Biography/Memoir

Wuhan [China] signs letter of intent with Biodelta [South Africa] one month after launching psilocybin division

Although the psilocybin industry is still in its nascent stages, all signs suggest that the momentum behind developing psychedelic medicines will continue to grow.  As James Hamblin recently wrote in The Atlantic, “The growth of cannabis is a reminder that once there is money to be made, industries form lobbies in Washington, D.C., and it becomes…

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Politics

Zero psilocybin [mushroom] arrests in Denver first month after decriminalization

From 2016 to 2018, the Denver Police Department arrested about fifty people per year for psilocybin-related offenses. The Denver City Attorney’s Office is still analyzing the ballot language and will present its findings to law enforcement and the mayor’s office. “We’re set to hear expert input in coming weeks to understand what ‘personal use’ and ‘possession with…

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Science

Effects of ‘secondhand drinking’ hurt 53 million Americans: study

The most common type of harm reported was threats or harassment. Forget secondhand smoke. Now you have to worry about the secondhand drinking. One fifth of adults — or an estimated 53 million people in the United States — suffer from other people’s boozing annually, making this “a significant public health issue,” according to a new…

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Anthropology

Hemp poised to become major crop

Although hemp’s popularity is nothing new, its potential as an agricultural commodity has blossomed since the 2018 Farm Bill, which classified industrial hemp as a commodity and removed it from the list of controlled substances. Even when Oregon had a hemp program, which was established in 2015 after the 2014 Farm Bill passed, the industry…

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Politics

Amendments protecting Tribal cannabis sovereignty pass the House

This amendment was the first tribal cannabis amendment ever offered and passed on the House floor. This would prohibit Department of Justice from spending money to interfere in any tribal cannabis programs, or interfere with tribal cannabis programs within states that have legalized. Under current law, tribes do not have existing protections for state medical…

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Politics

Federal legislation would protect commerce between consenting States [regarding marijuana]

The State Cannabis Commerce Act would protect all state licensed cannabis industries from federal interference, and specifically shields commerce between states that have entered into trade agreements. It opens the door to us to show that allowing legal states to move cannabis from markets where it is abundant to markets where it’s needed. Original Article (Craft…

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Science

Acute subjective and behavioral effects of microdoses of LSD in healthy human volunteers

Single “microdoses” of LSD produced orderly dose-related subjective effects in healthy volunteers. Numerous anecdotal reports suggest that repeated use of very low doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), known as “microdosing,” improves mood and cognitive function. These effects are consistent both with the known actions of LSD on serotonin receptors, and with limited evidence that…

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Spirituality

Replication and extension of a model predicting response to psilocybin

Mental states of surrender or preoccupation at the time of ingestion explain variance in mystical or adverse psilocybin experiences. Mystical experiences relate to long-term positive change. The capacity to recognize this optimal preparatory mental state may benefit therapeutic use of psilocybin in clinical [and other] settings. Original Article (Springerlink):Replication and extension of a model predicting…

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Psychology

Can a psychedelic drug save the terminally ill from their deepest fears of death?

Within palliative care wards, antidepressants have not been particularly useful in treating the dying. The trial is part of a revolutionary shift in attitudes towards psychedelic drugs believed to have therapeutic benefits for treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even commonplace addiction to alcohol or tobacco. “Antidepressants tend to make people feel a little less…

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