Biography/Memoir

Cannabis… insiders… 2020 retrospective

What lessons have the cannabis, hemp, and psychedelic plant [and fungi advocates learned] from this chaotic lap around the sun? Cannabis was deemed essential, a hard-fought turning point for the nascent industry from which there is no turning back… against the odds, the progress made has been undeniable. Original Article (Forbes):Psychedelic and cannabis industry insiders offer…

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Modern Culture

…in praise of magic mushrooms…

It’s the latest wrinkle in the burgeoning food-as-medicine movement… …and the ongoing rollback of the war on drugs. In November [2020], [Oregon decriminalized personal possession of psilocybin]. Investors, for one, are tripping, pouring funds into more than 200 mushroom startups in the U.S. Original Article (Forbes):Forbes food & drink awards 2020: In praise of magic…

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Biography/Memoir

[what is] …extractive… psychedelic industry

With the cannabis bubble bursting in the rear view mirror, we should ensure that executives hopping from extractive industries into the nascent psychedelic pharmaceutical industry are well-scrutinized, and we should not assume or blindly trust that they will use tactics that are any less exploitative than those they used in their past career roles as…

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Modern Culture

2020 was the [first of many years of] psychedelics [ahead]…

2020 recorded the highest number of published psilocybin research to date, with the NIH’s pubmed registering 118 publications on the drug, almost double from the 68 publications recorded in 2019… “This is going to lead to a constitutional challenge, which is actually how cannabis came about…” …[that] means you’re going to have de facto legalization,…

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Anthropology

…ground-breaking… [fungi]

With the traditional approach to mental health and wellness… already struggling… The legal exemption from the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act [under Section 56] , granted by the Office of Controlled Substances at Health Canada, paves the way… Original Article (Psilocybin Alpha):Legal psychedelic therapy comes to alberta with ground-breaking health canada decisionArtwork Fair Use: Øyvind…

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Spirituality

[Entheogen] advocates eye… reform

At last, a new era for entheogenic plants has begun… the idea is to essentially convince… district attorneys to make investigation and prosecution of crimes related to entheogenic plants their city’s lowest law enforcement priority. In September [2020], that’s what Ann Arbor’s City Council in Michigan voted unanimously to do. A term used to categorize plants…

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Medicine/Healing

…law on plants and fungi… better path to reregulation

To recoup the tens-to-hundreds of millions of dollars invested in securing FDA approval and related patents, and then the expense of thereafter marketing their wares for a profit, the corporate owners of these future FDA-approved psychedelics are not acting out of principled charity or for the goodwill of all humankind. They are going to make…

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Politics

Congressman introduces new bill to abolish civil forfeiture

[Civil Asset Forfeiture Elimination Act to repeal civil asset forfeiture nationwide.] Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury Department have collectively forfeited at least $45.7 billion in revenue …would prohibit the federal government from using civil forfeiture, which lets law enforcement take cash, cars, and other valuables from people never charged with…

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Spirituality

Tune in, turn on, step up… ethics

The countercultural movement’s pursuit of peace, love and understanding was a worthy goal. This time around, let’s make sure our quests for self-transformation and world-transformation are aligned. It is only natural – and perhaps quite sensible – that the public remain skeptical. So, those of us who see the healing potential of psychedelics must encourage…

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