This Week in Psychoactives - 4.12.19

CANNABIS

• Israel Decriminalizes Adult Use Cannabis During CannaTech Conference In Tel Aviv (Forbes)

• FDA Is Taking Public Comments On CBD. Here’s How To Make Your Voice Heard (Marijuana Moment)

• Police across the UK are given green light to let cannabis users off scot-free and suggest they get treatment instead of punishment (Daily Mail)

• Alex Berenson and the Last Anti-Cannabis Crusade (The New Republic)

• Georgia: Lawmakers Advance Bill To Regulate Low-THC Oil Production (NORML)

• Mother of girl with epilepsy has supply of medical cannabis confiscated (The Guardian)

• New York City: Lawmakers Advance Bills Limiting Drug Testing for Cannabis as a Condition of Employment, Probation (NORML)

• Nova Scotia Woman Plans Constitutional Challenge of Roadside Cannabis Test (Leafly)

• Hawaii Senate Committee Approves Bill To Decriminalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Senate Bill Would Let Marijuana Businesses Store Profits In Banks (Forbes)

• California bill to block home delivery of cannabis sidelined for year (Los Angeles Times)

• Another Connecticut Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Will the European legal cannabis industry prosper? (Health Europa)

• GOP Congressman’s Bill Would Let Medical Marijuana Patients Possess Guns (Marijuana Moment)

• Mergers And Acquisitions Light Up The Cannabis Sector (Forbes)

• Indiana Lawmakers Amend Hemp Bill To Allow Smokeable Flower (Marijuana Moment)

• People of Color Were Targeted by the War on Drugs. They Must Benefit from Marijuana Legalization (Newsweek)

• Can Cannabis Help You Get Off Adderall? (Civilized)

• Where Presidential Candidate Tim Ryan Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis stocks lower as investors await the fate of the States Act (MarketWatch)

LSD

• ‘SNL’ Introduces a Hilarious Film Critic Who Sees Movies on Acid So You Don’t Have To (IndieWire)

• T.C. Boyle’s new novel takes a trip with LSD evangelist Timothy Leary (Los Angeles Times)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• China Enters Magic Mushroom Industry – Wuhan, MJMedTech, and M2BIO (Psilocybin Technology)

• Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects (ScienceDirect)

• Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee Is Open To Decriminalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms (Marijuana Moment)

• Seth Rogen Talks About Taking Magic Mushrooms At Cirque du Soleil (Marijuana Moment)

• I went to a chic fundraiser for Denver's psilocybin mushroom vote (Rooster Magazine)

• The return of the 'stoned ape' theory (Big Think)

• Sacred Mushrooms of the Mazatec Tradition: Transforming the Inner Landscape of the Human Psyche (Chacruna)

• How Psilocybin Reset My Suicidal Thoughts And Taught Me To Love Myself (Reset.me)

MDMA

• Inside an Innovative Study of MDMA Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder (Filter)

• MDMA helps adult mice socialize like their adolescent selves (Quartz)

• Cate Faehrmann: Why a lawmaker admitted to taking MDMA (BBC)

• Teenager dies after taking six times the 'safe' level of Ecstasy (Your EDM)

• 'She didn't get the chance to learn from her mistake': Father's anguish after his daughter, 18, died from her first hit of liquid ecstasy - as he reveals the tragic final words she spoke to him (Daily Mail)

• Illinois man dies after taking ecstasy; parents now educate others on dangers of drug (WTKR)

• Psychedelic Drug MDMA May Help Treat PTSD (Tech Times)

AYAHUASCA

• Translating Ayahuasca Shamanism and Western Medicine (Kahpi)

• Global Ayahuasca Community Joins Together to Defend Ceremony Leader (Talking Drugs)

5-MEO-DMT

• Study: 5-MeO-DMT May Rapidly Improve Anxiety and Depression (Reset.me)

PEYOTE

• Why one cactus is being criminalized to death, and why it should be saved (The Massachusetts Daily Collegian)

IBOGA

• Dutch natural healer gets 8 years for death of Swedish woman (NL Times)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Ireland: Controversial ban on new psychoactive substances succeeds in reducing health problems (Scottish Legal News)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• State forensics lab identifying new synthetic cannabinoids (WLOX)

