Weekly Psychedelic Links - December 2022

12.2.22

Cannabis

  • Biden Signs Marijuana Research Bill, A Historic First For Federal Cannabis Reform (Marijuana Moment)

  • Idaho Plans for Medical Cannabis Legalization on the Ballot in 2024 (High Times)

  • Ohio Senate Votes To Remove Marijuana Paraphernalia Convictions From Criminal Records And Allow Broader Expungement (Marijuana Moment)

  • Police in India Say Rats Ate More Than 1,100 Pounds of Confiscated Weed (High Times)

  • Young Americans Are Twice As Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes, New Gallup Data Shows (Marijuana Moment)

  • New Federal Job Applications Won’t Ask About Most Marijuana Use Unless It Was Within The Past 90 Days (Marijuana Moment)

  • Many People with Bipolar Disorder Use Cannabis. It May Sometimes Help (Scientific American)

  • University Researchers Exploring Cannabis As A Treatment For Covid-19 (Forbes)

  • New York’s illicit weed products are weak and full of toxins, study finds (Leafly)

  • Medical Marijuana Legalization Linked To Reduced Opioid Use By Cancer Patients, American Medical Association Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Pennsylvania Starts Program Providing Financial Assistance to Low-Income Cannabis Patients (High Times)

  • Wedding Guest Files Lawsuit Over Pot-Infused Reception Food (High Times)

  • These States Almost Legalized Marijuana In 2022 (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • Many Trips, Diminishing Returns: Cross-Tolerance Between LSD and DOI (Psychedelic Science Review)

  • Former CEO Sues Company That Fired Him for Microdosing LSD in an Investor Meeting (Futurism)

Magic Mushrooms

  • DEA Proposes Even Higher 2023 Production Quotas For Psychedelics Like MDMA And Psilocyn (Marijuana Moment)

  • Non-profit Organization Marches on Canadian Capital To Fight for Therapeutic Mushrooms (High Times)

MDMA

  • The man who took 40,000 ecstasy pills (The Face)

  • Climate Lessons from Cambodia’s Illegal MDMA Market (TalkingDrugs)

Ayahuasca

  • Why Ayahuasca Is Miley Cyrus' 'Favorite' Drug (And How It Supported Her Veganism) (Benzinga)

  • After closing its doors in Canterbury, a church serving hallucinogenic tea vows to reopen elsewhere (NHPR)

  • Ceremonial Ayahuasca in Amazonian Retreats: Mental Health and Epigenetic Outcomes From a Six-Month Naturalistic Study (Chacruna)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

  • Prison “K2”: The Hidden Center of a Chaotic New Drug War (Filter)

Ketamine

  • Laid-off workers can now get a free month of ketamine-assisted therapy services to help with their mental health (Fortune)

  • Low-dose ketamine may reduce shivering following spinal anesthesia (Physicians Weekly)

  • Ketamine for Depression Poses “Significant Risk to the Public” (Mad in America)

  • Study shows how ketamine administration starkly changes neuronal activity patterns in the brain (News-Medical.net)

Miscellaneous

  • Berkeley, California Officials Approve Psychedelics Decriminalization Resolution Amid Pushback From Reform Advocates (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colombian And Mexican Presidents Announce International Effort To Reshape Drug Policy, Condemning ‘Failure’ Of Prohibition (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colorado Governor To Appoint Psychedelics Advisory Panel After Voters Approve Legalization Ballot Measure (Marijuana Moment)

  • Why the “Psychedelic Renaissance” is just Colonialism by Another Name (DoubleBlind)

  • Could the Latest Science on Psychedelics Revolutionise the Way We Understand Our Minds? (Men's Health)

12.9.22

Cannabis

  • Brittney Griner released from Russian detention in prisoner swap (Leafly)

  • Legalization Amendment To Be Added to Missouri Constitution (High Times)

  • New Jersey Marijuana Regulators Approve Rules For Public Cannabis Consumption Areas (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colombian Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill, Bringing Country Closer To Ending Prohibition (Marijuana Moment)

  • Study: Cannabis Has ‘Uniquely Beneficial Effects’ on People With Bipolar Disorder (High Times)

  • Pain relief from marijuana comes from a belief it helps, study finds (CNN)

  • Delivery is in the works for New York’s new legal weed stores (Leafly)

  • Children are ditching alcohol for marijuana, as 20-year national US study shows a 245% increase (EurekAlert!)

