A California campaign officially filed an initiative for the state’s 2024 ballot that would create a $5 billion state agency tasked with funding and promoting psychedelics research, with the hope that it will accelerate federal legalization of substances like psilocybin and ibogaine. Here’s more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-california-ballot-initiative-would-create-5-billion-state-psychedelics-agency-to-fund-research-with-goal-of-therapeutic-access/

The mayor of Minneapolis issued an executive order making the possession, use and cultivation of psychedelics the city’s lowest law enforcement priority, while also preventing local resources from being used to aid federal and state actions against the substances. The chief of police says he stands with the mayor and will direct officers accordingly.

Mayor Jacob Frey signed the order on Friday, sending a strong message that the city does not consider substances like psilocybin to be deserving of criminalization. Check it out: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/minneapolis-mayor-issues-executive-order-making-psychedelics-the-citys-lowest-law-enforcement-priority/

A new report published in Current Geriatrics Reports suggests that psychedelics can improve coping skills and resilience in patients with newly diagnosed, mild cognitive impairments or early Alzheimer’s Disease. You can read more about their findings here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13670-023-00395-3

Did you know that genetics could be the reason some people respond differently to psychedelics?

According to a paper published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience, researchers found that genetic variations in one serotonin receptor could be the reason for these different responses.  

They actually discovered that seven variants uniquely and differentially impacted the receptor’s in vitro response to four psychedelic drugs — psilocin, LSD, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline. Check it out: https://www.acs.org/pressroom/newsreleases/2022/july/people-respond-differently-to-psychedelic-drugs-genetics-could-be-the-reason.html