Misc. news stories

Some of the Most Conservative Corners of Regional Australia Support Legalising Cannabis
31st July 2022 | vice.com | Humans, Misc.

As conservative leaders continue to rail against its legalisation, sentiment among the broader Australian population is shifting—markedly. Now, even the most conservative pockets of regional Australia are warming to the idea.

After death, you’re aware that you’ve died, say scientists
29th July 2022 bigthink.com | Humans, Misc., Weird

Your subjective experience might not end the moment your heart stops, research on near-death experiences suggests.

The High-Stakes Race to Engineer New Psychedelic Drugs
29th July 2022 | wired.com | Humans, Misc.

As psychedelic therapies for mental health go mainstream, companies are recruiting chemists to create patentable versions of hallucinogens. Critics say it’s all a bad trip.

Why some of Colorado’s foremost shrooms advocates won’t be voting to legalize psilocybin
29th July 2022 | denverpost.com | Humans, Misc.

Come November, Colorado voters will be asked to decide whether to legalize psilocybin and psilocin, psychoactive compounds in magic mushrooms, as well as whether to establish healing centers where the public can access them in a therapeutic context.

Psilocybin microdosers display mental health improvement during 1 month period compared to non-microdosers
26th July 2022 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

New research published in Scientific Reports found that people who microdose psychedelics displayed greater improvements in mental health and mood over the span of 1 month compared to non-microdosers.

A single dose of psilocybin has long-lasting antidepressant-like effects in fruit flies
19th July 2022 | psypost.org | Animal Life, Humans, Misc.

Scientists have taken an important first step into studying the effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin — the active substance in “magic” mushrooms — at a cellular and genetic level. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, indicate that a single dose of psilocybin produces a long-lasting antidepressant-like effect in flies.

AYAHUASCA AND THE ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM
24th June 2022 | projectcbd.org | Humans, Misc.

Scientists probe the link between serotonin and cannabinoid signaling.

Image from: Apollo (Wiki Commons)

DMT is Effective at Treating Depression, New Study Finds
22nd June 2022 psychedelicspotlight.com | Humans, Misc.

In the quest to discover the most effective psychedelic medicines for treating mental health conditions, some have pointed to DMT as a potential tool for treating depression. Now, a new study published in Nature lends credence to using DMT as a rapid-acting antidepressant.

Thailand cannabis: From a war on drugs to weed curries
21st June 2022 | bbc.co.uk | Humans, Misc.

Thailand legalised cultivating and consuming cannabis this month, reversing a hard-line approach of long prison sentences or even the death penalty for drug offences. The BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports on what’s behind the dramatic change.

 

Psilocybin-induced mystical experiences linked to lasting positive psychological effects
13th June 2022 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

Psilocybin is associated with general long-lasting positive psychological effects in healthy individuals as well. New research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology indeed found that psilocybin-induced psychedelic experiences are associated with long-lasting positive effects.

How psilocybin, the psychedelic in mushrooms, may rewire the brain to ease depression, anxiety and more
12th June 2022 amp.cnn.com | Humans, Misc.

Shrooms, Alice, tweezes, mushies, hongos, pizza toppings, magic mushrooms — everyday lingo for psychedelic mushrooms seems to grow with each generation. Yet leading mycologist Paul Stamets believes it’s time for fans of psilocybin mushrooms to leave such childish slang behind.

Thailand legalises cannabis trade but still bans recreational use
10th June 2022 | bbc.co.uk | Humans, Misc.

People in Thailand can now grow cannabis plants at home and sell the crop after the nation removed marijuana from its banned narcotics list. The nation is the first to advance such a move in South-East Asia, a region known for its stringent drug laws.

Rep Jamie Raskin has compared modern-day America to ancient civilisations that “practiced human sacrifice”
10th June 2022 | independent.co.uk | Ancient, Humans, Misc.

“In the history of our species, a number of civilians have practiced or allowed human sacrifice including the sacrifice of children,” he said.

“The Carthaginians, the Mesopotamians, the Incas, the Aztecs,” he listed.

“Will we be recorded as such as society that accepts the sacrifice of innocence?”

Image from Wiki Commons

Let doctors use MDMA to treat veterans with PTSD and depression, former ADF boss says
7th June 2022 | theguardian.com | Humans, Misc.

The former chief of the Australian defence force, Chris Barrie, is campaigning to remove barriers stymying doctors from using MDMA to treat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, saying he hopes “common sense is going to prevail”.

New studies shed light on the mysterious process by which psilocybin can rapidly improve depression symptoms
5th June 2022 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

Up to 30% of people with depression don’t respond to treatment with antidepressants…So there is an urgent need to expand the repertoire of drugs available to people with depression.

Medicinal cannabis reduces pain and the need for opiate painkillers among cancer patients
31st May 2022 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

A comprehensive assessment of the benefits of medical cannabis for cancer-related pain found that for most oncology patients, pain measures improved significantly, other cancer-related symptoms also decreased, the consumption of painkillers was reduced, and the side effects were minimal.

Miscellaneous news stories.