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Carl Hart is a Columbia University professor of psychology and neuroscience. He chairs the psych department and has a fondness for heroin – not only as a subject of scholarly pursuit but also as a substance for personal use. At 54, the married father of three has snorted small amounts of heroin for as many as 10 days in a row and enjoyed it mightily – even if, as he recalls in his new book “Drug Use for Grown-ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear” (Penguin Press), he’s experienced mild withdrawal symptoms “12 to 16 hours after the last...

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has reported an increase in fraudulent unemployment claims during the coronavirus pandemic as the department attempts to assist people who are struggling. An investigative department for the KUSA-TV has found the state has filed more fraudulent claims filed by scammers than legitimate claims filed by residents, the station reported. The state agency said 1.1 million fraudulent claims and 1,043,760 legit claims have been filed since the pandemic began in March. “We have to walk a tightrope from the demand and mission to get out these benefits quickly as possible to...

Days before the ER visit, he had decided to use mushrooms by first boiling them down into what he called “mushroom tea,” then filtering the mixture through a cotton swab and intravenously injecting it. Soon after, he developed symptoms including lethargy, jaundice, diarrhea, and nausea, along with vomiting up blood. By the time he was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit, multiple organs had started to fail, including his lungs and kidney. Tests revealed that he had both a bacterial and fungal infection in his blood, meaning that the mushrooms he injected were now literally feeding off him and...

In the 1990s, it was our collective national will to do what was necessary, however distasteful to some, to rescue our society from catastrophe.As the nation prepares for the incoming Biden-Harris administration the new president promises will be “the most progressive in history,” many drug policy practitioners wonder with trepidation what this will mean for the country’s drug crisis. Record levels of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, not to mention surging tonnage of cocaine and black market marijuana, are pouring across our borders at the hands of ruthless Mexican drug cartels, directly fueling ever-increasing overdose deaths and crime. So leftists’ stated...

Portland police identified five armed suspects arrested Friday for robbing a northeast Portland dispensary, then leading police on a high-speed chase and hiding for several hours. Police tweeted Friday afternoon that the suspects were hiding in the neighborhood of Northeast Halsey and Broadway, between Northeast 41st and 47th Avenues. Police said SERT had been activated. We’re here at NE Halsey & 42nd where @PortlandPolice are searching for multiple people who they say are armed. The road is closed here. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/cCz3mrEcOS — Bridget Chavez (@BridgetChavezTV) January 1, 2021 Police said the suspects they were looking for were described as young...

WELLSTON, Oklahoma—One day in the early fall of 2018, while scrutinizing the finances of his thriving Colorado garden supply business, Chip Baker noticed a curious development: transportation costs had spiked fivefold. The surge, he quickly determined, was due to huge shipments of cultivation supplies—potting soil, grow lights, dehumidifiers, fertilizer, water filters—to Oklahoma. Baker, who has been growing weed since he was 13 in Georgia, has cultivated crops in some of the world’s most notorious marijuana hotspots, from the forests of Northern California’s Emerald Triangle to the lake region of Switzerland to the mountains of Colorado. Oklahoma was not exactly on...

Home cultivation has emerged as a clear sticking point in cannabis reform across many states.While it faces pushback, including from several cannabis brands, home grow is making incremental progress in medical and adult use markets, and ushering in a variety of parameters to meet state needs. The issue has made more progress than other key advocate issues, such as social equity. Yet, industry professionals say more could be done to improve access and curb industry greed.Those supporting home grow believe that it is a way to provide affordable cannabis to low income individuals, as well as to those customers who...

Democrat-controlled Oregon has become the first state to decriminalize hard drugs, including meth, heroin, and cocaine, according to reports. The state's lawmakers passed legislation early on Wednesday morning in a 59-41% vote, according to the Associated Press. The "Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act" seeks to transition Oregon's drug policy from a punitive, criminal approach to "a humane, cost-effective, health approach."

In what would be a first in the U.S., possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other hard drugs could be decriminalized in Oregon under a ballot measure that voters are deciding on in Tuesday’s election. Instead of being arrested, going to trial and facing possible jail time, the users would have the option of paying $100 fines or attending new, free addiction recovery centers. The centers would be funded by tax revenue from retail marijuana sales in the state that was the country's first to decriminalize marijuana possession.