• A Bunch of Dutch People Smoked Fake Weed for Science (Civilized)

• Leeds outreach workers devise revolutionary treatment for Spice addiction (Leeds Live)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Melbourne researchers trial laughing gas to treat severe depression (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Deadly risk of breathing in laughing gas for kicks (Express)

• Laughing gas found in car after Fountain Valley crash, police say (Los Angeles Times)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine May Relieve Depression By Repairing Damaged Brain Circuits (NPR)

• Thai boys trapped in cave were sedated with ketamine (The Independent)

• Ketamine vs. Esketamine for Depression (Psychology Today)

• Emily Atack reveals she was offered ketamine in a nightclub toilet...as she recalls losing her knickers after an all night romp after the BRIT Awards (Daily Mail)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• DOJ Charges UK Firm With Conspiracy, Fraud Over Opioid Withdrawal Drug Suboxone Film (Gizmodo)

• After three years of controversy, CDC clarifies its opioid prescribing guidelines (STAT)

• More than 10,300 Canadians lost their lives to opioids in less than 3 years (CBC)

• Poppy Cultivation and Potential Opium Production in Afghanistan (The White House)

• In poll season, Punjab debates legalising poppy seed and opium farming (Down To Earth Magazine)

• Public urged to keep free naloxone overdose kits on hand (The London Free Press)

• Family Dog Survives Eating Five Bags of Heroin (The Epoch Times)

• Naloxone available at UNT pharmacy without a prescription (North Texas Daily)

• Alabama school staff trains to administer naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses (CBS News)

• Forcing treatment and tying the hands of physicians won’t solve the opioid crisis (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Big Pharma’s Millions Won’t Solve the Opioid Crisis (Tonic)

• Rajasthan farmers caught in ‘opium crisis’ (The Times of India)

• How eating four slices of multigrain bread at a airport lounge led a fly-in-fly-out miner to failing a drugs test - and him stood down from his job (Daily Mail)

• Hanover deputy released from hospital following possible fentanyl exposure (WWBT)

COCAINE

• The United States' 'War on Drugs' Really Did Make Things Worse, New Research Finds (ScienceAlert)

• Heather Yakin: Cocaine making comeback with new, lethal forms (Times Herald-Record)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Meth Mania: From Biker Gangs to the Psych Ward, How Speed Came of Age in California (KQED)

• Family's dog tests positive for meth, molly after walk in park (WKRG)

CAFFEINE

• Caffeine could boost exercise performance (Reuters)

• TEEN SCENE: Vaping caffeine (The Guardian)

• Caffeine addicted? Just seeing coffee stimulates the brain (Digital Journal)

• Caffeine slows down water molecules (Physics Today)

TOBACCO

• Illinois Becomes First State in Midwest to Adopt 'Tobacco 21' (NBC Chicago)

• Delaware House approves raising age to buy tobacco products (Delaware Online)

• Iowa Senate bill would increase age to buy all tobacco, vape products from 18 to 21 (KGAN TV)

• Temple University takes major step in becoming tobacco-free: 'It's incredibly important' (KYW Newsradio 1060)

• Texas could soon increase the legal age to buy tobacco, though active military members might be exempt (The Texas Tribune)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol use disorder: Brain damage may progress despite sobriety (Medical News Today)

• No, moderate drinking can't protect against stroke. It actually increases risk, study says (USA Today)

• There's new evidence for why we get the 'drunchies' after a night of heavy drinking (INSIDER)

• Penn study finds genetic differences between heavy drinkers and alcoholics (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• A gene linked to alcohol habits may influence who you choose to marry (New Scientist)

• Ethiopia passes tough law regulating alcohol sales, adverts (Africanews)

• Proposed Federal Alcohol Labeling Revisions Retain Constitutionally Suspect Review Standards (Forbes)

• The Big Number: 17.6 million Americans suffer from alcoholism (The Washington Post)

• Australian Instagram personalities found to be under influence of alcohol industry (The Guardian)

• First-Ever Female Libido Pill Gets Relief on Alcohol Warning (Bloomberg)

• Lawmaker aims to lower blood alcohol limit (WIVB)

• Does Red Wine Help You Live Longer? Here's What the Science Says (TIME)

