Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Psychedelics May Reset Brain-Immune Link Driving Fear and Anxiety

A new study suggests that fear and the immune system are connected in previously unknown ways. Researchers at Mass General Brigham found that the immune system can influence stress and fear behaviors by changing how brain cells communicate.

The investigators further showed that psychedelic treatments could target these neuroimmune interactions and reduce stress-induced fear in preclinical models and found similar results in human tissue samples.

Results are published in Nature.

“Our study underscores how psychedelics can do more than just change perception; they can help dial down inflammation and reset brain-immune interactions,” said corresponding author Michael Wheeler, PhD, of the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation as well as the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

“This could reshape how we think about treatment for inflammatory disorders and conditions like anxiety and depression.”

Prior research has shown immune signaling can drive the development of neuropsychiatric diseases such as major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the ways that specific immune mechanisms can also affect behaviors due to chronic stress or MDD remained unclear.

Using a mouse model of chronic stress, the researchers determined that increased crosstalk between cells in the amygdala, or the brain’s fear center, boosted fear behaviors, elevated inflammatory signaling, and activated fear-promoting amygdala neurons.

Furthermore, inflammatory immune cells called monocytes migrated from other parts of the body to the brain meninges during chronic stress. The research team demonstrated that artificially manipulating these cells impacted fear behaviors.

Treating stressed mice with psilocybin and MDMA prevented monocytes from accumulating in the brain and lowered fear behaviors.

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RFK Jr. Says He Had A ‘Wonderful Experience’ Tripping On LSD And Trying To See Dinosaurs

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), says he had a “wonderful experience” with LSD at 15 years old, which he took because he thought he’d be able to see dinosaurs, as portrayed in a comic book he was a fan of.

Unfortunately, he said that LSD trip led him to later take methamphetamine and, ultimately, go through a decade-long battle with heroin addiction.

At the 2025 Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville on Thursday, Kennedy spoke candidly about his own journey with certain drugs, offering a window into the HHS secretary’s perspective on substance use as he assumes a critical health and drug policy role in the Trump administration.

Kennedy said he was straight-edge up until he was 15, when he went to a party that became a “melee” and met a person who offered him LSD as they hitchhiked home.

“I would never have taken it,” he said. But in his town, there was a store kids flocked to every week for comic books—and in one of his favorite series, Turok: Son of Stone, the characters took “some kind of hallucinogen” like mescaline and they saw dinosaurs.

Kennedy said he “had a deep interest in paleontology” at the time, and the person who gave him the LSD said it was possible he could see dinosaurs, too.

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California Senators Approve Bipartisan Bill To Create Psilocybin Pilot Program For Veterans And First Responders

California senators have unanimously approved a bipartisan bill to create a psilocybin pilot program for military veterans and first responders.

On Wednesday, members of the Senate Health Committee advanced the legislation from Sens. Josh Becker (D) and Brian Jones (R), with amendments, in a 7-0 vote.

The proposal would establish a pilot program under the University of California (UC) system to study and develop “psilocybin services” for eligible patients in up to five counties across the state.

The universities would be responsible for “protocol design, institutional review board approvals, training of psilocybin facilitators, data collection, and reporting” of the pilot program.

“The bill would require each local pilot program to partner with local mental health clinics, hospice programs, veterans facilities, or other community-based providers that provide services and care to the target population,” the measure, as introduced in January, says. “This bill would require the agency to report specified information about the pilot program to the Legislature by January 15, 2030.”

Under the legislation, the state would establish a “Veterans and First Responders Research Pilot Special Fund,” with continuous appropriations to fund the work.

“SB 751 responds to crisis we cannot ignore. Every day, an average of 17.6 veterans die by suicide. First responders—those who run towards dangers to protect the rest of us—are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty,” Becker said. “These are individuals who’ve experienced repeated trauma and, too often, existing mental health treatments simply don’t work for them.”

Many are turning to underground or unregulated sources of psilocybin, or even traveling abroad, to seek relief that only places them at risk,” he said. “It signals a serious gap in our system of care. This bill is a step towards addressing that gap responsibly and safely.”

A findings section of the legislation—which is also cosponsored by eight other lawmakers, including longtime psychedelics reform advocate Sen. Scott Wiener (D)—states that research “suggests that psilocybin and psilocyn, when used in a controlled setting, may offer significant benefits in treating mental health disorders, particularly those related to trauma and stress.”

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Texas Lawmakers Take Up Another Bill To Block Voters From Locally Decriminalizing Marijuana

A Texas House committee took up a bill on Friday that would prohibit cities from putting citizen initiatives on local ballots to decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances.

Just two days after a Senate version of the measure cleared that full chamber, the House State Affairs Committee held a hearing on the companion version from Rep. Jeff Leach (R), with proposed amendments to align both bills.

