Delaware Becomes 22nd State Permitting Recreational Marijuana
Marijuana became legal for personal use starting Sunday, as long as consumption happens in private. USA Today points out employers are still allowed to have zero-tolerance policies. Separately, a fierce lobbying fight has been sparked by New York's plan to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes.
USA Today:
Biden's Home State Of Delaware Is 22nd To Allow Recreational Marijuana
Marijuana, in the quantity of personal use, became legal starting Sunday. Delawareans [are] allowed to smoke joints, eat gummies and consume weed as they wish in private. It will still be illegal to consume marijuana in public, and employers are still allowed to have a zero-tolerance policy. Recreational weed will not be available for purchase in the state for at least 16 months. (Newman, 4/23)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
The New York Times:
Black Smokers At Center Of New York Fight To Ban Menthol Cigarettes
A push by Gov. Kathy Hochul to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes in New York has become the focal point of a fierce and expensive lobbying fight, pitting Big Tobacco against the medical community. Caught in the middle are Black smokers, who smoke menthol cigarettes at higher rates than white smokers, and are the main group the ban is meant to help. Decades of aggressive marketing by tobacco companies have caused Black smokers to consume menthol cigarettes, whose cooling sensation on the throat makes them more appealing and addictive. (Ferre-Sadurni, 4/23)
NPR:
LA Mayor Karen Bass Says She Needs $1.3 Billion To Address Homelessness
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says she told President Biden that he could significantly reduce homelessness in the United States by helping to find shelter for the roughly 40,000 people in the city who are currently unhoused. "[I] basically said, 'If your goal, Mr. President, is to reduce homelessness in the United States by 25%, you can literally meet that goal in our city for such a massive problem that I absolutely believe is an emergency,'" Bass said in an interview with All Things Considered on Saturday. (Marx, 4/23)
Houston Chronicle:
Clear Creek ISD Elementary Cancels Classes After 150 Get Sick
Clear Creek ISD canceled Friday classes at Hyde Elementary School after a stomach bug affected more than 150 students and some staff members. A Facebook post from Hyde Elementary PTA shows a letter Principal Suzi Saunders sent to parents Thursday night saying the school would be closed the next day due to a "gastrointestinal illness outbreak" and that it would be cleaned in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. (Orozco, 4/21)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Everyone's Going To Die. These St. Louis Residents Want To Help You Do It Better.
When Alan Jeude’s wife died in August, six years after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the first person he called wasn’t one of their children, or a hospice nurse, or even the crematorium. It was his death doula. (Schrappen, 4/23)
Minnesota Public Radio:
Demand For Culturally-Aware Mental Health Providers Rises In A More Diverse Minnesota
Inside The Luminous Mind in Roseville, you’ll find Middle Eastern hospitality — free tea and coffee at the table in the waiting area. For owner and psychologist Layla Asamarai, comfort starts at the door. “In order to appreciate the decolonization of psychotherapy, one has to realize that psychotherapy is a colonized practice, as it is employed today in the world,” said Asamarai. (Thamer, 4/24)
On child labor laws —
The Washington Post:
The Conservative Campaign To Rewrite Child Labor Laws
The Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank and lobbying group, drafted state legislation to strip child workplace protections, emails show. (Gogage and Paul, 4/23)