• April is National Alcohol Awareness Month (Marietta Daily Journal)

KRATOM

• An Herbal Drug Called Kratom Has Been Linked to Almost 100 Overdose Deaths, the CDC Reports (TIME)

• Castle Rock steps out front on regulating kratom, the popular but controversial herbal extract (The Denver Post)

• Oregon Lawmakers Could Pass a Law Regulating Kratom (The Portland Mercury)

• Kratom ban pushed by Pa. parents of son who fatally OD’d on ‘herbal heroin’ (PennLive.com)

• FDA Report Finds Heavy Metals in Kratom – Is It Really That Bad? (Kratom Guides)

• Northeast Mississippi counties continue conversation on Kratom (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

• 'Kratom literally saved my life' (WGRZ)

MISCELLANEOUS

• The World’s Biggest Dark Net Market Has Shut – What Next? (VICE)

• Sciencing the mystical: the trickery of the psychedelic trip report (Taylor and Francis)

• California tests if addiction treatment can be incorporated into primary care (Politico)

• Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Walks Back Pledge To Pardon All Non-Violent Drug Offenders (Marijuana Moment)

• Rejected Depression Drug Could Provide Relief For Opioid Withdrawal (The Fix)

• Inside the Legal Struggle Over Safe Consumption Spaces (Filter)

• The new science of psychedelics: How hallucinogens provide a tool for changing our minds (AlterNet)

• Psychedelic Plants in a Time of Ecological Crisis (Adventures Through The Mind)

• How drugs got on the metric system (Rooster Magazine)

• To Address Addiction, Confront Racism in Our Health and Justice Systems (Filter)

• Proposal to allow needle exchanges statewide heads to House floor (Tampa Bay Times)

• How Helpful—Or Harmful—Are Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs? (Filter)

• Overdose prevention sites can help cities like Philadelphia save lives (STAT)

• Psychedelic Research and You. Well, Maybe, not You (Chacruna)

• Vindictive Drug-Induced Homicide Charges Are Set to Surge in Chicago (Filter)

• LSD, shrooms, and psychiatry: Penn summit highlights clinical applications of psychedelics (The Daily Pennsylvanian)

• Law enforcement are not drug experts (AOD Media Watch)

• Playlist for Psychedelic Restoration (Tam Integration)

• How Open Relationships and Psychedelics Have Shaped This Entrepreneur's Mindset (Entrepreneur)

• Acetaminophen crisis bigger than opioid epidemic? (Drug WarRant)

• There’s a way to stem the increase in HIV infections (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Microdosing psychedelics may improve mood and productivity (ZME Science)

• Psychedelic club emphasizes benefits of shrooms (Rocky Mountain Collegian)

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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.

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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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This Week in Psychedelics - 7.6.18

Cannabis

• Luxembourg Is Latest EU Country to Legalise Medical Cannabis (Talking Drugs)
• Vermont: Law Legalizing Adult Marijuana Use Takes Effect Sunday, July 1 (NORML)
• Here’s what’s next now that the FDA has approved a cannabis drug for seizures (The Verge)
• Up in smoke: new California law could send $350m worth of cannabis to incinerator (The Guardian)
• Marijuana Dispensaries Don’t Increase Crime, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)
• Defying Congress, Jeff Sessions Keeps Blocking Medical Marijuana Research (Reason)
• Toke Up and Chow Down on Netflix’s Pot-Infused Cooking Competition (Reason)
• The US Stopped Other Countries from Legalizing Weed for Generations (VICE)
• Jeremy Corbyn calls for cannabis to be decriminalised for medical use 'as soon as possible' (Mirror)
• The Canadian Conundrum: Legalizing Cannabis Is One Thing, Marketization Is Another (Forbes)
• ‘Keep California Safe’ initiative fails to make the November 2018 ballot (The Orange County Register)
• It Didn't Have To Be This Way: Policy Decisions Led To Delays In Massachusetts' Cannabis Market (Forbes)
• Billy Caldwell licensed for cannabis oil use in Northern Ireland (The Guardian)
• Weighing The Legal Cannabis Industry's Catch-22 Problem (Forbes)
• South Australia's cannabis crackdown based on 'nonsense', experts warn (The Guardian)
• How police are preparing to catch drivers under the influence of cannabis (CTV News)
• If Sacramento's cannabis industry goes corporate, these three men will be to blame (The Sacramento Bee)
• Major study reveals cannabis is not a miracle pain reliever (New York Post)
• The first cannabis lounge in Southern California is coming to Palm Springs, and neighbor isn’t pleased (The Press-Enterprise)

