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20,000 people in Oregon have now received legal psilocybin therapy, and the outcomes are overwhelmingly positive
In 2020, Oregon became the first US state to approve the use of psilocybin therapy, and new data suggests that the psychedelic drug is being used to great effect at state-regulated clinics.
Among those accessing legal psilocybin therapy in Oregon, the majority report significant improvements in mental health, wellbeing, and life satisfaction in the three months after treatment, with very few patients experiencing adverse events.
Since 2023, more than 20,000 people have legally accessed psilocybin therapy in Oregon, with 26 treatment centers currently holding licenses to administer the drug. Using data from 24 of these clinics, researchers analyzed the experiences and outcomes of 346 patients, all of whom underwent treatment between November 2024 and March 2026.
“Most participants were highly satisfied with their psilocybin experience, would recommend their licensed service center and facilitator, felt the experience was beneficial, and that their goals for seeking services had been met,” write the study authors.
One month after taking the drug, 92.2 percent of individuals stated that they had benefited from their treatment, with 58.6 percent ranking the experience among the 10 most meaningful events of their life.
Prior to treatment, 63 percent of participants said they were satisfied with their lives, yet this figure rose to 82.3 percent three months after taking psilocybin. On average, scores on a standard test that measures wellbeing rose from 22.1 at baseline to 25.3 at the three-month follow-up.
BELGIUM NARCO-DYSTOPIA: Prosecutor in Capital Brussels Is Lashing Out at the Lack of Resources to Fight Violent Drug Gangs
Capital of Belgium and the European Union, home of NATO headquarters, Brussels has a festering drug problem.
We have been reporting here on TGP how Belgium has slowly become a narco-state.
And Brussels’ top prosecutor is hitting out at the unsustainable situation.
Julien Moinil says ‘he demanded more resources’ to battle drug-related issues that have become a scourge in the Belgian capital.
He complained today that his demands were ignored.
As he addressed a new series of shootings, he ranted: ‘I don’t see a reaction — no concrete help’.
Politico reported:
“The Belgian capital witnessed a recent wave of violence across various municipalities, including an attack on a police station in Anderlecht and multiple shootings in Molenbeek and Saint-Gilles.
‘As you can see, this hellish streak, which has been going on for several years, continues’, Moinil said, adding that Brussels has already seen 69 gun-related incidents in 2026, against the 102 that took place in 2025.
The incidents reported in Saint-Gilles were linked to a fight between two drug-trafficking gangs. Still, innocent citizens were caught in the crossfire, the prosecutor said: In one attack, clients of a pizzeria had to seek cover from the flying bullets.”
Drug Gangs Bribe, Blackmail and Intimidate Mayors, Cops and Other Public Officials: French Prime Minister Lecornu
France in danger of becoming a narco-state?
Sebastien Lecornu é the seventh French Prime Minister under the failed two-term presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
Lecornu is tasked with taking the outgoing government into this last stretch until next year’s Presidential elections, a vote that rightwing Marine Le Pen is fully expected to win.
But the Prime Minister has to at least appear to be doing something urgent and energetic, because the Republic is falling apart at the seams.
We have been reporting here on TGP about the absolute catastrophe that the unchecked mass migration has wrought upon France, from the imported rape culture to the stabbing epidemic – it’s all fraying the fabric of French society.
But what is perhaps not as well covered is the scourge of organized crime.
Yesterday (20), Lecornu warned his cabinet (and the nation) that drug gangs are bribing, blackmailing and intimidating mayors, police and other public officials.
Not that this is any news, but the announcement is to the effect that the PM has – finally – decided to focus his attention on the ongoing disaster.
The Telegraph reported:
“Sébastien Lecornu has told ministers to tighten controls on sensitive data and pursue disciplinary action whenever there is evidence of wrongdoing in the civil service. About 150 integrity breaches are detected each year, up 40 per cent in five years.
Mr. Lecornu warned: ‘Due to the growth of organized crime, government departments and state-run organizations are increasingly exposed to high risks of breaches of integrity, given the nature of their remit, their powers and their access to sensitive information or procedures’.”
7 years in, Lecornu fails to treat this criminality growth as an occurrence caused by the failings of the ruinous Macron government.
Accused Drug Trafficker Resumes Work As Sinaloa Governor Despite Being Wanted by USDOJ
An accused drug trafficker has resumed his post as governor of Sinaloa in Mexico, despite being a wanted fugitive of the U.S. Department of Justice. The move comes as tensions continue to rise between the U.S. Government and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has been actively defending the politician.
On Friday morning, Ruben Rocha Moya announced that he was returning to work after several weeks on leave following the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement that he had been criminally indicted for his role in the Sinaloa Cartel. In a prepared statement shared on social media, Rocha Moya claimed that he had done what was needed of him and cooperated with Mexican authorities to prove his innocence.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in April the indictment against Rocha Moya and nine of his closest political allies in the state. They are accused of drug conspiracy and weapons charges. At the time, rather than help with arrest and extradition, Sheinbaum publicly defended Rocha Moya, who is from the same political party — MORENA.
