Anthropology

Port Townsend votes to decriminalize psychedelics

City leaders in Port Townsend, Washington voted [on Dec. 20, 2021] to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi, joining a growing list of communities that have relaxed their policies… “After two and a half years working on this issue, we are extremely excited that the City of Port Townsend has passed a resolution supporting the decriminalization…

READ MORE
Anthropology

Activists file Colorado ballot initiatives… psychedelics…

A national advocacy group recently filed two separate psychedelics reform initiatives for Colorado’s 2022 ballot, both of which are titled the Natural Medicine Healing Act… “It’s really important to advocate for full decrim first and foremost,” Nicole Foerster said at a December 16 virtual meeting of the group she leads, Decriminalize Nature Boulder County… “If…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Hemp batteries are eight times more powerful than lithium, scientists discover

“We’re making graphene-like materials for a thousandth of the price – and we’re doing it with waste.” Tesla’s new million-mile battery is made from lithium-iron phosphate, which is supposed to last twice as long as conventional lithium-ion batteries. While more abundant and cheaper than lithium-ion, lithium-iron-phosphate still can’t compete with the apparently far-more-powerful (and renewable) hemp… Original…

READ MORE
Anthropology

…excited for in… 2022?

Many local advocates and practitioners see decriminalization efforts as the next big step for their movement… criminalization of entheogens “was really more political than anything else”… looking forward to seeing what else local advocates can accomplish to make them more accessible and safe to use… people “are finding very deep healing through plants that aren’t…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Sackler [opioid] ruling… [rejected & overturned]

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan found that a bankruptcy judge overstepped his authority by approving the plan that gave the Sacklers immunity in return for $4.5 billion for those harmed by Purdue… has overturned a bankruptcy settlement worth more than $4 billion which granted immunity from opioid lawsuits to members of the Sackler…

READ MORE
Politics

…Compass Pathways’… patent…

Compass will now have three months to respond to each filing. Then, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a collection of administrative judges… will make a decision as to whether the petitioner demonstrates that at least one of the challenged claims is “more likely than not” unpatentable—and whether the case should proceed to a trial.…

READ MORE
Politics

More… granted psilocybin mushrooms exemption by federal government

…struggling with mental health conditions [&] have received exemptions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act from the federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos. …mandamus application to compel the health minister to make a decision regarding… patient’s Section 56 exemptions… Health Canada fought that application “tooth and nail”… 19 healthcare professionals to receive an exemption……

READ MORE
Science

Magic mushrooms study suggest psilocybin may reverse alcohol-induced brain damage

The consumption of alcoholic beverages is responsible for 5.3 percent of deaths worldwide every year… in both groups of mice that received psilocybin, mGluR2 expression was restored following the treatment. This change was evident in the mice’s behavior, too: The psilocybin group relapsed roughly 45 percent less compared to the control mice. As hypothesized, mGluR2 expression was reduced in the brains…

READ MORE
Science

Psychedelic psilocybin cuts cravings and boosts key brain functions in rat models of alcohol use disorder

…set out to see whether psilocybin could restore the receptor’s expression and tamp down the desire to seek out alcohol while also restoring flexibility in cognition. The researchers gave the rats one of two different doses of psilocybin to see whether the magic mushroom ingredient was effective at reducing relapses. They found that both doses…

READ MORE