to manufacture cannabis oil (Yahoo! News)

• FDA Releases Guidelines On Cannabis Research Following White House Review (Marijuana Moment)

• California weighs steep new fines to combat illegal cannabis sellers (Los Angeles Times)

• Congress Approves Measure Allowing CBD Use By Military Service Members (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Legalization Excluded From Draft 2020 Democratic Party Platform (Marijuana Moment)

• Researchers Believe Cannabis Should Be Explored as COVID-19 Treatment Immediately (MERRY JANE)

• Third Party Presidential Candidates Push For Marijuana Legalization And Drug Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Shepard Fairey’s 76-acre cannabis crop art will blow your mind (Leafly)

• High Times Returns to Colorado with People’s Choice Cannabis Cup (High Times)

• Massachusetts Bill To Use Marijuana Tax Revenue For Police Training Draws Criticism (Marijuana Moment)

• Canada’s cannabis pardon program is failing. Here’s why (Leafly)

• Kanye West Says He Smoked Marijuana On Eve Of His First Presidential Campaign Rally (Marijuana Moment)

• Clint Eastwood sues over false cannabis endorsements (BBC)

• Poll Shows Arizona Voters Back Legal Marijuana Measure As Officials Verify Signatures (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• LSD packets found attached to doors at four St. Lawrence County police departments (NNY360)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin & OCD: Can psychedelics treat obsessive compulsive disorder? (New Atlas)

• Red Light Holland Places First Order for Psychedelic Truffles Microdosing Packs (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• Gwyneth Paltrow advocates ecstasy drug MDMA for use in couples' therapy (Daily Mirror)

DMT

• Meet Viridia, the ATAI unit exploring ayahuasca-based treatments for mental illness (Fierce Biotech)

Ayahuasca

• The Bitter Side of Ayahuasca (Lucid News)

Morning Glory Seeds

• What is LSA? The Trippy Story Behind the Morning Glory (DoubleBlind)

Nitrous Oxide

• Nitrous oxide: MP wants to see tightening of laughing gas laws (BBC)

• Parliamentary briefing on tackling the misuse of Nitrous Oxide (Drug Science)

• Why Is the UK Still Obsessed with Laughing Gas? (VICE)

Ketamine

• Medics In Colorado Dosed 902 People With Ketamine For 'Excited Delirium' In 2.5 Years (KUNC)

Miscellaneous

• Psychedelics Activists Unveil Measure To Legalize Plant Medicine Healing Ceremonies In Oakland (Marijuana Moment)

• 60-Plus Psychedelic Clinical Trials Listed on Online Directory (Lucid News)

• The Second Pandemic: Is Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy the Answer to the Mental Health Crisis Caused by COVID-19? (Psychedelics Today)

• Profitdelic: A New Psychedelic Conference Trend (Chacruna)

• Medical Psychedelics Working Group to campaign for drug rescheduling (Health Europa)

• Minister Open To Examining Drug Decriminalization (CKDR)

• Selecting Music for Psychedelic Therapy (Psychedelics Today)

• The Drug War’s “Science-Based” Training on “Dopers and Parasites” (Filter)

• MagicMed Industries unveils C$1.5 million offering to expand its molecular psychedelic derivatives portfolio (Proactive Investors)

• Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy and Experiential Efficacy (Psychedelic Science Review)

• An Entire Police Station Has Been Arrested for Dealing Drugs and Torturing Suspects (VICE)

• Empower Clinics Served a Cease Trade Order (Psilocybin Alpha)

• The Psychedelic Explorer’s Mindset (Maps of the Mind)

• Psychedelic journeys helped Holocaust survivor George Sarlo. Now he’s helping others on their own journeys. (The Forward)

• How the war on drugs killed Breonna Taylor (Leafly)

• What Does Science Say About Maryland Rep. Andy Harris’s Opposition to Natural Psychedelics? (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Inside Toronto’s Newest Psychedelics Clinic (Investing News)

• Psychedelics are making a wild comeback – let’s not eff it up (NOW Magazine)

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 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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 7.17.20