LSD

• Millions in Cryptocurrencies Seized in Biggest LSD Bust in European History (Gizmodo)
• Man found dead in Mississippi River had bad LSD trip during concert, friend says (FOX13)
• Michael Pollan: Why I started taking LSD and what it helped me to do (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Revisiting the Beatles’ Cartoon LSD Utopia Yellow Submarine (Vulture)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Can Magic Mushrooms Treat Cocaine Dependency? (AlterNet)
• Psilocybin and Mental Health–Don't Lose Control (Frontiers)
• Magic Mushroom May Have Cure for Depression (Colorado Daily Ledger)
• Do Magic Mushrooms Work Better Than Prozac? She Aims to Find Out (OZY)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• MDMA strengths surge to 'potentially fatal' levels (BBC)
• Both my sons died after taking ecstasy – that's why I want to legalise it – video (The Guardian)
• Party drug MDMA is likened to 'Russian roulette' after 18-year-old died after taking the Class A on a night out (Daily Mail)
• Cops seize orange ecstasy pills shaped like Donald Trump (New York Post)
• Mum releases shocking photos of her son’s final hours after taking MDMA (Metro)
• How MDMA is leaving a trail of tragedies in Devon and Cornwall (Plymouth Herald)
• ‘MDMA gave me anxiety, depression and panic attacks’ (Zloto News)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Ayahuasca: The Spiritual Journey Hollywood Is Talking About. (NewsGram)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• An Almost Unknown Psychedelic to Kick the Habit (ThirdAge)

Dissociatives

• Cops Are Telling Paramedics To Inject Arrestees With Ketamine. Worse, EMS Crews Are Actually Doing It. (Techdirt)
• Minneapolis Investigates Police Use Of Ketamine On Suspects (WHQR)

Opiates/Opioids

• Searching For The Next Naloxone (The Fix)
• Investigation Shows How Florida Sparked U.S. Heroin Crisis (WLRN)
• Overdoses Can Happen Anywhere, So Naloxone Becomes A Part Of First Aid Kits (WESA)
• Link Between Heroin Addiction And Narcolepsy Examined (The Fix)
• Chicago’s Black Communities Hit Hardest In Opioid Overdoses (WBEZ)
• Where Did $8.2 Billion in US Aid to Fight Opiates in Afghanistan Go? (Sputnik International)
• Heroin may be Mozambique’s second largest export—and it’s being disrupted by WhatsApp (Quartz)
• OxyContin, Heroin and the Opioid Crisis (Pain News Network)
• The Opium War and the Humiliation of China (The New York Times)

Kratom

• FDA commissioner says kratom not worth the Salmonella risk (Food Safety News)
• 3 Best Kratom Strains for Opiate Withdrawal In 2018 (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom Supplements Won’t Make You Healthier — They’ll Probably Just Make You Sick (The Cheat Sheet)
• Kratom use spreads in Phuket (Pattaya Mail)
• Kratom And Moisture: What To Do When Kratom Gets Moisture? (Kratom Guides)
• How Can You Mix Kratom And Cranberry Juice? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Kava Bar Places "God Hates Beer" Signs in Front of Saltwater Brewery (Miami New Times)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Suicide is on the rise. Depression therapy is limited. Let’s try psychedelics. (The Washington Post)
• First-of-Its-Kind Conference Brings Psychedelics Into the Mainstream (High Times)
• White House lawyer expected to be named new head of DEA (The Washington Post)
• Could psychedelics transform mental health? (BBC)
• Duterte is Assassinating Opponents Under the Cover of the Drug War, Philippine Rights Groups Say (TIME)
• Reclaiming Your Identity As A Drug User (Psymposia)
• Use of ‘smart drugs’ on the rise (Nature) 
• Psychedelics And Cancer (Psychedelic Heaven)
• Hallucinogens and Depression (Psychology Today)
• How To Cope With Anxiety And Paranoia During A Trip (The Third Wave)
• Psychedelics And Schizophrenia (Psychedelic Heaven)
• Drug abuse: how China is fighting the problem (The Telegraph)

