Anthropology

Psychedelics and mental health care – what policymakers need to know

Given its unregulated nature, the Netherlands may arguably represent the upper limit of potential harm from psilocybin truffle legalization. A review of psilocybin harms in the Netherlands for Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology finds that “the use of magic mushrooms rarely (if ever) leads to physical or psychological dependence, that acute and chronic adverse effects are relatively infrequent and generally…

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Anthropology

We are harvesting the ayahuasca vine at an alarming rate

Gatherers, intermediaries, processors and exporters based in Iquitos, the capital of the Peruvian jungle, or in the indigenous communities near Pucallpa, the other major production center, are in agreement about the overexploitation of wild ayahuasca. …one of the first people who dedicated himself to the business of exporting ayahuasca, warns that if the extraction continues…

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Anthropology

Lawmakers… vote to end marijuana testing of city workers

The resolution also emphasizes that the proposal is in response to lawmakers passing decriminalization legislation… “As a forward-looking and progressive city, we need to adapt and change with the times, as policy has,” [Councilwoman Stephanine] Lynch told Virginia Public Media. “In an environment where we are in such shortage of good employees, in my mind,…

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Anthropology

Organic weed certified by the State is coming…

…“comparable-to-organic.” In other words, the weed is organic according to the USDA standards, but it’s not labeled as “organic” to avoid the federal government’s regulatory wrath. Cannabis cultivated through purely organic methods is nothing new. In fact, that’s how the plant was originally grown, thousands of years ago. Some smaller cannabis operations rely on all-natural techniques for growing…

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Anthropology

The secret lives of fungi

Psilocybin [containing mushrooms have] already been decriminalized in Santa Cruz, Oakland, and Denver [including the right to grow at home for personal consumption in Denver and human/ecological rights-centric non-commodified sharing models, such as “grow, gather, gift”, in Santa Cruz and Oakland (with at least one of those cities developing a community-based [city-level] framework for local…

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Anthropology

…perspectives on the globalization of psilocybin mushrooms

The situation was further complicated when Huautla was included in a government program of “Magical Towns,” as the Mexican state attempted to appropriate local cultures to promote tourism. This commodification of sacred heritage resulted in the rise of autonomous neoshamans who worked for tourists, and sacred mushrooms gaining a monetary value for foreign tourists as…

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Anthropology

Japan and controlled substances: a short history

…the issue with the “Dame, Zettai” motto is that it conflates all controlled substances as something unknown and scary, without any historical and societal context… As of June 6, 2002, possession of magic mushroom carries a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment… While this authoritarian approach may have been permissible in the past, it’s…

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Anthropology

DC allows medical marijuana delivery…

The vehicles must be equipped with GPS to “ensure that the most direct delivery route is followed.” For dispensaries that plan to provide curbside or at-the-door pickup, there are also unique regulations they must comply with such as ensuring that the entire transaction is still captured on video. Original Article (Daily Trojan):DC allows medical marijuana…

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