Booming Social Media Drug Trade Is Dangerous Door For Teens

CBS News: Teens Have Easier Access To Drugs As Illegal Trade Booms On Social Media
Last winter, Megan Macintosh found her 18-year-old son Chase unconscious after she says he experimented with pills. He died just over a month later, likely from a pill laced with fentanyl from an unknown source. Macintosh turned to his social media for answers. Looking through her son's Snapchat, she said she saw bags of pills and mushrooms. "I felt really helpless like there's really nothing I can do when I saw how prevalent it was, how many people were in his feed," she said. (Hanson, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: First Supervised Injection Sites For Drug Users Open In New York City
Advocates say the sites prevent overdose deaths and provide an access point to other services that can help prevent harm to users, such as housing, medical care and treatment. Critics say there is no evidence the sites significantly reduce illegal drug use or dependency. Previous efforts to open such sites in other states have faced federal legal challenges. If the New York City sites remain unchallenged by the Biden administration, legal experts say it would pave the way for similar sites. (Wernau, 11/30)

AP: NYC OKs Safe Sites For Drug Use, Aiming To Curb Overdoses
The first officially authorized safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics have been cleared to open in New York City in hopes of curbing deadly overdoses, officials said Tuesday. The privately run “overdose prevention centers” provide a monitored place for drug users to partake. Also known as supervised injection sites or safer consumption spaces, they exist in Canada, Australia and Europe and have been discussed for years in New York and some other U.S. cities and states. A few unofficial facilities have operated for some time. (Peltz, 11/30)

In other news —

NBC News: Majority Of Mumps Cases Are Among The Vaccinated, CDC Finds
Mumps cases continue to circulate in the U.S., largely among vaccinated people, including children. Cases of mumps, once a common childhood illness, declined by more than 99 percent in the U.S. after a vaccine against the highly contagious respiratory infection was developed in 1967. Cases dropped to just 231 in 2003, down from more than 152,000 in 1968. But cases began climbing again in 2006, when 6,584 were reported, most of them in vaccinated people. (Sullivan, 12/1)

AP: New Lead Testing Method Could Reveal Higher Levels In Water
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan passed the country’s most aggressive lead measures, including more stringent testing of water. When using methods similar to what is currently required by the Environmental Protection Agency, testing of 170 systems in Michigan with lead lines resulted in 11 samples that exceeded the federal lead level requiring corrective action. When using another method like the one the EPA is reviewing and could soon mandate nationally, the figure doubled to 22. With an even more thorough testing method Michigan adopted, it climbed to 31. Other states are likely to see more elevated lead results as well under new testing; lead pipes still deliver water to millions of homes and businesses, a relic of the country’s outdated infrastructure. (Phillis, 11/30)

CNN: Deodorant And Antiperspirant Recall: What The Finding Of The Cancer-Causing Chemical Benzene Means For You 
Benzene, a known cancer-causing chemical, was found in over half of 108 batches of antiperspirant and deodorant body sprays from 30 different brands, according to a citizen's petition filed this month with the US Food and Drug Administration. Benzene should not be used in the manufacture of drug substances or products because it is a class one solvent with "unacceptable toxicity," according to the FDA. However, the FDA did allow a "temporary" use of benzene in liquid hand sanitizers during the pandemic, setting the upper limit to 2 parts per million. (LaMotte, 12/1)

Axios: Massage, Facial, Pedicure... Intravenous Drip? 
IV drips — the kind you might get if you're rushed to the hospital — are trending as a spa treatment, thanks in part to endorsements by celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Madonna. Like other "wellness" trends with a whiff of medical imprimatur, IV nutrient drips can be harmless or mildly restorative — or go awry, particularly in the wrong hands. (Kingson, 12/1)

The New York Times: LeBron James Enters N.B.A. Health And Safety Protocols
Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James has entered the N.B.A.’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, the team announced Tuesday. James missed the team’s game Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings. It is unclear when he will be able to play again, and it is also unclear whether James has tested positive for the coronavirus or has come into close contact with someone who tested positive. (Ganguli, 11/30)

On the ongoing burdens for covid orphans —

KHN: Watch: No Extra Resources For Children Orphaned By Covid
The number of U.S. deaths from covid-19 has surpassed 778,000. Left behind are tens of thousands of children — some orphaned — after their parents or a grandparent who cared for them died. In this report, co-produced with PBS NewsHour, KHN correspondent Sarah Varney looks at the risks these grieving children face to their well-being, both in the short and long term. No concerted government effort exists to help the estimated 140,000 children who have lost a parent — or even to identify them. (Sarah Varney and Jason Kane, 12/1)