Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oregon's Drug Decriminalization Experiment Comes To An End
The Washington Post: In Oregon, Hard Drugs Illegal Again As First-In-Nation Experiment Ends
As of Sunday, it is, once again, illegal to possess small amounts of hard drugs in Oregon. A first-in-the-nation law decriminalizing drugs expired, as communities across America struggle to curb fentanyl use and overdose deaths. Sunday marks the end of an experiment that drug-reform advocates called a pioneering and progressive measure to better help people. Oregon legislators reassessed Measure 110 this year and decided to again make it a misdemeanor to possess a minor amount of drugs — essentially anything besides marijuana. Selling and manufacturing illicit drugs was and is still illegal in Oregon. (Brasch, 9/1)
Reuters: Drug Distributors Strike $300 Mln Opioid Settlement With US Health Plans
The three largest U.S. drug distributors have agreed to pay $300 million to resolve claims by health insurers and benefit plans that they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, according to court papers filed on Friday. The proposed class action settlement with McKesson Corp, Cencora Inc, and Cardinal Health Inc was disclosed in a filing, opens new tab in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, and requires a judge's approval. Those companies had previously agreed to pay $21 billion to resolve claims by state and local governments accusing them of having lax controls that allowed massive amounts of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels. (Raymond, 8/30)
CQ-Roll Call: CDC Sees Link Between Overdoses, Other Mental Health Disorders
Treating and screening for non-substance-related mental health disorders could help drive down overdoses, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. The study, published Thursday, found that of the 63,424 people who died from drug overdoses across 43 states and Washington, D.C. in 2022, 22 percent had a separate mental health disorder. (DeGroot, 9/2)
AP: Giving Up Pets To Seek Rehab Can Worsen Trauma. A Colorado Group Intends To End That
People seeking treatment for substance abuse don't have to give up their pets thanks to the work of volunteers in a Colorado-based organization. (Peipert, 9/1)
In other news from across the U.S. —
CNN: California Passes Bill Banning Food With Red Dye No. 40, Other Chemicals In Schools
The California Legislature has passed a bill with bipartisan support banning the use of red dye No. 40 and five other chemicals in foods served at public schools. On Thursday, the Golden State became the first in the country to pass a bill that, if signed into law, would forbid the use of the ingredients found in some popular cereals, ice creams, drinks, candy, ice pops, cheese-flavored chips, jellies and more, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization that cosponsored the law with Consumer Reports. (Rogers, 8/30)
North Carolina Health News: This Was The Year Advanced Practice Nurses Thought They’d Get Full Practice Authority In NC. They Were Wrong.
Every so often, Megan Conner, a nurse anesthetist in Greenville said she sees a patient who’s driven for hours to come for a screening colonoscopy but who instead has to be sent to the emergency department. It frustrates Conner that so many patients, who have to travel sometimes hours for care in eastern North Carolina, end up not getting it because of common ailments they can’t get treated closer to home. That’s why Conner is a big believer in the Safe, Accessible, Value-directed and Excellent Health Care Act (SAVE Act), which would give advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) like her full practice authority. (Duah-Mensah, 8/29)
