 I suggest that the ban [on psychedelics] also impacts the realm of identity politics. Since psychedelics are deeply entwined with some individuals’ sense of personal identity, [how do we]... address the systematic discrimination against psychedelic use and psychedelic interests[?]
Linking the struggle for social justice across identity categories, intersectionality resists discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and age, among other categories. That the inclusion of psychedelic identity with these categories remains controversial demonstrates the work that remains for securing the rights of individuals to determine their own states of body and mind ... For those who feel that their identity is inseparable from their experiences with psychedelics, being forced to keep quiet because of stereotypes, stigma, and misinformation can be emotionally crippling and alienating ... By openly expressing the impact of psychedelics on our lives, we reveal the vast spectrum of doctors, lawyers, scientists, writers, and politicians who encompass the category of psychedelic people, thereby dismantling dismissive assumptions and overgeneralizations that encourage silence and secrecy. From the Article: Psychedelics and Identity Politics Published by: Psymposia Original Link : https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/psychedelics-and-identity-politics/ Artwork Fair Use by: By Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
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 *book originally published in 1962
I am not ready to confront my demons on some 12-hour ayahuasca trip, but I was intrigued to try a little bit of brain hacking of my own. If it is improving the mood and productivity of the professional elite in Silicon Valley, what could it do for me – a writer with a tendency to anxiety and low-level depression? Not to be confused with microdosing, microdots... are one of the original ways to take LSD (the other common way is as a tab, a piece of blotting paper soaked in the stuff)... About the likelihood of having a bad trip... I came to the conclusion that a bad trip seemed to happen if you were in the wrong mood to start with – which, to my mind, is not so different from any stimulant, alcohol included. I’d be among trusted friends in... [a] beautiful home, From the Article: Is LSD the new middle-class dinner party treat? Published by: The Times.co.uk Original Link : https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/the-times-magazine/is-lsd-the-new-middle-class-dinner-party-treat-50nmjzhrg Artwork Fair Use by: Coward-McCann Publishersr  Nick Powers, an Associate Professor of English at SUNY Old Westbury and a psychedelic drug advocate, warned that, “As Johns Hopkins research and MAPS push the legalization of psilocybin and MDMA… [they] most likely will become medicine for the elite… because I imagine the treatment may or may not be covered by health insurance, it would exclude working class, middle class, and definitely the poor ... that psychedelics do not possess some inherently counter-cultural quality; rather, they “reflect the culture they are in.” With a medical system and a drug history that marginalizes people of color and the poor, the radicalism of psychedelia isn’t a given; equality and justice don’t just happen when people slip tabs of acid under their tongues.
The NYU and John’s Hopkins psilocybin trials were both funded in part through crowdsourcing. While the National Institute of Health, the primary national source of medical funding, is estimated to annually allocate $140 million to anxiety disorders research, $333 million to depression research, and $72 million to PTSD research, the three disorders that psychedelic research targets, it has not funded a single experiment with psychedelics ... But despite the increase in popularity of psychedelic research and the remarkable outcomes of initial studies, finding funding is still difficult ... Microdosing can be prescribed indefinitely – someone might follow the protocol for a week or the rest of their life. Grob predicts that this microdosing trend might cause pharmaceutical companies to reconsider their interest (or lack thereof) in psychedelics. On the cusp of medicalization, there is a very real chance that psychedelics will become another cash crop for the pharmaceutical industry ... Furthermore, there is no guarantee that psychedelics will be a drug of the people. From the Article: Why police boss thinks drug users should get to test their substances at clubs and festivals Published by: Harvard Politics Original Link : http://harvardpolitics.com/covers/psychedelics-in-the-age-after-aquarius/ Artwork Fair Use by: By Giveaway285 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons and David Simones  A major reason for the death penalty in China is to dissuade drug trafficking, and the public nature of these executions shows China's commitment to this policy, which has gained widespread public support.
For example, in December 2017, thousands of observers watched as 10 people were sentenced to death in a sports stadium in Lufeng in the southern Guangdong providence, about 100 miles from Hong Kong. Of the 10 executed, seven were convicted of drug-related crimes ... To put on this spectacle, local residents received an official notice through the social media inviting them to attend the sentencing. As the crowd watched, a police truck with its blaring sirens arrived with the accused, who were each surrounded by four officers wearing sunglasses. Then, one by one, the accused were escorted to a small platform to hear their sentences read. After that, they were whisked away to be executed. From the Article: How China Is Using the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers Published by: Expert Click Original Link : https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/How-China-Is-Using-the-Death-Penalty-for-Drug-Dealers-An-Approach-that-Works,2018155677.aspx Artwork Fair Use by: By Simon Speed - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4732129 Why police boss thinks drug users should get to test their substances at clubs and festivals3/27/2018  “Members of the public can bring substances of concern for free, anonymous and non judgemental forensic analysis by PhD chemists. “They then receive the results as part of a brief intervention by a healthcare professional with the overall aim of reducing drug-related harm.
