Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Premature Births Linked To Heavy Marijuana Use In Pregnancy
NBC News: Heavy Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Linked To Premature Birth, Early Infant Death
Women who use marijuana during pregnancy are putting their babies at risk, a study published Thursday finds. Babies born to women who were heavy cannabis users during pregnancy are more likely to have health problems, including premature birth and death within a year of birth, compared to babies born to women who did not use cannabis during pregnancy, according to an analysis of nearly 5 million California women who gave birth between 2001 and 2012. (Carroll, 4/23)
AP: Florida Court Deals Blow To Marijuana Ballot Initiative
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a potentially fatal blow to supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana under certain circumstances. The justices ruled that the initiative's ballot summary is “misleading” in part because it does not spell out that recreational marijuana possession and distribution remains a federal crime. (4/22)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania 2022 Elections Show Marijuana Legalization Going From Fringe To Front-Runner
Not long ago, a candidate for statewide office in Pennsylvania would have been seen as fringe for backing the legalization of recreational marijuana. Now the issue looks like a winner for Democrats. The party’s major candidates for U.S. Senate and governor all favor legal weed. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the early Senate front-runner, flooded the internet with pro-pot messaging this week. He got on board after a 2019 statewide tour, where he spoke to voters about the issue. (Brennan, 4/23)
In other news about drug use and the opioid epidemic —
AP: California Senate OKs Supervised Sites For Drug Users
Instead of putting opioid-users in jail, a proposal moving through the California Legislature would give them a place to inject drugs while trained staff watch them to make sure they don’t die from accidental overdoses. The state Senate passed a bill on Thursday by just one vote that would allow the programs in Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles County. But the bill must still pass the state Assembly before it can go to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who would decide whether to sign it into law. (Beam, 4/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: Mayor Breed Wants An Answer From Biden Administration: Are Sanctioned Drug Use Sites Legal?
Mayor London Breed, facing yet another deadly month of overdoses in San Francisco, asked for clarity from the Biden administration Wednesday over whether opening a sanctioned drug use site would violate federal law. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Breed — and several other mayors, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf — said the “threat of federal enforcement” is one of their “greatest disincentives” to opening a site where people can use drugs around health professionals and also access services like drug treatment. “And we ask that you end that threat,” they wrote. (Thadani, 4/22)
NPR: During Pandemic, Fentanyl's Spread Made Illicit Drug Use Far More Treacherous
Researchers gathered for a conference on addiction this week received a grim update on the growing spread of street drugs laced with deadly synthetic opioids including fentanyl. The trend contributed to a stark rise in overdoses that left more than 90,000 Americans dead during the 12-month period ending in September 2020, according to the latest data. "We've seen a very significant rise in mortality," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, who spoke Thursday as part of an on-line gathering of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. (Mann, 4/22)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Fatal Overdoses Among Black Philadelphians Rose Through COVID Pandemic, New Data Show
Fatal overdoses among Black Philadelphians skyrocketed in the first three quarters of 2020, new data from the city health department show. And overdoses have risen at alarming rates in several communities outside the neighborhoods typically considered “hot spots” for drug deaths. City officials say the spike in deaths, noted in a city report on its Opioid Response Unit, was likely made worse by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the latest data show how Philadelphia’s overdose crisis is changing, affecting more people of color — who also have suffered the most from COVID-19 — across the city. (Whelan, 4/22)
