Bird’s-Eye: We start with a look at what drugs psychiatrists are most prescribing these days, continue with a look at how entheogenic drugs are getting a second look from doctors, explore the latest results of Portugal’s massive drug decriminalization, and conclude with the story of some remarkably stoned Indian ants.
* Top 25 Psychiatric Prescriptions for 2009 Psych Central
* Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again – NYTimes.com
Researchers from around the world are gathering this week in San Jose, Calif., for the largest conference on psychedelic science held in the United States in four decades. They plan to discuss studies of psilocybin and other psychedelics for treating depression in cancer patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction to drugs or alcohol….. Scientists are especially intrigued by the similarities between hallucinogenic experiences and the life-changing revelations reported throughout history by religious mystics and those who meditate. These similarities have been identified in neural imaging studies conducted by Swiss researchers and in experiments led by Roland Griffiths, a professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins.
* Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work? – TIME
The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to “drug tourists” and exacerbate Portugal’s drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise.
The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.
“Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success,” says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. “It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.”
* Policeman Blames Ants For Eating 24Kg Of Hashish The Irish Times
STATE PROSECUTORS have told an incredulous high court in India’s western Goa province that white ants devoured 24kg of hashish from a police storehouse, precluding it from being offered as evidence.(Editor’s note: Guess the court wasn’t high enough… 