Newly-released data shows the majority of Colorado’s youth are participating in healthy behaviors and that marijuana use among school-aged children has not significantly changed since legalization. The data comes from the bi-annual statewide Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) conducted last year with more than 100,000 students participating. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) released the results of the survey Monday. The survey shows marijuana use among school-aged kids has stayed relatively flat since legalization, but the way kids are using marijuana has changed. In 2019, 20.6% of youth said they use marijuana compared to 19.4% in 2017....

Joe Rogan, host of one of the most popular podcasts on the planet, said that he decided to move from Los Angeles, California, to Texas because he wanted "a little bit more freedom." Rogen explained further the decisions behind his move during his podcast conversation with guest Joe De Sena, the CEO and founder of Spartan and the Death Race. "I'm outta here," said Rogan when De Sana asked him about moving. "I'm gonna go to Texas." "I just want to go somewhere in the center of the country, somewhere it's easier to travel to both places, and somewhere where...

Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris says Washington, DC won’t decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, cacti and plants on his watch. Harris told The Post he’s appalled that drug reform activists submitted on Monday what they say is enough signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot making natural hallucinogens the lowest law enforcement priority. Harris said he will force a House Appropriations Committee vote next week to stop it, using the power of Congress over DC’s budget.

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The Mountain State held its primary election today, deciding on who will face off for races including governor and who will represent West Virginia in the United States Senate. Putnam County voters decided to allow medical cannabis organizations to operate growing facilities, processing facilities and dispensaries with approximately 64% pf the vote for each. Voters approved laboratories with almost 65%. Current Gov. Jim Justice will face off against the Democratic candidate for governor in the General Election after winning the Republican nomination. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (WV-R) held on to the Republican nomination for her United...

They have high hopes for a coronavirus breakthrough. A team of Canadian scientists believes it has found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent and then treat coronavirus infections, according to interviews and a study.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said Sunday it may call on federal help for its probe into Saturday night's massive fire and explosion downtown that injured 12 firefighters, including two who remain in critical condition.

LOS ANGELES - An explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles injured 11 firefighters who had gone inside and on the roof to try to knock down a fire and then had to run for their lives when a ball of flames shot out the building and scorched a fire truck across the street. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said “one significant explosion” shook the neighborhood about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters inside had to run through a wall of flames estimated as 30 feet high and wide, and those on the roof scrambled down a...

In some parts of the world they conjure wild memories from the 2010s. In Russia, they're more popular than weed.When a group of powerful, legal stimulants burst onto the drug scene in the UK and U.S. a decade ago, they caused a media frenzy. In Britain, mephedrone came virtually out of nowhere in 2009 to become a hugely popular drug with university students, clubbers and rural teenagers. Dubbed "meow meow" by newspapers and sold online as “plant food,” it was the “killer” drug that made people rip off their own scrotums. Yet behind the hype, to young people using it,...

This is an excerpt for discussion purposes, see article for full story. More and more Americans are reporting near-constant cannabis use, as legalization forges ahead. The proliferation of retail boutiques in California did not really bother him, Evan told me, but the billboards did. Advertisements for delivery, advertisements promoting the substance for relaxation, for fun, for health. “Shop. It’s legal.” “Hello marijuana, goodbye hangover.” “It’s not a trigger,” he told me. “But it is in your face.” When we spoke, he had been sober for a hard-fought seven weeks: seven weeks of sleepless nights, intermittent nausea, irritability, trouble focusing, and...

Rolling Stone magazine recently published an article titled "Trump 2020: Be Very Afraid," which carries the following subtitle: "America is the first country to ever elect a Mad King, and the way things are going, we may be dumb enough to do it twice." The author, Matt Taibbi, sat down with CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday morning. Among other things, Taibbi said the enthusiasm at Trump's campaign events this year is even greater than it was in 2016, and reporters who cover Trump are not explaining that. "What is the magic that he doles out?" CNN's Alisyn Camerota, not a...

...The coroner said cocaine, antidepressants and alcohol were found in Betts’ system at the time of the shooting. A pipe device and a clear baggie with cocaine were found on Betts’ body.