Too lifted to read the news? Every week, we recap the most interesting headlines in the world of intoxicants, illegal or not. To inform, to liberate. …

1. Ketamine was found to soothe social anxiety. Not just during the treatment but for weeks afterward.

2. Legal drugs equal more money and less problems, as a Harvard study found that legalizing all drugs would add $100 billion a year to state and local governments. Governments could stop spending $48 billion a year to fight the War on Druggos, and start collecting $59 billion a year in taxes. Legalization will only happen if the druggos run for town council, start petitions or at least mail in a measly ballot once in a while for god sakes.

3. Cannabis legalization is rolling around the globe like midnight on New Year's Eve, as Thailand wants to lead the way on med weed. The Thai climate is pot-perfect.

4. The UK will have med pot by the fall, the British government announced, and the national health service will pay for it.

5. American cops in weed-legal states chase real crimes now, as a new study says police clearance rates — the number of crimes that resulted in an arrest compared to the total number of reported crimes — increased in Washington state and Colorado post-legalization.

6. There are so few weed arrests in the United Kingdom now that the drug is effectively decriminalized.

7. Outdoor retailers take small steps toward embracing weed, with a fundraiser for carbon offsets held during the Outdoor Retailer show in Denver.

8. Those who joked about "majoring in marijuana" now do it for real, as a college in Ohio plans to offer classes in the art and science of testing cannabis.

9. Weed counteracts alcohol? Maybe, as science decided marijuana could help protect the livers of alcoholics.

10. The bastards always end up on top, as a former lawyer for the Reagan administration now owns a pot farm. Edward Weidenfeld joins a list of former drug warriors getting rich off the drug they dudes to prison for, because shamelessness is dead and karma was a myth.

11. And, just for balance, here's a Reddit thread in which "AnxiousEddie" says a bad LSD trip permanently damaged him, a reminder that trips can derail you, and that a trained guide, a good mindset and a safe environment reduce the risks and enhance the benefits.

Post of the Week

[cover photo Edward Weidenfeld with President Ronald Reagan]