Mental health & addiction

Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Anchorage introduces team of mental health first responders

Starting next year in Anchorage, Alaska, a new team of mental health first responders will replace police for emergency calls for someone with a mental health issue. The Mobile Crisis Team is funded by a new local alcohol tax and the team is trained to be dispatched to situations police do not have adequate training to address.

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Mural of two hands holding one another

New York City will try a police-free approach to addressing mental health crises

Thanks to a new pilot program, 911 calls in New York City that are evidently mental health-related will be taken care of by mental health and crisis workers instead of law enforcement. The move is the result of months of protests around the country over police brutality, sparked by the tragic death of George Floyd.

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Psilocybe semilanceata

Oregon becomes the first state in the U.S. to legalize access to magic mushrooms

Measure 109 apart it distinct from decriminalization efforts in that it offers a legal pathway to psilocybin therapy. It will establish a state-regulated program for using and obtaining them. In essence, accessing psilocybin as an adult in Oregon would be about as easy as signing up for counseling.

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Lights of human head and brain

Microdosing LSD improves mood and cognition, according to new study

In the placebo-controlled study, published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, scientists from University of Basel and Maastricht University gave volunteers either a small dose of LSD or a placebo, then measured their ability to pay attention and process information, as well as keeping an eye on their mood.

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