Striving After Wind with NPS
New psychoactive substances with opioid-like effects continue to emerge on illicit drug markets.
10/11/22
Search Results for: NPS
08/10/18
You Can’t Ask Alice About NPS
New/novel psychoactive substances (NPS) continue to grow in number at the rate of about 100 new ones each year. As of December 2017, there were more than 800 NPS substances reported to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Early Warning Advisory on NPS. Sometimes they are called “legal highs” because they are […]
01/17/23
The Eye of the Beholder with Psychedelic Therapy
It is essentially impossible to develop a double-blind methodology with psychedelics because of the unique characteristics of the drugs.
11/22/22
Brain Stimulation or Brain Damage? Part 2
On Valentine’s Day 1974, British doctors destroyed sections of Derek Hutchinson’s hypothalamus without his consent. Surgeons drilled two holes into his forehead and then sent a wire with an electrical tip deep into his brain. Before the right and left sides of the targeted area of his hypothalamus was burned for thirty seconds each, the […]
11/15/22
Brain Stimulation or Brain Damage? Part 1
Nexstim won FDA clearance for its noninvasive brain stimulation system to treat major depression in November 2017. The Nexstim CEO, Martin Jamieson, said the clearance was a critical milestone for the commercialization of their transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device in the U.S. Then in February of 2019 the FDA cleared a drastically reduced 3-minute session […]
08/2/22
The Future of Marijuana Legalization in Pennsylvania
The future of marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania means we will see a corresponding increase of psychosis and other mental health-related problems among regular users.
06/21/22
Gambling with Cannabis and Psychosis
Biological evidence supports a causal link between marijuana and psychosis. Additionally, this seems to be dose-dependent—with higher potency marijuana, there is an increased likelihood of a psychotic disorder. What is not clear, however, is whether at a population level patterns of cannabis use influence the levels of psychotic disorder. A new study published in The […]
12/21/21
The Risks of Legalizing Marijuana in PA
Ending the so-called ‘prohibition’ is not enough. Pennsylvania needs to consider the risks to its citizens if it legalizes recreational marijuana.
06/15/21
Evaluating the Risks with Esketamine
Concerns with esketamine aren’t new. It seems it was approved by the FDA on flimsy evidence and only about 10% of patients who received esketamine achieved a rapid clinical response.
04/20/21
The Business of Legalizing Marijuana in PA
In the midst of our national political news, there was an announcement by John Fetterman, the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, that he is formally exploring a run for the U.S. Senate in 2022. According to Marijuana Moment, legalizing weed is a central part of his political platform. Fetterman said: “We’re going to get there. There’s […]