  • Oregon recalls thousands of cannabis products over pesticide concerns (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Minnesota Files Lawsuit Against Several Companies for Illicit Edible Sales (High Times)

  • As Congress Stalls On Marijuana Banking, New Report Details Public Safety Risk Of Cash-Intensive Dispensaries (Marijuana Moment)

  • NORML Report Highlights Citywide Policies Depenalizing Marijuana Law Enforcement (NORML)

  • Study: ‘Significant’ negative association between medical cannabis sales, alcohol (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Dispensaries’ Cashless ATM Transactions Get The Ax (High Times)

  • Connecticut: Governor Announces Intent to Expunge 40,000+ Marijuana-Related Convictions (NORML)

  • Biden’s Health Secretary Shares Marijuana Scheduling News At 4:20—Again (Marijuana Moment)

  • Marijuana packaging rebrands can draw consumers, create cohesion, reflect values (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Trend Sees Brands Pairing Top-Shelf Weed, Fine Dining (High Times)

LSD

  • Study on LSD microdosing uncovers neuropsychological mechanisms that could underlie anti-depressant effects (PsyPost)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Portlanders Explain Why They’re Waiting in Line for Psychedelic Mushrooms (Willamette Week)

  • Study suggests psilocybin increases mindfulness, especially when accompanied by mystical experiences (PsyPost)

  • Amsterdam’s Last Shroom Lounge (DoubleBlind)

  • Diamond Therapeutics completes Phase I clinical study of low-dose psilocybin in healthy human subjects (PR Newswire)

  • Oregon store allegedly selling psychedelic mushrooms raided (The Seattle Times)

MDMA

  • MDMA may be available for medical treatment "as soon as 2024" in US hospitals (Mixmag)

  • Wastewater data shows 286% increase in ecstasy use during pandemic (Healio)

  • Abuse Potential: Considerations for Rescheduling MDMA and Psychedelics (Psychedelic Science Review)

DMT

Ayahuasca

  • A Canadian psychedelic drug company has created medical grade ayahuasca (Toronto Star)

  • Modulatory Effects of Ayahuasca on Personality Structure in a Traditional Framework (Chacruna)

  • Declaration of The 4th Brazilian Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference (Chacruna)

Ketamine

  • Now Companies Can Buy Insurance To Cover Ketamine Therapy for Employees (Lucid News)

  • Using Ketamine to Treat Anorexia (Psychology Today)

  • Meta-Analysis of Intravenous vs Intranasal Ketamine (Psychiatric Times)

  • Low-dose Ketamine Effective In Reducing The Incidence Of Shivering Following Spinal Anesthesia (Medical Dialogues)

Miscellaneous

  • MAPS Found Liable in Wrongful Death Lawsuit (Lucid News)

  • Most States Will Legalize Psychedelics By 2037, Analysis Published By American Medical Association Predicts (Marijuana Moment)

  • When virtual reality meets psychedelic therapy (Mashable)

  • How Will Our Value Systems Affect The Psychedelic Movement? (Maps of the Mind)

  • We’re rushing the use of psychedelics as medicine, researchers say (New Scientist)

  • Awakn Makes Its Case To Investors (Lucid News)

  • Punk Ethos & Psychedelic Practice (Maps of the Mind)

12.16.22

Cannabis

  • Recreational Weed Now Legal in Missouri (High Times)

  • Connecticut: Adult-Use Cannabis Sales to Begin Next Month (NORML)

  • New Hampshire GOP And Democratic House Leaders Team Up On Marijuana Legalization Bill For 2023 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Here’s how New York’s legal weed delivery will work (Leafly)