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 - 12.2.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• On His Way Out the Door, Obama Suggests Marijuana Should Be Legal (Reason)
• Berlin to Legalize Cannabis Coffee Shops? (Weed News)
• Legalising cannabis and opium in India (The Asian Age)
• Some State Leaders Challenging Marijuana Election Results (NORML)
• Teva Pharm to market medical cannabis inhaler in Israel (Reuters)
• Opinion: WHO's Silence on Cannabis (The Scientist)
• The Cannabis Exception to the Second Amendment (Reason)
• Mapped: The countries that smoke the most cannabis (The Telegraph)
• Meme Sums up the Debate on Marijuana Use by NFL Players (ATTN:)
• New Yorkers Will Soon Be Able To Use Pot For Chronic Pain (TIME)
• Hunter S. Thompson's Widow Plans to Clone and Sell His Marijuana (TIME)
• First Vape Lounge for Cannabis Patients Opens in Rome (Leafly)
• GP Michael Harty claims Bill aims to legalise recreational cannabis (Irish Times)
• Investors Hoping To Ride High On Trailblazing Marijuana Company (TIME)
• Texas lawyers sing about why you shouldn't eat weed in front of cops (Boing Boing)
• Minnesota OK's medical pot for post-traumatic stress disorder (MPR News)
• Pet owners use cannabis for animal ailments (The Recorder)
• Medical cannabis could see movement in Iowa (Des Moines Register)
• The Stranger's Cannabis Gift Guide (The Stranger)

LSD

• The Science Behind LSD Flashbacks: Truth or Myth? (The Science Explorer)
• The Last Word: Carrie Fisher on LSD, Death and Sex With Han Solo (Rolling Stone)
• LSD, Sophia Loren and living in Batchelor Hall: thing you didn't know about Cary Grant (The Telegraph)
• Retracing the Steps of Psychedelic Outlaws on an LSD Mission From God (KQED)
• Exploding Cigars To LSD Poisoning, These Are The Craziest Plots To Kill Fidel Castro (ScoopWhoop)
• Accidental Discoveries: LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) (Daily News & Analysis)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic mushroom ingredient psilocybin could be key to treating depression - studies (The Guardian)
• Psilocybin: A Journey beyond the Fear of Death? (Scientific American)
• I Took A Psychedelic Drug for My Cancer Anxiety. It Changed My Life (TIME)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• MDMA could be on the market legally by 2021 (Popular Science)
• How MDMA Treats PTSD: Everything You Need to Know (Rolling Stone)
• FDA Approves Final Stage of MDMA Drug Trials (Reason)
• Couples and the Love Drug: Integration Therapy With Your Partner After a Difficult MDMA Experience (Psychedelic Times)
• The Past, Present, and Future of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy - Preparing for a Post-Prohibition World (SFStation)
• Can MDMA help combat post-traumatic stress disorder? (CBC News)
• Three who died after Hard Summer rave overdosed on Ecstasy, coroner says (Los Angeles Times)
• Funeral held for Jamie Burns who died after taking tablet during Belfast night out (Belfast Telegraph)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Understanding the Science of Ayahuasca (Collective Evolution)
• DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: Interview with Rick Strassman (Psychedelic Times)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Peyote has no bearing on church registration (Mexico News Daily)
• Scalia's Legacy Is Great, But Don't Forget The Bind He Left Us In (ValueWalk)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• An Ancient African Remedy Helped Me Kick My Opioid Addiction Overnight (Woman's Day)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Two 13-Year-Olds Killed By Drug More Powerful Than Heroin (KIIS)
• A new kind of high (Deccan Chronicle)

Dissociatives

• From Club To Medication: Party Drug 'Ketamine' Is Said To Effectively Cure Migraines (Parent Herald)
• Ketamine Considerations for Prehospital Use (Satellite Press Releases)

