Politics

This [new FDA approved opiod] drug Is 10x stronger than fentanyl but still safer than cannabis [and kratom], says FDA

*The Opium War Museum entrance in Guangdong, China. Last month, the FDA made the controversial move to approve Dsuvia over numerous objections from high-ranking policymakers. Those opposed included four US senators and Dr. Raeford Brown – Chair of the FDA’s Advisory Panel, who noted that there are actually no distinct medical benefits or application for the drug right now. …

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Politics

Surgeon General : Federal drug classification needs changes

*Oregon State Library“Local control and local innovation is what I’m all about,” said  U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.  “Our scheduling system is functioning, but not as ideally as it could,” he said of the federal schedule for controlled substances maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration. “Things aren’t static. We have…

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Biography/Memoir

Healing the empire and elevating the underground : a conversation with Rick Doblin

I liken their view [of some] to a kind of “cultural bypass” in the vein of spiritual bypass- a yearning for instant easy enlightenment or overnight sociopolitical revolution without any of the hard work, practical concerns, or steady incremental effort it takes to fully integrate and embody a new perspective. – Wesley Thoricatha Yes, and I’ve thought…

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Politics

Drug decriminalization… a health-centered approach

*Oregon Supreme CourtAccording to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Portugal’s policy has reportedly not led to an increase in drug tourism. It also appears that a number of drug-related problems have decreased.”31 The leading independent researchers to investigate the outcomes of Portugal’s policy, professors Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens, wrote in the…

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Politics

[A] nationwide ban on kratom… [would] be deadly

*Senator Stabenow of Michigan meets with representatives of the Kratom Rally in June 2018. The FDA just approved a new opiate (Dsuvia) that is 8-10x stronger than fentanyl. Basically, this says that a plant proven to treat opiate withdrawal [kratom] is more of a threat to public safety than one of the strongest opiates known…

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Politics

Oregon initiative would decriminalize psilocybin

The changes in the state’s criminal code would be significant, the primary goal of the petitioners is to clear the way for the therapeutic use of psilocybin via licensed and regulated producers, processors, and therapists. An initiative that would decriminalize most psilocybin offenses and open the door to regulated production and therapeutic use of the…

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Psychology

Small doses of psychedelics might help you solve problems

“Apart from its benefits as a potential cognitive enhancement technique, microdosing could be further investigated for its therapeutic efficacy to help individuals who suffer from rigid thought patterns or behaviour, such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder,” she explains. Research led by Luisa Prochazkova of Leiden University in the Netherlands indicates that ingesting tiny amounts of…

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Science

A chronic low dose of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive function in old mice

Scientists at the University of Bonn and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) have now achieved this in mice. These animals have a relatively short life expectancy in nature and display pronounced cognitive deficits even at twelve months of age. The researchers administered a small quantity of THC, [one of many] active ingredient[s] in ……

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