  • Teen Marijuana Use Remained Stable In 2022, Despite More States Legalizing And Lifting Of Pandemic Restrictions (Marijuana Moment)

  • Kansas City: Officials Dismiss Hundreds of Marijuana Cases Following Statewide Legalization Vote (NORML)

  • Kansas Lawmakers Plan To Introduce Medical Cannabis Legalization Bill (High Times)

  • Prosecution collapses against execs caught up in CannTrust cannabis scandal (CBC)

  • Texas Activists Turn In Signatures To Put Marijuana Decriminalization Back In Voters’ Hands After City Council Repeal (Marijuana Moment)

  • Massachusetts To Add Lessons on Weed Impairment to Driver’s Ed (High Times)

  • Nearly 2 Million Marijuana Convictions Have Been Pardoned Or Expunged In The U.S. In The Past Five Years, New Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)

  • Australian Residents Could Save $850 Million Annually if Cannabis is Decriminalized (High Times)

  • Marijuana Legalization Reduces Arrests Even In States That Already Decriminalized, American Medical Association Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • Up to 9% of LSD and psilocybin users report reoccurring effects after drug has worn off (PsyPost)

  • Gut Feeling: Links Between LSD, Endocannabinoids, and the Microbiome (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Florida halts amanita muscaria sales at nation’s only brick-and-mortar retailer (Leafly)

  • COMP360 psilocybin therapy shows potential in open-label study in type II bipolar disorder presented at ACNP (Psychedelic Alpha)

  • Here’s why police are raiding psychedelic mushroom stores in major cities (Leafly)

  • Rat Study Examines Psilocybin as Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder (High Times)

MDMA

  • The History and Benefits of MDMA, the New Tool in Mental Health Again (Daily Kos)

DMT

  • Experiencing a Changa Ceremony at an Oakland Plant Medicine Church (Lucid News)

Ayahuasca

  • Aaron Rodgers says doing psychedelic drug ayahuasca helped him overcome his ‘fear of death’ (The Independent)

5-MeO-DMT

  • UCL To Lead First-Ever Brain Imaging Study Among Psychedelic Retreat Participants (High Times)

  • PsyBio Therapeutics Takes Initial Step to Help Protect the Sonoran Desert Toad as it Files Three New Provisional Patent Applications, Including Intellectual Property Protection for the Biosynthetic Production of 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Alpha)

Peyote

  • Inside the battle to save the sacred peyote ceremony: ‘We’re in dire straits’ (The Guardian)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • Israeli Based Biotech Company Clearmind Completes IND-Enabling Studies for CMND-100 (Psychedelic Alpha)

Ketamine

  • Ketamine plus therapy could help treat alcoholism, say researchers (The Guardian)

Miscellaneous

  • Verdict in Lawsuit Assigns MAPS 25% Liability and $1M in Damages (Lucid News)

  • New center takes multidisciplinary approach to the study of psychedelics (University of Michigan)

  • It’s Not Just About Pot. Our Entire Drug Policy Needs an Overhaul. (The New York Times)

  • The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on a Psychedelic Experience (Sam Woolfe)

  • Would You Be Friends With Your Friends if You Didn’t Do Drugs Together? (VICE)

  • Why is Gender-Affirming Care Needed in the Psychedelic Space? (Chacruna)

  • How Many Likes Does it Take to be a Psychedelic Thought Leader? (Lucid News)

12.23.22

Cannabis

  • First words from Brittney Griner: Thanks Biden, vows to help free others (Leafly)

  • Federally Funded Study Finds Teen Use Rates Largely Unchanged by Legalization (NORML)

  • Canada Destroys a Record Amount of Cannabis (High Times)

  • District of Columbia: Council Members Advance Legislation to Expunge Tens of Thousands of Marijuana Convictions (NORML)

  • Afroman Announces 2024 Run for President (High Times)

  • Twitter Stops Suggesting People Who Search For ‘Marijuana’ May Need Drug Treatment (Marijuana Moment)

  • Canada’s Cannabis Legalization Is Working Effectively, Annual Survey Suggests (Forbes)