Cannabis

• Argentina To Allow Cannabis Sales In Pharmacies And Home Cultivation (Benzinga)

• Idaho Medical Marijuana Activists Ask State For Electronic Signature Gathering Option Following Court Ruling (Marijuana Moment)

• Missouri: Kansas City Council Eliminates Local Penalties for Marijuana Possession Offenses (NORML)

• Israel passes Germany as world’s largest importer of medical cannabis flower (Marijuana Business Daily)

• The World Health Organization Says Reschedule Cannabis: Will The UN Agree? (Forbes)

• “Father of Cannabis Research” Identifies EPM301, a Cannabis Substance Stronger than THC or CBD (HealthMJ)

• Study: Cumulative Use of Cannabis Not Associated with Heart Abnormalities at Middle Age (NORML)

• CBD Is A ‘Promising’ Therapy In Treating Cocaine Misuse, Meta-Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Millions of Dollars in Cannabis Vape Product Inventory Remains in Quarantine in Massachusetts (Cannabis Business Times)

• We got the inside story of the downfall of Civilized, a cannabis media startup that raised $7 million, then had to shut down after a takeover offer fell through (Business Insider)

• Survey: Majority of Health Care Professionals Endorse Cannabis Use Instead of Opioids in Chronic Pain Patients (NORML)

• The Cannabis Tax Experiment (Forbes)

• Cannabis Use Rising Among Chronic Pain Patients (NORML)

LSD

• Americans Increase LSD Use—and a Bleak Outlook for the World May Be to Blame (Scientific American)

• LSD and Psilocybin May Alleviate Cluster Headaches (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Basel: The birthplace of hallucinogenic science (BBC)

Magic Mushrooms

• New psychedelic research sheds light on why psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been consumed for centuries (PsyPost)

• The Growing Evidence for Psilocybin-Facilitated Smoking Cessation (Psychedelic Science Review)

• How to Harvest Magic Mushrooms (DoubleBlind)

• Get to Know the Beta Carbolines – Newcomers to the Science of Magic Mushrooms (Psychedelic Science Review)

• The legalization of psilocybin: Is it necessary? (Portland Tribune)

MDMA

• I’m a Paraplegic Who Used to Smuggle Ecstasy in My Wheelchair (VICE)

• How MDMA-assisted therapy could be the key to helping trauma patients (MEAWW)

• Dave Franco Did MDMA With Alison Brie To Prepare For ‘The Rental’ (ET Canada)

5-MeO-DMT

• Rains in Sonora bring with them the specimen bufo alvarius (Explica)

Iboga

• Ibogaine Can Help Us Better Understand Addiction, but Will it Solve the Opioid Crisis? (DoubleBlind)

Ketamine

• Anesthesiologist calls for 'national conversation' about forced ketamine use following McClain case (9News)

• Cost-effectiveness of esketamine for depression (Science Daily)

Miscellaneous

• It’s 2020 and White Men Still Dominate Psychedelic Conferences (Lucid News)

• We Need to Talk About MAPS Supporting The Police, The Military, and Violent White Supremacism (Psymposia)

• Lessons for Psychedelic Advocacy from the Front Lines of Cannabis Reform (Chacruna)

• To Prevent Corruption, Psychedelics Researchers Call for Ethics Guidelines (Lucid News)

• GOP Congressman Withdraws Amendment To Block D.C. Psychedelics Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• The Power of Psychedelics (Scientific American)

• Magical (Psychedelic) Thinking in the Era of Climate Change and COVID-19 (Psymposia)

• The Uptight Girl’s Guide To Psychedelics (Bustle)

• AWAKN Life Sciences Partners with Drug Science in the UK (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelic journeys brought peace to this Holocaust survivor. Now he’s helping others on their own journeys. (The Jewish News of Northern California)

• How the dark web facilitates illicit drug trade across borders (MEAWW)

• Psychedelics and Canada's Regulatory Landscape (Lexology)

• The Psychedelic Renaissance: A Guide for College Students (Reality Sandwich)

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 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.