Politics

329 NGOs call on world leaders to address the global health and human rights crisis among people who use drugs

Even more concerning is the fact that people who use drugs often remain a ‘population under attack’.Worldwide, one in five people is incarcerated for a drug offence, the overwhelming majority for simple possession. Hundreds of thousands of people who use drugs are held in compulsory detention centres where they are denied healthcare and are victims…

READ MORE
Politics

Gathering allows Portugal to teach the world

She brought the house down when she stated, simply: “People do notlose their human rights because they use drugs.” Whether or not Portugal continues to advance rapidly, it remains an outlier in world terms. “There are still lots of places where users are living the same war that they were living in the ‘80s and the…

READ MORE
Politics

Oakland lawmaker will sponsor psychedelics decriminalization measure, activists say

Activists in Oakland, California say they’ve secured a City Council sponsor for a resolution that would block the police department and other officials from participating “in the enforcement of laws imposing criminal penalties for the personal use and personal possession… The measure would also instruct the city’s state and federal lobbyists to “work in support…

READ MORE
Medicine/Healing

The first vote to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms is happening…

“Why are we putting individuals in prison and taking away their children for using something that is physically safe, non-addictive, and has such tremendous medical benefit?” the arguments-in-favor section reads. “Psilocybin mushrooms are safer than cannabis and alcohol. Not only are they non-addictive, but they also treat depression, addiction, and end-of-life anxiety.” Shall the voters…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

In 2016, the ‘First Legal Ayahuasca Church’ got shut down. Was it a scam…?

The [‘Church’]… distinguished itself quickly as the most brazen and ambitious ayahuasca outfit of its kind. Most organizations serving ayahuasca work quietly. Few require as substantial a financial commitment as Ayahuasca Healings was asking—a donation of as much as $1,997 for a four-day retreat… They started pitching Ayahuasca Healings online, towards the end of 2015, news…

READ MORE
Modern Culture

Building a psychedelic community during the war on drugs

Red flags we look for are indications that someone intends to exploit the vulnerabilities in our community in some way. Such exploitations may come in the form of police or informants trying to prey upon and bust people by soliciting drugs from the community, and others, such as pseudo-shamans or other entrepreneurs, trying to profit…

READ MORE
Politics

British police are raising their voices against the drug war

He points out that policing incentivizes the recruitment of children into drugs gangs to act as a buffer between police and adult dealers, reducing dealers’ risks. Very few communities anywhere in the world are untouched by the ravages of the drug war—and the millions of casualties include drug users whose health is threatened by unregulated…

READ MORE
Psychology

Why faking positive emotions at work can lead to heavier alcohol consumption

Such is life for millions of service workers, from baristas to customer service reps. Personally, I’ll never forget how frustrating it was to smile and say “sure!”  Significant patterns arose confirming that employees who more frequently reported surface acting/concept creep [the emotional weight carried by service-industry workers, like bank tellers and flight attendants, who are…

READ MORE