Nebraska GOP Trying To Weaken Law On Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana
Following in the footsteps of other red states, Nebraska Republicans are pushing back by postponing licensing of marijuana growers, despite overwhelming support at the ballot box. Other news is on firearm injury costs, midwifery clinics, whooping cough, and more.
AP:
Some GOP-Led States Like Nebraska Push Back On Medical Marijuana
Nebraska officials missed a deadline this week granting licenses to marijuana growers as part of a voter-approved measure that legalized medical marijuana, offering the latest example of pushback in Republican-led states against efforts to legalize the drug. “How many times do we have to go down this road of fighting for our lives?” Lia Post asked through sobs Tuesday to the newly formed Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission as it became clear the body would not meet the Wednesday deadline. (Beck, 10/2)
In related news about cannabis —
The Guardian:
‘I Use Cannabis As Medicine’: The US Basketball Player Facing Execution In Indonesia Over $400 Of Gummies
When Jarred Shaw, an American basketball player in Indonesia, stepped down to the lobby in his apartment complex earlier this year to collect a package containing illegally imported cannabis gummies, he thought that the medicine to ease his Crohn’s disease had arrived. It had – but so too had 10 undercover police officers. A video on social media shows Shaw, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, shouting for help as the swarm of officers move to apprehend him. (Busby, 10/3)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Becker's Hospital Review:
Firearm Injury Costs Fall Largely On Medicaid: Study
Firearm-related injuries drove $7.7 billion in healthcare spending over six years, with $1.6 billion attributable to 2021 alone, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum on Sept. 26. More than half the costs were billed to Medicaid. The study estimated how much U.S. hospitals spent on firearm injuries between 2016 and 2021 by evaluating emergency department and inpatient visits across six states. (Casolo, 10/2)
Fierce Healthcare:
Stamford Health, Oula Open 1st Of Several Midwifery Clinics In Connecticut
Oula and Stamford Health have opened a new clinic in Norwalk, Connecticut. The practice is the result of a partnership between the maternity care provider and the health system and is Stamford’s first midwifery offering. The clinic offers care from preconception through postpartum, with babies to be delivered at Stamford Hospital, as well as gynecology services. A second clinic in Connecticut is slated to open in 2026. Oula provided by Stamford Health accepts most major payers, including Medicaid. (Gliadkovskaya, 10/2)
WUSF:
Planned Parenthood Will Offer Free Breast Exams And Cervical Screenings Across Florida
Planned Parenthood locations across Florida are offering free breast exams and cervical screenings on Monday, Oct. 6, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event is for one day only, at 13 Planned Parenthood locations across the state, including Tampa, Lakeland and Sarasota. (Sheridan, 10/3)
North Carolina Health News:
Whooping Cough Surging In North Carolina
Most people likely know pertussis by its more common name — whooping cough, which comes from the “whoop” sound made as the person tries to catch their breath in between violent coughing spells. The Corbin family in Chapel Hill is well acquainted with the other nickname for pertussis — the “100-day cough.” Earlier this year, 11-year-old Alex Corbin spent at least two months struggling with a cough that made him vomit, kept him up at night and left him breathless. (Fernandez, 10/3)
CIDRAP:
Avian Flu Strikes Backyard Flocks In 2 States
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed two more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry, both in backyard flocks. One detection involves a flock in Montana’s Broadwater County that has 8 birds, and the other affects a flock in North Carolina’s Guilford County with 6 birds. (Schnirring, 10/2)
