Modern Culture

Joy to the weed! Marijuana legalization comes bearing gifts

“People consume cannabis on the holidays and they always have,” Smith said. “Now they are doing so through a regulated system.” Legalization means pot lovers can legally do something they’ve always done, which is give away marijuana to people they love, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Original Article (NP…

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Modern Culture

The psychedelic renaissance… joins the harm reduction movement

Harm reduction and integration overlap with regard to reducing the harm or ongoing risks of difficult or negative experiences with psychedelics (e.g., helping someone through heightened anxiety or suicidal ideation stemming from a difficult psychedelic experience). Harm reduction and integration can be further differentiated from “preparation” for therapeutic experiences.  When [individuals] express an intention to…

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Modern Culture

The steady rise of the trippy festival

The most common drug used at festivals is alcohol, and it also happens to be the most problematic for health workers. The rising number of music festivals inspired by psychedelic drugs are clearly tapping into a growing need to take time out from normal life, but also to go on a mental journey, surrounded by…

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Modern Culture

Group launches effort to allow cannabis cafes in Oregon

Oregon Flower : Cannabis visited by a Frog Sam Chapman with the New Revenue Coalition says Oregon lawmakers need to give people public places to smoke, especially since many have rental agreements that don’t allow them to smoke on the property. Perhaps Chapman’s biggest hurdle will be persuading lawmakers to permit waivers to the Indoor Clean…

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Modern Culture

Could Oregon legalize magic mushrooms… ?

This week we moved one step closer to some form of this becoming a reality, with Oregon’s Attorney General approving the language for a ballot measure to allow licensed medical professionals to administer psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. There will, of course, be those who will vigorously oppose the passage if it makes the ballot, and…

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Modern Culture

Taking stock : A decade of drug policy [a civic society… report]

The report highlights the urgent need to conduct more thorough and regular research on the broader range of impacts of drug policies at local, national, regional and international level … Global drug policy debates going forward should reflect the realities of drug policies on the ground, both positive and negative, and discuss constructively the resulting tensions…

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Modern Culture

Rethinking the global war on drugs

Since 2014… governments and like-minded allies have sought to lay the groundwork for changes to the current approach, which is grounded in three international drug accords adopted between the early 1960s and 1988.  Those treaties, which required that signatories outlaw the trade and possession of controlled substances — including marijuana — were conceived at a time when…

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Modern Culture

More student unions set to offer drug-testing kits at universities, National Union of Students, says

A number of student unions – including Manchester, Newcastle and Sussex – already offer kits so students can test drugs before taking them to determine their toxicity. More are looking to do the same, but smaller SUs need financial support, Ms Crossan Jory said. She added: “Student unions are taking it more seriously. And there are a…

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Modern Culture

Psilocybin initiative moves to signature-gathering stage for May 2019

On October 5, 2018, they got the go-ahead to begin signature-gathering. Signature-gatherers will have forms ready for prospective signers explaining the medical benefits and offering clinical information about psilocybin. The Denver initiative focuses on psilocybin mushrooms, which it defines as “fungal matter containing psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, or nor-baeocystin.” … Currently, the only way to legally consume…

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