Inside the US’s psychedelic church boom, where taking drugs is legal

The Church of Gaia in Spokane, Washington, has all the makings of a traditional place of worship: regular gatherings, communal songs and member donations – except they also serve ayahuasca, a psychedelic substance that can induce nausea and, at times, projectile vomiting.“This is a purely spiritual practice,” said Connor Mize, the ceremonial leader of the Church of Gaia. “It’s not a thing you do just for fun.”Psychedelics are classified as schedule 1 substances and banned throughout most of the US. But a small number of churches have won the right to use them as sacraments: since the 2000s, four organizations have secured legal protections for psychedelic use after protracted battles with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

Blood test could predict who is most at risk from common inherited heart condition

Scientists are developing a simple blood test to predict who is most at risk from the world’s most common inherited heart condition.Millions of people worldwide have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle where the wall of the heart becomes thickened. It is caused by a change in one or more genes and mostly passed on through families.Some feel fine most of the time and have few or no symptoms. But others can suffer complications, such as heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms, which can lead to a cardiac arrest

Key figures in creation of Milton Keynes criticise England’s new towns plan

Senior planners involved in building the country’s postwar new towns have raised concerns about the government’s new towns programme, criticising a lack of ambition and insufficient commitment to social housing.Lee Shostak, former director of planning at Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) in the 1970s and later chair of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), said the current plan for the new towns may not help people who need homes the most.He said that while Milton Keynes was designed specifically to ease the housing burden in London with a large stock of council housing, there was a real risk these new towns would do little to alleviate council house waiting lists in big cities.“There’s talk about 40% of the homes as affordable housing, most of which will not be social housing and there’s no indication whatsoever those homes will be available for people moving from London or other urban areas,” said Shostak.“So the very basic, simple premise that kickstarted the original new towns programme isn’t being followed through today

Midwife leading Nottingham maternity inquiry charging NHS up to £26,000 a month

The midwife leading the biggest inquiry into maternity failures in the history of the NHS is charging NHS England up to £26,000 a month for her advice through her company, the Guardian can reveal.Donna Ockenden, who has been chairing a review into maternity failings at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust since 2022, is paid an £850 daily rate for every 7.5 hours she works.When asked about her monthly invoices of up to £26,000 for her advice, she said: “I am working long hours.”The monthly charges for “provision of independent advice” in connection with the review do not include the wider costs of the inquiry that are charged to NHS England (NHSE)

Manchester Arena plotter’s alleged prison attack sparks call for US-style rewards system

A long-awaited report that examined how the Manchester Arena plotter was able to carry out an alleged violent attack on prison officers has recommended a new punishment and rewards system for the most dangerous inmates, similar to that used in a US Supermax jail.David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, is facing demands to publish the report, which looks into why Hashem Abedi, who was jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 bombing, was able to target staff at HMP Frankland with boiling oil and homemade weapons in a planned ambush.Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, was commissioned to carry out the review in May by the then lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood. She requested that it be returned “promptly”.Sent to the lord chancellor’s office in August, the report is understood to recommend that lessons be learned from the US so that for the most dangerous prisoners privileges can be earned or taken away depending on closely monitored standards of behaviour

Motor neurone disease patients in England die waiting for home adaptations, campaigners say

People with motor neurone disease (MND) are dying waiting for grants to make their homes fit to live in due to a huge backlogs in applications, campaigners have said.The MND Association has found it takes an average of 375 days for people in England to get essential home adaptations through the government’s disabled facilities grant (DFG) due to growing delays in the system.But a third of people with MND die within a year of diagnosis, and about half die within two years, meaning they are spending the last months of their lives fighting for support, with many dying in unsafe and unsuitable homes.The charity’s chief executive, Tanya Curry, said: “For someone whose condition may progress dramatically in a matter of months, waiting a year or more for vital adaptations is equivalent to being denied them altogether.”Nicole Foster, 56, was diagnosed with MND in May and has spent her entire life’s savings, as well as money fundraised on her behalf, replacing her bathroom with an accessible one after she was told she faced a two to three-year year wait for DFG funding