This Week in Psychedelics - 9.16.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • Holland-Style Marijuana Lounges Coming to America (ATTN:)
  • Germany and Austria Are Pouring Billions Into Cannabis Prohibition (Leafly)
  • Canada Wants the U.S. to Change Its 'Ludicrous' Marijuana Policy (TIME)
  • Opioid Maker Donates to Help Halt Marijuana Legalization in Arizona (Reason)
  • Nationwide rally for legalisation of medicinal cannabis to take place outside police stations (Stuff.co.nz)
  • The benefits of cannabis reform are now undeniable (iNews)
  • More American Adults are Consuming Cannabis than Ever Before (The Marijuana Times)
  • Cannabis Industry Expected to Be Worth $50 Billion by 2026 (Bloomberg)
  • Two Major Canadian Banks Refuse to Take Cannabis Clients Due to 'The Nature of Their Business' (Cannabis Business Times)
  • Study Suggests Pot Has Been Blamed for Fetal Risks Caused by Tobacco (Reason)
  • How Women Grow is cultivating cannabis leaders in North America (YourStory)
  • Ophelia Chong: On Photography, Race And Art In The Cannabis Industry (Dope Magazine)
  • Washington State Will Test Pot for Banned Pesticides More Frequently (TIME)
  • Cannabis 101: Cues to determine shelf life of that new legal marijuana (Food Safety News)
  • The Cannabis-Based Biotech Sector's Best Buyout Candidates (Forbes)
  • Major rise in amount of cannabis sold by German pharmacies (Deutsche Welle)
  • How to Decarboxylate Cannabis and Make Better Edibles (Merry Jane)
  • Report Shows Pot Prohibitionists' Desperation (Reason)
  • Diversity Issues Threaten to Derail Maryland's Medical Cannabis Program (New Cannabis Ventures)
  • These Factors Can Impact How Quickly or Slowly Your Cannabis Burns (Leafly)

LSD

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • What Ecstasy Does to Your Body: The Science Behind Music's Most Controversial Drug (Billboard)
  • The many overlooked benefits of ecstasy (Quartz)
  • Ecstasy making a comeback as purity rises in MDMA form, experts warn (ABC Online)
  • Crystal ecstasy is on the rise among young Australians (News.com.au)

Ayahuasca/DMT

  • The Science of Ayahuasca: Inside the ICEERS Study at the Temple of the Way of Light (Psychedelic Times)
  • Hipsters Are Healing Their Souls With 'Grandmother' Drug (Newser)
  • The Tradition of Ayahuasca in the Amazon: Creating the Temple of the Way of Light (Psychedelic Times)
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the ups and downs of ayahuasca (The New Yorker Radio Hour)

Iboga/Ibogaine

  • Fear and loathing in the five-star rehab: Inside the controversy around ibogaine, the psychedelic drug that just may cure addiction (Salon)
  • Iboga: Kicking Heroin Addiction with the Ultimate Ancestral Trip (iBogaine Thailand)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

Dissociatives

  • Ketamine: known anaesthetic as quick remedy for depression (Health Canal)

Opiates/Opioids

  • Heroin Is Being Laced With a Terrifying New Substance: What to Know About Carfentanil (TIME)
  • The story behind the photo of two heroin users and their four-year-old child (The Independent)
  • Prescription heroin gets green light in Canada (CNN)
  • Drug deaths reach record levels as purity of heroin and cocaine rises (The Telegraph)
  • The turbulent history of the opium trade (The Asian Age)
  • Naloxone may not help synthetic heroin overdose (WTHR)
  • TN makes naloxone available without Rx (Knoxville News Sentinel)

Kratom

  • After Banning Kratom, DEA Says It Might Be a Useful Medicine (Reason)
  • Why is the US banning kratom, the virtually harmless herb? (The Guardian)
  • DEA targeting of addiction treatment kratom will protect Big Pharma profits (RT)
  • Kratom Proponents Present 120,000-Signature Petition To White House To Stop DEA Rush To Ban Coffee-Like Herb In U.S., Seek Opportunity To Comment (PR Newswire)
  • What The DEA's Plan To Schedule 1 Kratom Will Mean For Million (Forbes)

Kava

  • Kava, with caveats: is this popular psychoactive tea bad for your liver? (The Verge)
  • What's Behind The Intoxicating Rise Of Kava Bars In The U.S. (Forbes)
  • High kava demand (The Fiji Times)
  • Kava in short supply (The Fiji Times)

Khat

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • Why Today's Illegal Drugs Are More Dangerous Than Ever (ATTN:)
  • Recovering from Depression: Two Meditations for Integrating a Psychedelic Experience (Psychedelic Times)
  • Jay-Z: 'The War on Drugs Is an Epic Fail' (The New York Times)
  • Philippine President Rodigo Duterte Targets Over 1,000 More Officials In His Drug War (TIME)
  • GOP Aide Urges Republicans to Oppose Criminal Justice Reform Because 'Drug Trafficking is a Violent Crime' (Reason)
  • Rio Branco, Brazil, to be transformed into the global epicenter of ayahuasca culture and debate for 2016 World Ayahuasca Conference (Psychedelic Press UK)
  • The Incoherence of Schedule I (CATO Institute)
  • Silene Capensis: The African Dream Herb (World of Lucid Dreaming)
  • Paul Howard Was The First Silk Road Vendor To be Arrested (News BTC)
  • Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's War On Drugs (TIME)
  • Fresh take on American Buddhism and psychedelics (Massey University)
  • Stretching on Psychedelics, The Mystery of Sound and Enhancing Your Life Through Inner Work (Disinfo)

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.