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…

READ MORE
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…

READ MORE
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…

READ MORE
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…

READ MORE
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…

READ MORE
Modern Culture

The jury is in on cannabis legalization in North America: it’s been a success.

Not only do drug arrests fall after legalization, but other crime numbers improve as well. Violent crime fell by 10 percent in Washington State after legalization. Research has also identified that crime rates in neighborhoods with retail cannabis stores see a localized drop crime rates due, in part, to the disruption of illicit drug markets. Writing in…

READ MORE
Modern Culture

5 myths about psychedelics that we need to stop spreading

Psychedelics can make almost any idea feel like a life-changing epiphany, but these ideas need to be scrutinized post-trip to separate the gemstones from the fool’s gold … In order to use psychedelics to their full potential both individually and collectively, we need to be brutally honest about what they are, and what they aren’t. (eg. some people simply…

READ MORE
Modern Culture

Activists in Oregon fight for cannabis consumption lounges

“Most states already have an Indoor Clean Air Act, which prevents cigarette smoking inside,” Martinez tells High Times. “After legalization passed in Oregon, someone specifically added cannabinoids to the state’s Indoor Clean Air Act, so we would like to get that reversed.​The bill would not only allow stand-alone cannabis cafes, it would also permit licensed…

READ MORE