Opiates/Opioids

• When it comes to opioids, a stronger naloxone dose will save lives today (The Hill)
• This Drug Reverses Overdoses, But 3 States Make It Hard to Get (Governing)
• Walgreens makes Naloxone available without prescription in Louisiana (WWLTV)
• Israeli Cannabis Inhaler May Get Tested With Opium Poppy Next (Bloomberg)
• Rising Price of Naloxone Concerns Some Addicts' Families (EMSWorld)
• One Solution to the Threat of the Opioid Epidemic Spreading HIV (ATTN:)
• Opinion: Geographic shifts in heroin production caused more powerful strains (Maroon)
• More than 30 percent of North Koreans use meth, opium (UPI)
• The most horrifying mannequin challenge you'll see: Campaigners create video which shows the scene of a 'heroin overdose' to draw attention to epidemic sweeping America (Daily Mail)

Kratom

• We Still Have A Chance To Stop Kratom Prohibition – DEA Wants To Hear Your Thoughts (Reset.me)
• Kratom Research Gains Supporters in the Race to Replace Opioids (Inverse)
• Kratom: The Bitter Plant That Could Help Opioid Addicts—if the DEA Doesn't Ban It (Wired)
• Kratom and Adderall combination, does it really work? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• What is Kava Kava used for? How well does Kava work for anxiety? (Kratom Guides)

Khat

• ROP increases border patrolling to crack down on khat smuggling (Muscat Daily)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• From Rapé to Mapacho: Uncovering the Ceremonial and Medicinal Benefits of Sacred Tobacco (Psychedelic Times)
• Psychedelics and MDMA are helping cure PTSD, addiction, depression and anxiety (News.com.au)
• Random drug testing is a scam on behalf of big pharma (Echo Net Daily)
• Ross Ulbricht's Lawyers Think There's More Evidence of Law Enforcement Misconduct in the Silk Road Prosecution (Reason)
• Global Drug Survey set to peel back curtain on professionals microdosing on LSD and magic mushrooms (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Study Concludes Alcohol is More Harmful Than Psychedelics (Collective Evolution)
• Q&A - Shane Mauss on The Chemistry of Comedy and Psychedelics (303 Magazine)
• It's time to give psychedelic drugs another look (USA TODAY)
• Researchers Say Psychedelic Drugs Could Help Cure Addiction (IFL Science)
• Psychedelics reduce anxiety, depression in patients, study finds (The Baltimore Sun)
• Legalizing entheogens? (Telluride Daily Planet)
• Trump Picks El Chapo to Run D.E.A. (The New Yorker)
• Conviction rate in drug trafficking sees steep spike in four years (The Times of India)

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 (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychedelics - 2.19.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Could Cannabis Help Stem the Heroin Overdose Crisis? (TakePart)
• The Science Is Clear: Marijuana Is Not A Gateway Drug (Reset.me)
• Bill Maher Smokes a Joint to Prove a Point About Marijuana Legalization (ATTN:)
• Legal Marijuana Sales Totaled $1 Billion in Colorado Last Year (Reason)
• California Nuns Illegally Grow Medical Cannabis, Sell It Online (Inquisitr)
• Meet the Marijuana Industry's Newest Customers: Dogs (Reason)
• Cannabis does not cause anxiety and depression, study finds (The Telegraph)
• Why Is Facebook Taking Down Marijuana Dispensary Pages? (TIME)
• Terminal brain cancer patient says cannabis oil saved his life (Sun Times National)
• Using Cannabis to Treat Depression (Leafly)
• Study: No Increase In Prevalence Of Cannabis Use Disorders (NORML)
• Where do Ireland's political parties stand on decriminalising cannabis? (The Journal)
• Albuquerque baby makes history with cannabis oil at Colorado hospital (KRQE)
• Using Cannabis For Sexual Health (Reset.me)
• Government's Cannabis ATM (SF Weekly)
• Will there be a 2016 Colorado Cannabis Cup? Permit denied (The Cannabist)
• Happy Presidents Day! The Founding Fathers and Cannabis (Leafly)
• Leafly Evolves Beyond Cannabis Strain Reviews (New Cannabis Ventures)
• 'Cannabis clubs' may be opening in four Swiss cities (The Independent)
• Step by Step, Pot-Legalizing States Free Their Marijuana Markets (Reason)
• Leafly Science Roundup: Can Cannabis Improve Your Workout? (Leafly)
• Ex-coach Ron McBride voices support for medical cannabis (KSL)
• Barcelona's Pot Boom and Bust (Reason)
• Adams County denies permit to 2016 Cannabis Cup at Denver Mart (The Denver Post)
• Beginner's Guide to Cannabis Breeding, Genetics, and Strain Variability (Leafly)
• Complex California Pot Act Created Unseen Problem (Reason)
• Snoop Dogg Invests In Canadian Cannabis With Smiths Falls Marijuana Deal (Inquisitr)
• The gene that puts cannabis users at risk of psychosis: Scientists discover why some smokers are more prone to mental illness (Daily Mail)

