Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marijuana Finds Fewer Roadblocks
AP: Panel Recommends Higher Purchase Limits For Medical Cannabis
A panel of doctors and other health care professionals on Monday recommended increasing the amount of marijuana that can be purchased by participants in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program. But the debate over whether the state has an adequate supply has yet to be settled. The state medical cannabis advisory board voted in favor of nearly doubling the patient purchase limit to 15 ounces over 90 days after hearing from supporters that New Mexico has trailed other states when it comes to the accessibility of medical marijuana. Producers and patients noted that the higher limit would at least put New Mexico on par with Nevada and Arizona but that many other states allow for patients to buy significantly more. (Montoya Bryan, 11/16)
AP: Americans Across Party Lines, Regions Embrace Marijuana
Bill Stocker could be considered the archetype of a conservative voter: He’s a retired Marine and former police officer who voted for President Donald Trump. But he’s also among the majority of South Dakota voters who broadly legalized marijuana this month. Stocker, 61, said enforcing marijuana laws gets in the way of pursuing other drug crimes and called warnings about the ills of marijuana “a bunch of baloney” that even people in a Republican stronghold like South Dakota no longer believe. (Hanson, 11/16)
Also —
CNN: Seasonal Affective Disorder: How To Get Through The Pandemic's Winter Months
With winter on the horizon, it's getting darker earlier each day, and temperatures are slipping. Seasonal affective disorder could hit particularly hard this year, especially after months of social distancing and limited contact with family or large groups. "Our emotional winter is coming," said Jaime Blandino, a clinical psychologist and cofounder of Thrive Center for Psychological Health in Decatur, Georgia. (Prior, 11/16)
Detroit Free Press: Do Masks Really Work Against COVID-19? Beaumont Study Says Yes
Wearing a mask protects people from contracting the novel coronavirus, according to a new study by the Beaumont Research Institute of employees, which was published earlier this month in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study showed that of the 20,614 Beaumont health care workers who took part in the research, 1,818 — or 8.8% — had developed SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on serology blood tests. (Jordan Shamus, 11/16)
And families weigh how to handle Thanksgiving —
The Atlantic: Cancel Thanksgiving: How To Safely Celebrate In A Pandemic
In this precarious moment, many Americans are planning to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by traveling and having dinner with 10 or more people. Pandemic models generally account for such behavior in the early stages of an outbreak, before people understand the nature of a virus, but not during the heart of the crisis. If this were an outbreak movie, and the characters were congregating in multigenerational units indoors to have boisterous conversations over lengthy meals, you’d probably be yelling at your screen. (Hamblin, 11/16)
The Washington Post: Why We Are Canceling Our Family Thanksgiving Trip This Year
I finally gave up on our trip when I realized that gathering 16 people from four different states in the middle of a pandemic, in addition to risking lives, would risk destroying that Thanksgiving feeling I love: that feeling of sharing an experience with all of America. In 2020, our nearly universal shared experience is loss. I don’t want to try to exempt myself from that. Observing Thanksgiving properly in America this year means giving up the family and friends you want to see and hug and serve. It means giving up what you always do. This year, we give up our always for the sake of everyone so that next year we might once again have both. If we do, I will be more thankful than ever. (Kate Cohen, 11/16)
CNN: Thanksgiving And Covid-19: A Negative Test Result Doesn't Mean It's Safe To Visit Family
If you think a negative test result means you don't have coronavirus, you could be wrong. It can take days before a new infection shows up on a Covid-19 test. "We know that the incubation period for Covid-19 is up to 14 days. And before that, you can be testing negative, and have no symptoms," emergency medicine physician Dr. Leana Wen said. (Yan, 11/16)