Fiona Measham, director of The Loop and professor of criminology at Durham University, said: “After successfully introducing multi-agency safety testing (MAST) to UK festivals in 2016, the Loop is now planning on rolling this out to city centres in 2018 ... “We found that drug-related medical incidents at festivals were reduced by about 25% because we could identify contaminants and variations in strength that could cause problems, and then users could access prompt medical attention. “A number of police forces have approached us to discuss the expansion of MAST to city centres this year, including in the West Midlands and Thames Valley.” From the Article: Why police boss thinks drug users should get to test their substances at clubs and festivals Published by: Dailypost.co.uk Original Link : https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/police-boss-thinks-drug-users-14459316 Artwork Fair Use by: By Octagon (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons  Now 20 international policymakers and stakeholders from 10 countries have outlined a number of further reforms to ensure the policy platform can work as an even better template for other countries to follow ... Compulsory treatment and measures such as coerced urine testing and forced abstinence should be avoided as they adversely impact patient outcomes in addition to being at odds with basic medical ethics and human rights.
The overall goal of drug policy reform should be to minimize the total strain that drug use and drug criminalisation has on on the individual and society, rather than the prevalence of use. This effort should be based on the best evidence and evaluated with a comprehensive set of indicators of public health, community safety and human rights. Important harm reduction services should be scaled up to meet demand, and easy access to these services should be ensured. Examples of such services are drug substitution therapy with a wide range of medications, supervised drug consumption sites, drug testing sites, sufficient access to naloxone and other antagonists, and needle and syringe exchange programmes for those who need them (including prison populations). Minor, non-violent drug offences should be decriminalized. This includes possession and use, as well as minor acquisition, production for personal use and petty sale. Using police resources in this area is ineffective and often harmful, and resources are better employed strengthening health and social-sector alternatives ... Investments in treatment programmes and aftercare facilities should be prioritized and validated using high-quality evidence and research, just like other medical interventions ... Prevention and information efforts should be based on the best evidence. Honest information campaigns should be designed using evidence-based guidelines for risk communication. Prevention efforts in schools and society should be based on tested approaches, supplemented with investments in general preventive factors such as education, vocational training, housing and social activities. From the Article: Norway's drug policies 'could set example for rest of the world' Published by: Independent.co.uk Original Link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/norway-drug-law-reform-example-world-initiative-police-bereaved-relatives-warning-a8265311.html Artwork Fair Use by: By Rick Obst from Eugene, United States (Luna Statue on the University of Oregon Campus) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  The war on drugs has failed and it's time for New Zealand to take a fresh look at its policy, says former prime minister Helen Clark ... "I think all the people who know about drug policy, who know what's happening around the world, need to come to the [select] committee and spell it out how it is."
[She]... is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which aims to reform drug policy in order to reduce societal harm. Clark has previously advised the evidence lies with countries like Switzerland and Portugal, where decriminalisation and extensive social policies have reduced Portugal's rate of drug users from the highest in western Europe to the lowest. From the Article: [Senate Majority Leader] wants hemp removed from controlled substance list Published by: News Observer Original Link : http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article206830239.html Artwork Fair Use by: By David Geitgey Sierralupe [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  The U.S. Senate's top leader [Mitch McConnell] said Monday (March 26, 2018) he wants to bring hemp production back into the mainstream by removing it from the controlled substances list... [he] told hemp advocates in his home state of Kentucky that he will introduce legislation to legalize the crop as an agricultural commodity.
Hemp advocates fighting for years to restore the crop's legitimacy hailed McConnell's decision to put his political influence behind the effort to make it a legal crop again. "This is a huge development for the hemp industry," Steenstra said. "Sen. McConnell's support is critical to helping us move hemp from research and pilot programs to full commercial production." Brian Furnish, an eighth-generation tobacco farmer in Kentucky, has started making the switch to hemp production. His family will grow about 300 acres (120 hectares) of hemp this year in Harrison County. He's also part owner of a company that turns hemp into food, fiber and dietary supplements. Furnish said hemp has the potential to rival or surpass what tobacco production once meant to Kentucky. From the Article: [Senate Majority Leader] wants hemp removed from controlled substance list Published by: News Observer Original Link : http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article206830239.html Artwork Fair Use by: Nashville Public Radio  "Maybe it's time to take a sober, careful, scientific look at these medicines," Dr. Bossis said, "to revisit, are they helpful? Are they safe? Are they effective?" With more clinical trials on the horizon, researchers hope to open more minds about the potential of psychedelic drugs, one trip at a time.
Dinah Bazer beat ovarian cancer back in 2010, but the fear of it returning convinced her to volunteer for the study. "I just wanted this terrible daily anxiety to go away," she told Salie. In that treatment room, she was given the psilocybin … and her life-changing trip began. "I saw my fear," she recalled. "And it was a black mass under my ribs. It wasn't cancer; it was the fear itself. And it made me so mad. I was furious. And I screamed at it to get out. And, as soon as I did that, it was gone." When the drug wore off, the anxiety about her cancer returning was gone, and still is. What remains, she says, is the powerful memory of that symbolic experience. From the Article: LSD: A wonder drug once again? Published by: CBS News Original Link : https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lsd-a-wonder-drug-once-again/ Artwork Fair Use by: By Moise Nicu (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  In Australia, Doctor Gillinder Bedi is head of Substance Use Research at Orgyen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health.
She's... published a paper titled, "Is Psychiatry Ready for MDMA?" From the Article: 'Is Psychiatry Ready for MDMA?' Published by: ABC.net.au Original Link : http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/is-psychiatry-ready-for-mdma/9586034 Artwork Fair Use by: MAPS |
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