LSD

• Inside the LSD Museum That the DEA Somehow Hasn't Torn to the Ground (WIRED)
• The Strange Way LSD Both Mimics Psychosis And Improves Mental Health (The Huffington Post)
• LSD research making a comeback says U of S historian (CBC News)
• Study: LSD could lead to long-term psychological well-being (Palm Beach Post)
• Always Wanted to Do LSD With Philip K. Dick? You'll Love Playing Californium (WIRED)
• LSD research rebounding during 'psychedelic renaissance' (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)
• Society may have changed enough to warrant a retrial of LSD: expert (Global News)
• 2 students charged after 3 LSD overdoses at Villanova University (6abc)
• Williams Sentenced to Probation for LSD Possession (KOWB)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic Mushrooms in North America: Before the Wassons (Reality Sandwich)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Could MDMA Save Your Relationship? (Complex)
• Want to Legalize Medical MDMA? Attend a 'Psychedelic Dinner' (US News)
• Government urged to consider pill testing as number of ecstasy users appearing at NSW hospitals doubles (ABC)
• MDMA: Using Safely (The Bottom Line)
• 'Deplorable' Kids Company psychologist is banned from practising for 12 months after taking MDMA with a vulnerable client in a nightclub toilet (Daily Mail)
• MDMA, Purest Form Of Ecstasy, Often Contaminated With 'Bath Salts' (Medical Daily)
• Death At HARD Summer Ruled Ecstasy "Intoxication" By Coroner (Your EDM)
• Florida man says he was jailed after police mistook aspiring for Ecstasy (WFTV)
• Teen Raver Died From Ecstasy Intoxication, Coroner Says (L.A. Weekly)
• Delivery results in felony charges for Oglesby man (LaSalle News Tribune)
• Teen accused of distributing ecstasy in Canberra faces court (ABC)
• A man and woman arrested for possession of Ecstasy: Parma Heights Police Blotter (Cleveland.com)
• Valdosta man arrested on MDMA, cocaine charges (Valdosta Today)
• Eugene man, allegedly high on ecstasy, arrested on felony assault charge (The Register-Guard)
• Teen rushed to hospital after taking ecstasy tablet at Coatbridge fast-food restaurant (Scottish Daily Record)
• Couple celebrated birth of child by taking Ecstasy and pot: West York police (PennLive)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• DMT Cook Burned & Busted (Crime Voice)
• Services Are Now in Session for Church Offering Hallucinogens (The Chronicle)
• Aidan Reid: How a Peru drug experience made me quit a life of partying (Belfast Telegraph)
• Police stumble upon suspected drug lab (The Davis Enterprise)
• De La Vina Resident Burned in Drug Lab Fire (Santa Barbara Independent)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• National Council Does Not Condone Faux Native American Churches or Marijuana Use (Indian Country Today Media Network)
• First Amendment: Justice Scalia's disastrous decision on religious freedom (Janesville Gazette)
• Scalia And Lewin: From Harvard To The High Court (The Jewish Week)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• What's the Difference between Iboga and Ibogaine? Identifying the Right Treatment for You (Psychedelic Times)
• Psychedelic Research with Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT: An Interview with Dr. Joseph Barsuglia (Psychedelic Times)
• Sunshine Coast alternative therapist calls on Government to research iboga plant to treat drug addiction (ABC)
• My First Iboga Experience: An Interview with Dr. Joseph Barsuglia (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• NYU Research: Hair Sampling Shows Unintended "Bath Salt" Use (New York University)
• Soldier dismissed from army for supplying N-bomb (Stuff.co.nz)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine treatments working wonders on local girl (WOAI)
• Drug holds promise to fight acute depression (Palm Beach Daily News)
• Parklife Festival drug dealer told he could have killed someone with ketamine horse tranquiliser (Liverpool Echo)
• Man dies after falling from fifth-floor flat window while trying to perform a PULL-UP (Mirror)
• Inquest heard in ketamine addiction case (Barnsley Chronicle)
• Woman groped, suspect later found on PCP | POLICE BLOTTER (Renton Reporter)
• Police: PCP arrest made during traffic stop in Md. (WJLA)
• NJ man arrested for possession of PCP (Mid-Hudson News)
• Youth faces court over ketamine haul (The Standard)