  • New Washington Bill Would Allow Interstate Marijuana Commerce (Marijuana Moment)

  • New Report Analyzes Medical Pot Patients’ Consumption Habits (High Times)

  • Majority Of Texas Voters Back Marijuana Legalization, And Three In Four Support Decriminalization, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • How LSD evolved from CIA mind-control drug to counterculture emblem (Leafly)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Quebec covers psilocybin therapy under medical insurance in historic first (Leafly)

  • Oregon Psilocybin Entrepreneurs Navigate Business Requirements (Lucid News)

Ayahuasca

  • Canadian Company Announces Ayahuasca Pills (Chacruna)

  • Music and ayahuasca’s role in treating substance use disorders in men (UC Riverside)

Datura

  • Weed responsible for hallucinogenic spinach recall identified as thornapple (The Guardian)

Miscellaneous

  • New Bill Tries to Decriminalize Psychedelics in California—Again (DoubleBlind)

  • The Myth of the Psychedelic Santa (Lucid News)

  • U.K. Police Chiefs Call for Decriminalization of First-Time Drug Offenses (High Times)

  • Israel-Based Clearmind Medicine Granted U.S. Patent for Psychedelic-Based Alcohol Substitute (Psychedelic Alpha)

  • Placebo Problems: Boundary Works in the Psychedelic Science Renaissance (Chacruna)

12.30.22

Cannabis

  • Record Number of Scientific Papers Published About Cannabis in 2022 (NORML)

  • Washington, D.C. Passes Bill To Expand Medical Weed Sales (High Times)

  • Google Ends Ban On Advertising Certain Hemp And CBD Products In Parts Of U.S. (Marijuana Moment)

  • Clinical Trial Finds Cannabis Oil is Well-Tolerated, Effective Insomnia Treatment (High Times)

  • Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Records To Launch Its Own Cannabis Brand (Forbes)

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom Pardons 10, Some Cannabis Convictions (High Times)

  • A dying US cancer patient used cannabis to ease pain. His hospital called the police (The Guardian)

  • South Dakota Activists File Measure That Could Put Marijuana Legalization On Ballot For Third Election In A Row (Marijuana Moment)

  • Is legal weed doomed to be run by big business? (Vox)

  • Texas Marijuana Activists Submit Enough Signatures To Challenge Local Decriminalization Repeal, While Another City’s Reform Faces Lawsuit (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

  • A single dose of psilocybin improves depression in treatment-resistant patients, but with adverse effects (PsyPost)

  • Psilocybin Therapy For Autism-Like Disorder Receives Approval For Phase 2a Clinical Trial (The Dales Report)

  • Do Shrooms Go Bad? (DoubleBlind)

MDMA

  • MDMA Is Getting Super Popular Among Rich, Young Indians (VICE)

  • VA Report Says Psilocybin And MDMA Show Therapeutic ‘Promise’ For Veterans’ Mental Health Conditions (Marijuana Moment)

DMT

  • Phase 2a study initiated to examine synthetic DMT for treatment-resistant depression (Healio)

Ayahuasca

  • “Nobody Wants A Synthetic-Only Future”: Filament Health Is Formulating Natural Psilocybin And Standardizing Ayahuasca (Healing Maps)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • Tripping Without The Trip: Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelics (Benzinga)

Ketamine

  • Much remains unknown about using ketamine to treat depression—and Colorado doesn't regulate it (The Denver Post)

Miscellaneous

  • New York Lawmakers File Psychedelics Legalization Bill For 2023 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Psychedelics Like Psilocybin Are Now Legal In Colorado With Governor’s Proclamation On Voter-Approved Ballot Measure (Marijuana Moment)

  • The Multidimensional Worlds of Mariela de la Paz (DoubleBlind)

  • Minnesota Medical Association Endorses Decriminalizing Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

  • Psychedelic therapies are on the horizon, but who will administer the drugs? (NBC News)

  • Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say (NPR)

  • Psychedelics Are Surging—at the Expense of Indigenous Communities (The Daily Beast)

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Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.