According to Sheinbaum, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Rocha Moya, and the public indictment was politically motivated by the U.S. far right as a way to damage the MORENA party. Sheinbaum’s move sparked tension with the U.S. government, which has been pushing Mexico to fight drug cartels.
In an apparent move to avoid questions over Rocha Moya’s return to power, Sheinbaum announced on Friday that she was not going to her daily news conference because she was sick with flu-like symptoms.
U.S.-Registered Drone Detected at Site of Suspected CIA Boat Strike
In the hours after a mysterious attack on an Ecuadorian fishing boat near the Galápagos Islands on March 17, a drone registered to U.S. defense contractor Shield AI was hovering just 500 meters from the burning vessel, La Negra Francisca, according to a review of flight tracking data by Drop Site News. This represents the first known vehicle to arrive at the site of the strike.
The unattributed bombing of three Ecuadorian fishing boats in January and March, and the subsequent abduction and torture of 36 fishermen, was first reported by Drop Site in April. Last week, The Washington Post, building on Drop Site’s ongoing investigation, reported that the attacks were part of a covert CIA operation.
According to flight and vessel tracking data from Radar 24 and Global Fishing Watch, the drone was a V-BAT model, primarily used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, but capable of carrying a weapons payload and switching its signal on and off to avoid detection.
The Shield AI drone matches the fishermen’s descriptions of the drones that circled their boats before the bombing, and bears the same red and green lights eyewitnesses reported seeing as they photographed the explosion.
Shield AI did not respond to a request for comment.
The CEO of Shield AI, Brandon Tseng, has publicly stated that the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy are using V-BAT drones “to interdict and destroy billions of dollars’ worth of drugs that were headed for the United States of America.” In 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard signed a $198 million contract with Shield AI for V-BAT drones; in April 2026, Shield AI announced it had received an $800 million contract for V-BAT drones from the U.S. Navy.
No drugs were found on any of the three fishing boats investigated by Drop Site—the Negra Francisca, Don Maca, and Fiorella—all of which were searched and cleared by Ecuadorian coast guard personnel prior to the strikes.
Last month, Drop Site published NASA thermal imagery consistent with an explosion at coordinates 1.5822°N, 87.6958W°, recorded at 1:02 p.m., the time fishermen say they were hit, and in the location where their transponder stopped broadcasting.
Tracking data suggests that the drone launched from a nearby boat on March 17, seven hours after the strike on La Negra Francisca and then circled near the site, its signal disappearing and reappearing. Ascending and descending patterns of movement indicate that the drone may have been landing on a boat and then resuming its flights.
Drop Site previously reported that vessel tracking data showed a U.S. Coast Guard cutter leaving a Galápagos military base a day before the Negra Francisca bombing—despite claiming it only deployed the cutter as a post-incident rescue effort. The Coast Guard vessel’s signal went dark and later appeared in Central American waters 24 hours before the fishermen were placed in El Salvador’s custody.
Video recordings, taken by eyewitnesses to the bombing, show the U.S. Coast Guard patrolling in the aftermath of the airstrike. Drop Site asked the U.S. Coast Guard in June to account for the cutter’s movements after its signal went dark. The Coast Guard responded that it “does not disclose cutter movements during law enforcement missions for operational security.”
In June, the U.S. Coast Guard told The Guardian it deployed its Bertholf cutter for a search-and-rescue operation after receiving a Mayday alert, contradicting prior statements by the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees maritime operations in the Pacific, that it had no knowledge of any U.S. involvement in the incidents. To date, the U.S. Coast Guard has not acknowledged using drones in its purported rescue efforts.
The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Southern Command, and the Central Intelligence Agency did not respond to questions for this article.
Nevada man pleads guilty to providing 140 firearms to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico
From April 1, 2020, to September 17, 2025, Osorio conspired with co-defendants to purchase firearms, magazines and ammunition on behalf of people affiliated with drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
The 140 firearms purchased by Osorio included multiple large-caliber and long-range firearms.
Osorio also admitted to harboring people who unlawfully resided in the United States to employ them at a Nevada mining company, according to the DOJ.
“Trafficking military-style firearms and ammunition to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico fuels violence, strengthens criminal networks and threatens communities on both sides of the border,” said Jonathan Sherwin, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Las Vegas.
“In the world of organized crime and drug trafficking, guns and drugs go hand-in-hand,” said David S. Olesky, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, which also covers Nevada.
“Firearms trafficking networks feed the violent cartels that terrorize border communities and pump illicit drugs into our neighborhoods,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “By cutting off this supply chain and holding this defendant accountable, we are directly disrupting the operational capabilities of these dangerous criminal organizations.”
Nearly Half Of NYC Homeless Deaths Due To Drugs Or Alcohol: Study
Nearly half of all deaths among New York City’s homeless population in the most recent fiscal year were connected to drug use or alcohol abuse, according to a new city report.
Of the 634 people experiencing homelessness who died between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, 285 lost their lives to drug addiction, overdoses, or alcoholism. The figures come from the annual mortality report jointly issued by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Social Services/Homeless Services.
