Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Social Unrest Taking Toll On Black Americans' Mental Health, Experts Say
ABC News: Black American Anxiety At All-Time High, Experts Say
While violent police encounters involving Black people dominate headlines, the news is having a detrimental impact on the mental well-being of Black Americans, some experts say. In the weeks following the graphic video of George Floyd pinned under the knee of a now former Minneapolis police officer, U.S. Census Bureau data found that anxiety among Black Americans had increased by 26% and depression increased by 22%. (Shepard, 9/5)
Tampa Bay Times: Suicide Prevention Week Raises Alarms, LGBTQ Youth Suffer Acutely
For Lani Thomas, it was a jarring, heart-wrenching introduction to sexuality outside of society’s rigid norms. In the early hours of June 12, 2016, a gunman took the lives of 49 victims and injured more than 50 at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. It would become one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history — a targeted attack against the gay community during the club’s Latin Night. (Snipe, 9/8)
AP: Facebook Blocks Ailing Man's Planned End-Of-Life Broadcasts
Facebook on Saturday blocked live broadcasts from a chronically ill bed-ridden man who appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron for a medically-assisted death and who wanted to show what he expects will be a painful end to his life after he announced that he was stopping all food and drink. Prostrate on his bed, Alain Cocq posted video of himself Friday after taking what he said would be his last liquid meal. “I know the days ahead are going to be very difficult,” he said. “But I have taken my decision and I am serene.” (Leicester, 9/5)
Kaiser Health News: Altered Mindsets: Marijuana Is Making Its Mark On Ballots In Red States
When Tamarack Dispensary opened in the northwestern Montana city of Kalispell in 2009, medical marijuana was legal but still operating on the fringes of the conservative community. Times have changed. Owner Erin Bolster no longer receives surprised or puzzled looks when she tells people what she does. Now, her business sponsors community events and was recently nominated as a top marijuana provider by a local newspaper. “We’ve become a normal part of the community, and it feels good that the community has finally accepted us,” Bolster said. (Franz, 9/8)
In obituaries —
The New York Times: Cathy Smith, Who Injected John Belushi With Fatal Drugs, Dies At 73
Ms. Smith would admit to injecting Mr. Belushi with a combination of heroin and cocaine during her interview with The Enquirer, for which she was paid $15,000. The article resulted in a renewed investigation and, in 1983, her indictment by a grand jury in Los Angeles County on one count of second-degree murder and 13 counts of administering a dangerous drug. Ms. Smith, one of pop culture’s most notorious footnotes, died on Aug. 16 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. She was 73. (Genzlinger, 9/4)
