Author: Patrick Maravelias

[ad_1] A new multi-million dollar study at Johns Hopkins University aims to analyze how patients nationwide respond to medical cannabis treatments.  Johns Hopkins University, which championed one of the largest and most widely referenced studies on medical applications of psilocybin mushrooms, announced the launch of a medical cannabis study in the winter edition of their Brainwise newsletter.  According to the newsletter, the study will take a nationally representative sample of about 10,000 medical cannabis patients in an attempt to “fill [the] information gap” that exists when comparing medical cannabis knowledge to other elements of modern medicine. In other words, they…

[ad_1] A 3D printed chip which mimics human organ systems may allow for drugs to one day be tested without harming animals. Pharmaceuticals are often if not always tested on animals before ever being administered to humans, though many drugs never make it that far in the process. In fact, when I interviewed Willy Myco the notorious YouTube educator on all things shroom-growing, he told me that he left a high-ranking position with a top pharmaceutical company to pursue YouTube content creation because he saw a room full of animals in cages who were slated to be incinerated after the…

[ad_1] Psilocybin treatment centers in Oregon have administered magic mushrooms to over 700 people in 2023, the inaugural year of the program. Numbers reported by the Seattle Times who cited the Healing Advocacy Fund, a non-profit organization which supports the advancement of psychedelic therapies in Oregon and Washington, tally the total number of people who have accessed psilocybin therapy this year in Oregon at 715. Over 100 people have accessed the services in the last 20 days alone, as the Healing Advocacy Fund reported on Dec. 7 that the total number was just over 600. The Healing Advocacy Fund could…

[ad_1] A Reuters investigation found that raids on suspected fentanyl labs by the Mexican government have almost exclusively targeted inactive labs. Pressure from the United States on Mexico to curb the massive flow of fentanyl coming into our country from theirs has led to a dramatic increase in raids on labs suspected of producing the powerful opioid responsible for the 73,000 some odd overdose deaths of American citizens in 2022 alone. However, it has recently come to light that at least 95% of the raids conducted between January and August of this year were on labs that had already shut…

[ad_1] Local government officials in the Swiss capital of Bern are discussing the possibility of launching a pilot program to study the effects of legal cocaine sales on the general public. According to Reuters, legislators in the Bern Parliament have proposed the idea as a potential solution to increased cocaine usage in a country already infamous for some of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe. The discussion began just weeks after a select few Swiss cities, Bern included, launched a similar pilot program to analyze the effects of legal adult-use cannabis sales, the first of its kind in…

[ad_1] California legislators have approved regulations for water companies to begin purifying sewage water for people to drink. In a state with over 39 million residents regularly stricken by years-long droughts, water companies will soon be permitted but not required to recycle toilet water, extensively treat it, and send it right back to kitchen sinks. California is the second state after Colorado to approve such measures. “Water is so precious in California. It is important that we use it more than once,” said Jennifer West, managing director of WateReuse California, an advocacy group  “After 13 years of steady advocacy, fundraising…

[ad_1] Congress passed a bill Monday that directs the United States government to publicly disclose information pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, but the catch is they have many years to do so. A portion of the annual defense policy bill contained a directive to all government agencies maintaining that all records pertaining to UFOs be disclosed to the general public within 25 years of their creation. President Biden is expected to sign the bill, which also gives the president the power of blocking certain records from becoming public in the interest of national security. “Closely…

[ad_1] A California man has been extradited to the U.K. to face manslaughter  charges over the death of a woman at his 2016 slapping therapy workshop.  An investigation was opened in October, 2016 when 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm was found dead in her hotel room at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire. Carr-Gomm had recently attended a paida lajin retreat, which is a form of therapy from China wherein a person vigorously slaps certain parts of the body in order to expel certain toxins from the blood.  60-year-old Hongchi Xiao, a man from California who was in Australia at the time of…

[ad_1] An international drug trafficker with possible business ties to a reputed “super cartel” as well as the Italian mafia has handed over the ownership rights to his multi-million dollar private island in an attempt to try and reduce his sentence.  Known drug kingpin Raffaele Imperiale made headlines in 2016 when police raided one of his homes in Naples and found two original Vincent Van Gogh paintings estimated to be worth more than $58 million each. The paintings had reportedly been stolen in a heist at the Vincent Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam in 2002. He spent five years on…

[ad_1] A particular strain of cannabis flower literally named “Grim Reefer” has been recalled from Arizona dispensaries due to potential mold contamination.  The Arizona Department of Health Services issued a recall Monday for certain cannabis products that may have been contaminated with aspergillus mold. “An Arizona marijuana establishment has voluntarily recalled specific products due to possible contamination with Aspergillus, a fungus that can cause allergic reactions or infection, usually in people already sick with something else,” said a written press release from the ADHS. “The products being voluntarily recalled is the Nirvana Center’s Grim Reefer, Batch number PHX1091-GR.” The ADHS…

[ad_1] Ecuador’s newly-elected president has re-outlawed drug possession just a few days after taking power as part of a campaign promise to crack down on narcotics trafficking. President Daniel Noboa announced Thursday, less than two days after taking office, that he would be changing the nation’s drug laws to once again make possession of small amounts of drugs a crime, walking back legislation enacted by Democratic Socialist President Rafael Correa’s administration about a decade ago.  Previously, Ecuadorians were permitted to carry up to 10 grams of cannabis, two grams of cocaine paste (the raw materials made from coca leaves used…

[ad_1] A Vermont cannabis farmer has attracted some unwanted attention from his community and neighbors due to some unconventional employees on his cannabis farm: 30 ducks of all shapes, sizes and breeds. Jason Struthers of Essex Junction, Vermont grows 100 licensed cannabis plants at his property. He uses duck manure to fertilize those plants after he bought them to use as meat but opted to let them hang out a while instead.  “I actually bought the ducks initially to use them as meat. But I became attached to them too quickly and didn’t want to slaughter them all,” Struthers said…