Drug-related causes alone accounted for 251 deaths, or 40 percent of the total – still the leading cause of death among this population. Alcohol misuse or dependence contributed another 34 deaths (5 percent). Together, substance-related deaths made up roughly 45 percent of the total, the NY Post reports.
The report covers deaths that occurred in temporary shelters, on the streets, in the subway system, in abandoned buildings, and in other locations. Fifty-two percent of those who died were classified as unsheltered; 48 percent were living in a homeless facility at the time of death. Most (58 percent) died in a hospital. Among unsheltered individuals, 22 percent died outdoors.
Other leading causes of death included heart disease (78 deaths, 12 percent), accidents excluding drug overdoses (60 deaths, 9 percent), and cancer (23 deaths, 4 percent). Additional figures included 18 suicides, 15 deaths from hypothermia or cold exposure, 15 subway-related accidents, 14 motor-vehicle accidents, and 11 homicides. A small number of deaths involved toxic substances, heat exposure, or falls. In ten cases, the manner of death could not be determined.
The overall number of deaths declined nearly 18 percent from the previous year, when 770 people experiencing homelessness died. Drug-related deaths specifically fell 28 percent, from 348 in fiscal year 2024 to 251 in fiscal year 2025. Despite the drop, substance use remained the dominant cause of mortality, consistent with both citywide and national patterns.
City officials noted that the true toll is likely higher. Thousands of migrants housed in temporary facilities operated by other agencies during the border crisis were not fully included in the data-matching process, meaning some deaths may have gone uncounted as homeless fatalities.
The report is the 20th in the annual series required by law. Authors said the data help identify pressing health risks for a highly vulnerable population that faces elevated rates of poorly controlled physical and mental health conditions, compounded by poverty, housing instability, and other social stressors.
As of early August 2026, the city’s shelter system housed roughly 83,200 people – down from a peak above 100,000 during the height of the migrant influx. The city has extended a $1.86 billion contract to continue using commercial hotels as emergency shelter for the next three years.
The War on Drugs Has Come to the Maternity Ward
At first glance, a new mother taking part in a drug screening seems reasonable. For the sake of the mother and child, a doctor performs a clinical test to rule out any complications or signs of risks to the newborn.
But the story quickly takes a dark turn. If there’s a positive test result, it doesn’t stay between the doctor and the patient. In 24 states and Washington, D.C., a positive test alone is enough to initiate a child welfare report, according to a report by the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association. Depending on the state, that test could land the mother on a child abuse registry. Worse still, the mother may be notified the test has occurred only after the fact.
This seems to run afoul of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ferguson v. City of Charleston (2001), where the Court found it unconstitutional to drug test pregnant women without consent solely for “law enforcement purposes.”
However, Enrima Ukoha, an obstetrician-gynecologist and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, tells Reason this practice—known as “test and report”—is “common” and “often happens in non-consensual ways.” In fact, over six years, The Marshall Project found “at least 70,000 cases in 21 states” where parents were referred to law enforcement after a positive test for drug or alcohol use.
Ukoha says a lot of medical professionals are influenced by “stereotypes and stigma” associated with people who use substances in pregnancy, leading them to make “false assumptions about their ability to parent.”
The practice developed as part of the response to the opioid crisis roiling the nation. Each year, nearly 10 percent of births in the U.S. are affected by drug or alcohol use.
To deal with the issue, Congress amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 in ways that made it easier for these nonconsensual tests to occur. The 1974 law ties federal grant funding to state-level development of “plans of safe care” for infants “born and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms.” It also requires healthcare providers involved in the “delivery or care” of affected infants to “notify the child protective services system”; however, it also states that nothing in the law should be read as requiring “prosecution for any illegal action.”
In 2016, Congress passed an amendment changing the requirement to include infants affected by all substance abuse by striking the word illegal from its substance abuse clause. In 2018, lawmakers passed another amendment that put money behind the idea, authorizing grants to assist state agencies with “developing, updating, implementing, and monitoring” their plans of safe care. And in 2019, the law was again amended to provide “civil and criminal liability” to anyone who makes a “good-faith report of child abuse or neglect.”
There is no federal definition for child abuse or neglect. Left to their own devices, each state has adopted different standards for reporting and treatment. Ukoha says the process “varies across providers, institutions, and states,” but the result is that “individuals are tested in pregnancy without their knowledge or consent.”
Apart from potentially being separated from their newborns, mothers risk placement on child abuse registries—which would prevent them from holding certain jobs or participating in school activities—or incarceration. In the case of Idaho mom Nicole Hamann, one positive test for THC got her 10 years on the state’s child protection registry, according to a joint report by CBS News and The Marshall Project.
But moms can find themselves facing criminal charges even when the substances are legal. In South Carolina, Ayanna Harris-Rashid was arrested and faced a 10-year felony sentence after testing positive for THC. Harris-Rashid admitted to using CBD, which is legal in the state and can contain trace amounts of THC, to “relieve cramping and nausea.” Her charges were dropped a year after her arrest.
Hellbound and Down 
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