MindFuel Blog

High Alert have released an urgent warning after a substance misrepresented as cocaine has been linked to serious harm events in the Wairarapa region over the weekend. The substance is sold as a white powder and contains a Fentanyl type substance. Fentanyl is not a stimulant like cocaine, but rather an extremely powerful opioid that has been linked to thousands...

An analysis of a large international drug survey suggests that psilocybin, one of the active ingredients in Magic Mushrooms is a relatively safe drug, with only 0.2% of magic mushroom users having sought emergency medical care after use. The findings, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, further suggest that such adverse incidents are most often psychological in nature and resolved within 24...

There could be one million medicinal cannabis plants in Southland in the next decade if Southern Medicinal’s momentum keeps on building. From the former Mataura paper mill, the company is growing and processing medicinal cannabis and hemp. However, this summer three Southland farmers and one Otago farmer bought hemp seeds to take part in a trial with the company. Southern...

The Thai government will distribute one million free cannabis plants to households across the nation in June to mark a new rule allowing people to grow cannabis at home, its health minister has said. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced the move in a Facebook post on May 8th 2022 in which he expressed his intention for cannabis plants to be...

British start up Clerkenwell Health have opened Europe's first commercial facility for psychedelic drug trials with the goal of making the United Kingdom a global leader in psychedelic research and innovation.They aim to begin clinical trials at their central London facility in August, initially focusing on psilocybin for anxiety associated with diagnoses of terminal illness. Here at MindFuel we wish...

Oregon will legalise psilocybin therapy in 2023. This is what we know so far about the proposed new rules regarding magic mushroom cultivation. Suppliers will not be permitted to create psilocybin synthetically or by using GMOs All psilocybin products must be stored in a locked area and be entered into the state’s Psilocybin Tracking System. Residents will be able to...

High Alert has issued a notification to let you know that a new synthetic cathinone has been detected in New Zealand. Dimethylpentylone was found in two samples tested by KnowYourStuffNZ in Dunedin, including in a pink ‘Playboy’ tablet that was sold as MDMA.  Very little is known about dimethylpentylone. Its harm profile is unknown, and as such its dosage, effects and...

Aotearoa, New Zealand permanently legalised drug checking on November 23, by passing a bill to let a pilot program performing the harm reduction service at festivals continue and expand its operations. The new law will take effect December 6.Aotearoa is the first country in the world to have explicitly legal drug checking. Here at MindFuel we welcome this news.Sources: Filter,...

Auckland scientists would like to dose advanced-stage cancer patients with mico-doses of the psychedelic drug LSD.Lead researcher, Lisa Reynolds, a health psychologist from Auckland University, explained to First Up that LSD could offer the patients a cognitive pathway to reduce anxiety around dying and allow them to connect with what was important to them.She says "The research I've seen so far...

A Christchurch woman who hit rock bottom due to a nitrous oxide addiction is calling for revised regulations around its supply. At the height of her addiction she was going through 160 canisters a day, eventually, as would be expected, suffering a number side effects from such excessive usage.Nitrous oxide, a colourless gas also known as laughing gas, nangs, NOS...

While American lobbyists were cunning enough to trick enough kiwi voters into voting marginally in favor of continuing our failed policy of cannabis prohibition, the Police were not so gullible. The Police know better than anyone that cannabis prohibition has failed and have demonstrated wisdom with the announcement today that they are axing their annual nationwide helicopter cannabis operations.This will...

Not surprisingly, most MDMA users will not take their ecstasy if it is shown to actually be something else altogether, in this case eutylone. Euthylone is often known as bath salts and is one of the many, many substances frequently misrepresented as ecstasy on the black market thanks to the current Prohibition of MDMA.When drugs such as MDMA are prohibited...

This year, four Australian institutions will start recruiting for separate research into using psilocybin and MDMA for PTSD, addiction, depression and anxiety.Edith Cowan and Monash universities will begin separate trials into the potential for MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. St Vincent's Hospital Sydney will examine the impact of psilocybin on preventing methamphetamine relapse, Monash will study its effect on...

A warning has been issued by New Zealand drug testing organization Know Your Stuff after testing at recent events found more than half of drugs purporting to be MDMA actually contained dangerous cathinones, research chemicals which are often referred to as bath salts. Dubbing this the "summer of cathinones", Know Your Stuff's Dr Jez Weston said there has been a...

A legal bid is underway to get the results of the cannabis referendum thrown out. A group of more than 350 people have filed papers in the High Court to void the vote on the Cannabis and Control Bill. The group claim poor and inaccurate information lead to confusion among voters. The papers also claim  also claim the Electoral Commission...

Watch "Magic Molecules," Bloomberg Quicktake's new investigative report about psychedelic science, featuring educational interviews with MAPS Founder Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and other researchers. WATCH ONLINE HERE Sources: MAPs, Bloomberg quicktake.

A new study investigating the effects of cannabis on driving has found the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) alone does not impair driving ability. This is a landmark finding that will be invaluable in guiding road safety regulations as cannabis laws shift toward legalization around the world (well other than here in NZ anyway).“With rapidly changing attitudes towards medical and non-medicinal use...

The New Zealand Government will urgently legalize pill testing before the summer festival season. Pill testing allows harm reduction organizations to test illicit street drugs at festivals and events so as to tell users what chemical(s) are actually in them, as many illicit street pills that are sold as ecstasy actually contain other substances instead or as well as MDMA,...

A first-of-its-kind exploratory study, led by researchers from Yale School of Medicine, has found a single dose of the psychedelic psilocybin found in so called 'Magic Mushrooms' can reduce migraine frequency by 50 percent for a least two weeks. The preliminary trial was small, with follow-up work necessary to validate the results, but the promising findings suggest great potential for...

54 year old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson made a remarkable return to the boxing ring over the weekend, going 8 rounds against Roy Jones Jr while Snoop Dogg provided commentary and combusted cannabinoids. Tyson credits an experience with the powerful psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT for his comeback. I took the medicine and the medicine told me to get into shape,’’ Tyson...

New laws intended to discourage young people from vaping while allowing smokers to continue using vaping as a way to give up cigarettes took effect on 11 November 2020. The new laws that apply are similar to those around tobacco smoking.Some of the key initial changes are: The sale or supply of vaping products to under 18s is prohibited indoor...

Destroying any hope among the yes campaign, special votes have tragically failed to flip the results of the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum. Recreational cannabis will remain prohibited and the harms associated with prohibition will continue in New Zealand for the foreseeable future, with 50.7 per cent voting “no” and 48.4 per cent voting “yes”. With the final tally of...

The New Zealand cannabis referendum preliminary results were released at 2pm today, with 46.1 percent voting to legally control cannabis, compared to 53.1 percent voting for continued cannabis Prohibition. But with almost half a million votes still to be counted, New Zealand will need to wait until next Friday for full and final results. Sources: The Herald, RNZ, Stuff.