This Week in Psychedelics

A media controversy surrounds MDMA research, psychedelic pioneers Bruce Eisner and Myron Stolaroff passed away, and Syria is rumored to have used a hallucinogen chemical weapon in this week's psychedelic news.

• Patrick Lundborg, author of the "Acid Archives," has published "Psychedelia: An Ancient Culture, A Modern Way Of Life." The new book presents psychedelia as "an underground culture with a history stretching back 3500 years, covering Philip K. Dick, William Blake, DMT and ayahuasca, via Haight-Ashbury and Goa." (The Wire)
• "The Second Coming of Psychedelics," Don Lattin's article on the psychedelic renaissance, is featured in Spirituality & Health magazine in bookstores nationwide. (Spirituality & Health)
• Tom Roberts' new book, "The Psychedelic Future of the Mind: How Entheogens are Enhancing Cognition, Boosting Intelligence, and Raising Values," is out this month from Inner Traditions-Bear & Co. Purchases from the MAPS store help fund psychedelic research. (The Points, MAPS)
  
• The new Hebrew magazine LaPsychonaut ("For the Psychonaut") bills itself as "the first Israeli psychedelic periodical." (Haaretz)
• Syracuse University's study abroad program, "Drug Policy in a Global Perspective," will travel to Amsterdam and Lisbon, Portugal during the 2013 summer term. Applications for this 3-credit undergraduate and graduate seminar are accepted through February 20. (Syracuse)
  
• Bruce Eisner - psychologist, psychedelic activist, and author of "Ecstasy: The MDMA Story" - died on January 1. (Erowid)
  
• Myron Stolaroff, an author and researcher best known for his work in psychedelic psychotherapy and for his clinical studies on psychedelics and creativity, passed away on January 6. (Erowid)
• Sacred Psychedelic Science, a psychedelic student group at Evergreen State College, is raising funds to send its members to the MAPS Psychedelic Science 2013 conference in April. (Go Fund Me)
  
• New Scientist dubs psychedelic activist Amanda Feilding "the Countess of Psychedelic Drugs." (Slate)
• A new Swiss study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that subjects with treatment-resistant PTSD can significantly benefit from MDMA-assisted psychotherapy without harm. (MAPS)
• Daily Beast writer Ken Sepkowitz issued an apology for misrepresenting MAPS' MDMA study. He incorrectly claimed that the completed pilot study did not reach statistical significance and accused researchers of overstating the results. (MAPS, Reason, Digital Journal)
• TruthOut reviews traditional treatments for PTSD and explores new, innovative methods, including MAPS' research on MDMA psychotherapy. (TruthOut)
• Conflicting reports suggest that the Syrian military might have dropped a hallucinogen chemical weapon on rebels during an attack in the city of Homs. (Wired)
• 46 years ago, the San Francisco "Be-In" in Golden Gate Park catalyzed the 1967 Summer of Love. (Greenville Online)
  
• An essay in the Wall Street Journal argues that after more than four decades of a failed war on drugs, it is time to consider the decriminalization of drug use and the drug market. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Huffington Posts provides reasons why people who hate drugs should be at the forefront of ending the failed drug war. (Huffington Post)
  
• The UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform (APPG) argued for the decriminalization of the use and possession of all illegal drugs. (BBC)
• AlterNet lists 10 ways the drug war is causing massive collateral damage to our society, including racial injustice, denied access to education, and wasted taxpayer dollars. (AlterNet)
  
• Radiolab explores the capacity of magic mushrooms to catalyze mystical experiences and feelings of bliss. [audio] (Radiolab)
• CNN reports that more mainstream Americans are willing to voice their support of marijuana legalization now than they were a few years ago. (CNN)
  
• A Democratic state senator announced plans to introduce legislation that would legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania. (CBS Pittsburgh)
  
• San Diego Mayor Bob Filner ordered a halt to the prosecution of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. (U-T Sand Diego)
• Mexico, which has fought a long war against drug cartels, is considering legalizing marijuana after the recent success of legalization initiatives in Colorado and Washington. (LA Times)
• The synthetic psychedelic 25I-NBOMe, known colloquially as "N-Bomb," is described as a "growing threat" in Virginia. (West End Alexandria Patch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• An Australian newspaper predicts that criminal groups will introduce a wave of high-purity ecstasy into Queensland's party scene this summer. (Courier Mail)
• A "large-scale" psilocybin mushroom operation involving "several glass mason jars" was busted by authorities in Blue Grass, Iowa. (Quad-City Times)
  
• Vulture asks whether magic mushrooms can improve your viewing of "The Hobbit" film. (Vulture)
• Waking Times lists 10 cannabis studies that the government wished it had never funded." (Waking Times)
  
• A tech review describes a new iPad keyboard cover as "no doubt…Timothy Leary's keyboard of choice" based on its "groovy, psychedelic colors." (Cult of Mac)

Image by Christopher Martin Adams.

"This Week in Psychedelics" is a Reality Sandwich column that follows the multifaceted media appearances of this class of chemicals and their effects in popular culture. Share your psychedelic news links on the facebook page and twitter or by emailing nese /at/ realitysandwich.com

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the "news" links presented here. The purpose of this blog is to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation. This presentation format encourages an open dialogue, and allows for misinformation to be noticed and addressed by interested and informed parties. We provide the content; you provide the analysis and debate.