Global Ganja Report

President Donlad Trump on April 18 signed an executive order calling on the DEA and FDA to open legal pathways for research into the therapeutic benefits of certain Schedule I psychedelic drugs—prominently including ibogaine, with an emphasis on its potential to treat PTSD in military veterans. The order instructs the FDA to collaborate with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector "to increase clinical trial participation and evidence generation surrounding experimental psychedelic therapies." 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on June 11 signed a bill creating a consortium of universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical firms to conduct clinical trials on ibogaine, in hopes of receiving US Food & Drug Administration approval. The press release on the signing hails ibogaine as an "emerging treatment for neurological and mental health conditions." Lawmakers approved $50 million to support the effort, making Texas the global leader in psychedelic research investment. (Texas Tribune)

Dana Beal, a longtime fixture in New York City's cannabis activist scene, is once again back in the slammer. In this new misadventure Dec. 16, Beal was popped by sheriff's deputies in Northern California's Trinity County. He was reportedly pulled over near the town of Hayfork, and is currently being held in the jail at county seat Weaverville.

Longtime activist Dana Beal has suffered a heart attack while in a Wisconsin jail awaiting transfer to a state prison to begin serving a two-and-a-half year term for marijuana trafficking. Beal was stricken on the morning of Sept. 27, and at last report was hospitalized in stable condition at the intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison.

Next week, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) will bring a host of psychedelic scientists and visionary artists together in San Jose, California for the largest conference of its kind in the U.S. in 17 years.