In the last few years, members, several local governments across the state of Texas have adopted policies and ordinances that are designed to decriminalize controlled substances or instruct law enforcement or prosecutors not to enforce our state’s drug laws,” Leach said, noting that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has filed lawsuits against multiple municipalities where the local reform was enacted.

“Although these lawsuits are still pending, there’s a growing trend across our state for local governments to adopt these policies, and this bill is intended to address that,” he said.

Under the proposal as introduced, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not hold an election for voter approval of a proposed charter or an amendment to a charter that violates” state drug laws.

They also could not “adopt, publish, enforce, repeal, maintain, or amend an ordinance, order, policy, rule, or regulation” that contravenes state statute on controlled substances.

Leach described amendments included in a substitute version of the bill that seem intended to match what the Senate passed on Wednesday.

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Microdosing Psychedelics as Treatment Could Increase Flexible Thinking

One small dose of a psychedelic compound could help brains better adapt to changing circumstances, potentially improving treatments for those struggling with depression, PTSD, and neurodegenerative diseases, according to experiments conducted in mice. The results of the study were reported in the journal Psychedelics.

“What makes this discovery particularly significant is the sustained duration of cognitive benefits following just one psychedelic dose,” Omar J. Ahmed, a psychology researcher at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study, said in a press release. “We observed enhanced learning adaptability that persisted for weeks, suggesting these compounds may induce lasting and behaviorally meaningful neuroplasticity changes in the prefrontal cortex.”

Measuring Cognitive Flexibility

Figure 1. Experimental timeline and overview. (A) Experimental timeline. (B) Schematic of the SEQFR2-forward protocol. Mice have to sequentially poke left and then right within 30 s to earn a reward pellet. (C) Schematic of the SEQFR2-reversal protocol. Mice now are required to poke right and then left within 30 s to get a reward pellet. (Image Credit: Omar J Ahmed)

In the experiments, researchers treated mice with a single dose of a potent hallucinogen called 25CN-NBOH. That chemical binds very specifically to a serotonin receptor, then activates it. Serotonin receptors are often associated with depression.

Mice treated with the compound performed better than the mice that were not. The improvements lasted two to three weeks following administration. The results were similar in both male and female mice.

The researchers essentially tested how well they could adapt to changes in rules required to perform a particular task. Such tests are considered standard ways to measure what scientists call “cognitive flexibility” — the ability to try new approaches to accomplish the same job.

The mice treated with the psychedelic showed a better ability to adapt than ones who received a saline solution instead. The psychedelic mice also performed their tasks both more efficiently and more accurately.

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North Dakota Governor Signs Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana Edibles That Meet Certain Requirements

The governor of North Dakota has signed a bill into law legalizing select marijuana edibles for registered medical cannabis patients.

About a week after the measure from Rep. Steve Vetter (R) cleared the legislature, Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R) gave it final approval on Monday.

Under the newly enacted law, the state’s medical marijuana program will be expanded to permit the sale of cannabis edibles, which is defined as a “soft or hard lozenge in a geometric square shape into which a cannabinoid concentrate or the dried leaves or flowers of the plant of the genus cannabis is incorporated.”

While a fairly restrictive definition compared to many other legal states, advocates are encouraged by the development, as North Dakota patients were previously expressly prohibited from using cannabis products other than flower, tinctures, capsules and topical patches.

The new law requires edibles to contain no more than 5 milligrams of THC per serving in a package that can be up to 50 milligrams total.

In written testimony discussing the legislation, the sponsor emphasized that, “if this bill becomes law, it would be the most conservative edibles law in the nation.”

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AOC’s brother is forced to deny link to huge fentanyl trafficking crime

The brother of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was forced to publicly shut down a circulating rumor claiming he was at the center of a fentanyl trafficking scheme.

Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, 32, took to TikTok to respond to a video spreading a bizarre claim – that AOC’s brother, wrongly named as ‘Matthew’ in the allegation, had been arrested on Lake Superior after US Coast Guards caught him in possession of $1.2 million worth of fentanyl.

As the actual brother of the Democrat Congresswoman, Gabriel quickly squashed the viral lie, duetting the creator’s post with a pointed caption that read: ‘don’t make me sue’.

‘I’m the brother,’ Gabriel said in his TikTok. ‘My name’s not Matthew. I have no idea why they’re posting this.’

‘I work with the homeless,’ he added. ‘I have nothing to do with this story, which isn’t real. Please find something better to do with your time.’ 

On Tuesday, the creator in question had posted a video to the popular app, appearing in front of what seemed to be a screenshot of a recent news article.

‘AOC’s brother has just been charged with trafficking fentanyl,’ the creator confidently stated in the since-deleted video, all while pointing at the ‘news source’ behind her.

The fake news quickly spread across a variety of social media platforms – including Facebook, Instagram Threads and Twitter – with the TikTok video alone garnering more than 50,000 likes before its removal.

