There's the sports section of the newspaper, the lifestyle section, and the business section. But where's the drugs section? Here's you stand-in for this week. To inform, to lift, to liberate.
1. Drugs keep racking up victories in the War on Drugs, as cocaine production is higher than ever; Colombia alone cranks out 150 tons a year. (NPR.)
2. Overdose deaths topped 70,000 in America last year, so many that average life expectancy for the whole country is dropping. (New York Times.)
3. Shrooms news: Oregon's government approved language for a ballot measure that would decriminalize mushrooms and allow therapists and guides to be licensed to help you trip. The organizers, the Oregon Psilocybin Society, need to collect more than 100,000 signatures to make the 2020 ballot. (Business Insider.) Volunteers for a group called Decriminalize Denver are right now collecting signatures for a vote in the Mile High City.
4. The trial of Mexican drug lord El Chapo rolls on, revealing that, as his tunnels were shut down, El Chapo moved $500 million worth of cocaine through the border hidden in jalapeno jars. (New York Post.)
5. In MDMA news: Kim Kardashian owes some of her career to ecstasy, since she was rolling when he filmed the Ray J sex tape that catapulted her to fame. (News 18.)
6. The research organization MAPS is looking for participants in trials of MDMA therapy for PTSD in Boulder, Fort Collins, Hollywood, New Orleans and South Carolina. Info here. (Inverse.)
7. Ecstasy helped dudes cooperate in a game called the Prisoner's Dilemma, where trust lets you win. Dudes probably had a cuddle puddle afterward, too. (Wired.)
8. The Global Drug Survey is looking for your experiences. The world's largest effort to collect the actual experiences of actual drug users is jonesing to survey you — whether you're actually a drug fiend or not. Find them at GlobalDrugSurvey.com. Last year more than 100,000 people gave their input, and the researchers found some gonzo shit, like cocaine is delivered in London as fast as pizza.
9. Meth use might not be spiking up, despite reports. An analysis by Reason shows that methamphetamine use may have been higher around the turn of the millennium, despite what the DEA has been saying. Reason, a libertarian mag, suggests the DEA is ginning up a drug crisis so it has something to do. After all, the DEA can't go after marijuana much anymore. (Reason.)
10. At least one drug is fading: cigarette use is way down. Cigs have been replaced by vaping while staring vacantly at your phone. (CNN.)
Leave a Reply