Opiates/Opioids

• Kroger to make naloxone available over the counter (Sandusky Register)
• How snail venom may help end the heroin crisis (KING5)
• Penetrating Every Stage of Afghan Opium Chain, Taliban Become a Cartel (The New York Times)
• Cruz, Trump want to secure the border to keep out heroin. But will it work? (The Washington Post)
• China busts 35 restaurants using opium poppies as seasoning (WFXT)
• Walgreens to sell Naloxone without a Prescription (MyTechBits)
• Heroin-Addicted Identical Twins Reveal Shocking Ways They Say The Get Money For Drugs (The Huffington Post)
• Tasked With Combating Opium, Afghan Officials Profit From It (The New York Times)
• Overdose prevention pills don't cure opioid problem (Business Insurance)
• Poppy farmer thought it was a herb (Bangalore Mirror)
• 'Tea lady' inspires people to give up opium cultivation in Arunachal (The Statesman)
• Myanmar, a country rich in jade and gems, and OPIUM (The Northeast Today)
• Opium smugglers evade capture in Jordan (Al Bawaba)
• Myanmar Activists Say Destruction of Opium Fields Blocked (ABC)
• Broadway man charged with trafficking opium (The Sanford Herald)
• Opium Prohibition in Afghanistan (Cato Institute)

Absinthe

• Man wakes up after a night of drinking of absinthe in Magaluf and discovers a tattoo of a huge penis inked on his leg (Daily Mail)

Kratom

• Oxford police say selling Kratom is now illegal in city (Alabama's News Leader)
• Grateful Toad fined $12000 (Plattsburgh Press Republican)
• Herb Linked to Multiple Ark. Deaths (ArkansasMatters)
• Investigators seize illegal drug from 3 local businesses (4029tv)
• Oxford police warn against sale of new synthetic drug Kratom (The Anniston Star)

Kava

• New kava legal challenge in Germany over drugs institute ruling (Asia Pacific Report)
• New Kava Challenge (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• Two New Kava Bars Chill out the Bay Area With a Calming, Natural Concoction (7x7)
• One year mellow at Berkeley's MeloMelo Kava Bar (Berkeleyside)
• Divisadero's Long-Awaited Kava Lounge Softly Opens This Thursday (Hoodline)

Khat

• Madagascar flirts with food crisis as Khat fields replace staple crops (AfricaNews)
• Of Juja's JKUAT students and miraa chewing (Hivisasa)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• New Report Finds Drugs Bought On the Dark Net Have Higher Levels of Purity (Thump)
• Is Meth as Safe to Consume as Adderall? (ATTN:)
• Here are 10 fascinating drugs that our ancient ancestors used to get high (Raw Story)
• WATCH: Lana Del Rey Gets High on Psychedelics in New 11-Minute Video for 'Freak' (First to Know)
• Combat PTSD with psychedelic drugs? The VA or nonprofit organizations must fund more research now (New York Daily News)
• Why deaths won't stop the party: Drug test kits gain popularity as festival overdoses soar (Geelong Advertiser)
• Scalia's Mixed Drug War Record (Forbes)
• North Carolina's Welfare Drug Testing Program Is a Complete Failure (ATTN:)
• COLUMN: Psychedelic drug safety (Indiana Daily Student)
• Don't Punish All Drug Offenders for the Crimes of One (Reason)
• Pope Francis: Mexico Must Confront Drug Trade, Corruption (TIME)
• Effort made at CU-Boulder to ensure safe recreational drug use (Boulder Daily Camera)

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 (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.