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46 Honduran nationals working for Sinaloa Drug Cartel arrested on drug trafficking charges in Portland, Oregon

Federal and local law enforcement agencies arrested 46 Honduran nationals on drug trafficking charges in Portland, Oregon, following an extensive joint operation to disrupt open-air drug markets in Multnomah County. Authorities seized an array of illicit drugs, firearms, and cash. The Honduran nationals were reportedly working on behalf of the Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel, a designated foreign terror group, according to a press release.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Field Division said that the apprehended “Honduran drug traffickers” flooded the Portland area with “deadly fentanyl and other drugs.” The enforcement operation that netted 46 arrests occurred in the first four months of 2025.

In total, authorities seized 44 pounds of fentanyl powder; 2,507 fentanyl pills; 22 pounds of methamphetamine; nine pounds of cocaine; two pounds of heroin; 20 firearms; and $204,007 in cash, according to the DEA.

“The fentanyl seized by our team in this case could have yielded over 1.5 million lethal doses – enough to kill everyone in Portland twice,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “I am proud that DEA could help our partners bring this surge to a successful conclusion, saving lives here in Portland and throughout Oregon.”

According to the DEA, nearly 70 percent of all drug poisonings and overdose deaths involve fentanyl, and just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially deadly overdose.

Portland, a self-declared sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, is among the highest in the nation for fentanyl overdose deaths, as stated in a 2024 CDC report. The operation comes after the state of Oregon re-criminalized illicit drug possession last year following a failed 2020 drug decriminalization ballot measure that resulted in an increase in overdose deaths and open-air drug use on city streets, according to data.

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Texas Senate Passes Bill To Ban Cities From Putting Marijuana Decriminalization Initiatives On Local Ballots

The Texas Senate has approved a bill that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.

The legislation from Sen. Charles Perry (R) is responsive to those local reforms, and it passed the chamber on Wednesday in a 23-8 vote. It now heads to the House of Representatives.

Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws.

The latest version of the legislation as amended in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee would also specifically bar localities from putting initiatives on the ballot that would contravene the state’s consumable hemp laws.

It would also require the attorney general to create a form for people to report violations of the law. And it’d expedite legal proceedings to challenge any city, mandating that an appellate court “render its final order or judgment with the least possible delay,” a legislative analysis says.

Cities found to be in violation of the law by placing a decriminalization initiative—or any measure that conflicts with state or federal drug laws—would be subject to a $25,000 civil fine for a first offense and a $50,000 fine for any subsequent offense.

“In the last few years several local governments have adopted policies and ordinances that are designed to decriminalize controlled substances or instruct law enforcement or prosecutors not to enforce our state drug laws,” Perry said in a statement of intent.

“In 2024, the attorney general launched lawsuits against multiple cities for adopting non-prosecution policies that violate Texas laws concerning marijuana possession and distribution,” he said. “Although these lawsuits are still pending, this is a growing trend across our state.”

It’s not clear why, if the attorney general’s lawsuits assert that local decriminalization laws are already prohibited under statute, the proposed amendments to the code are necessary. But the legislation does appear to escalate enforcement and penalties.

A House companion version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Leach (R), is scheduled for a hearing in the State Affairs Committee on Friday.

The Senate vote comes about a week after a Texas appellate court sided with the state in its lawsuit challenging the city of San Marcus over the implementation of a local marijuana decriminalization law approved by voters.

That marked a setback for activists who’ve led the charge to enact local marijuana policy changes through the ballot, many of which have been contested by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing litigation and Senate bill’s advancement, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.

Despite the state’s resistance and the latest development in San Marcos, advocates have seen several courts rule in their favor amid the legal challenges.

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Trump’s Solicitor General Asks Supreme Court For More Time To Weigh Challenge To Gun Ban For Marijuana Consumers

The government’s top lawyer is asking the Supreme Court for more time to consider whether to challenge a February appeals court ruling concerning the federal prohibition on gun ownership by people who consume marijuana. It’s the latest development in a series of recent cases around the constitutionality of the firearm restriction.

The new filing, from Solicitor General D. John Sauer, concerns a case in which the defendant, Keshon Daveon Baxter, was found in possession of both a firearm and a bag of marijuana. The government charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which prohibits gun ownership by “unlawful” users of controlled substances.

Baxter argued in district court that the prohibition was itself illegal, contending both that “unlawful” use was too vague in the statute to be enforceable and also that the government’s ban on drug users’ possession of firearms was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The lower court rejected both arguments—a ruling Baxter appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

It a February opinion, an Eighth Circuit panel upheld the portion of the district court’s decision denying Baxter’s vagueness claim but reversed the lower court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the firearms ban. However, judges wrote that there were insufficient factual findings in the record “for this Court to review Baxter’s as-applied Second Amendment challenge.”

Nevertheless, the Eighth Circuit wrote, “We reverse the district court’s ruling on Baxter’s as-applied Second Amendment challenge and remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

The federal government currently has until May 6 to decide whether to file a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review the appeals court ruling. The new filing from Sauer asks for a 30-day extension on that deadline.

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