Viewpoints: Can Courts Set Drug Policy, Solve The Opioid Crisis?; Clear Up FDA Rules On E-Cigarettes To Encourage Positive Effects

The Wall Street Journal: Can A Judge Solve The Opioid Crisis?
What began as a single opioid lawsuit in Ohio is now the only such case that matters. Every significant opioid lawsuit in the U.S. has been lumped together into a giant case before one federal judge in Cleveland who has declared his extraordinary ambition to “solve” the crisis in 2018. Judge Dan Polster is bringing before him all the major companies involved, including drug manufacturers like Purdue Pharma, distributors like McKesson and retailers like CVS. Other parties swept into Cleveland—some of which haven’t even sued yet—include the Justice Department, several Native American tribes, more than 40 states, and hundreds of counties, cities and people. New cases will continue to be added. (Abbe R. Gluck, 5/7)

The Washington Post: The FDA Should Let E-Cigarettes Help Adults — But Not Hook Kids
About a decade ago, the e-cigarette industry began to boom in the United States, largely unregulated. Vaping was much safer than conventional smoking, and the devices helped some longtime smokers to moderate their highly deadly habit, but e-cigarettes also addicted a generation of new nicotine users. Now, finally, the Food and Drug Administration is stepping in more forcefully to encourage the positive effects of e-cigarettes and discourage the drawbacks. (5/7)

Chicago Tribune: Mosquitoes And Ticks Are Coming To Kill Us — Unless We Strike First
I have some unfortunate news: Now that spring is here and we’re forced to do unpleasant things like “go outside,” there’s a good chance we’re all going to be killed by mosquitoes.Well, not just mosquitoes. Ticks and fleas will also take part in the swift consumption of humanity. (Rex Huppke, 5/7)

The Hill: Future Of Medicine Could Tailored To Your Individual Genetics If Data Gathered Is Meaningful
In the future, medicine will be tailored to your individual “genome” or genetic code, lifestyle and community. Rather than a one-size-fits-most treatment, doctors will use data to determine what therapies you should receive based on genetic traits you’ve inherited from family, your daily habits, and where you live. But how do we get there? (Arielle Kane, 5/8)

Stat: Cultural Confusion: The Shifting Line Between Sane And 'Unsane'
Where does sanity end and mental illness begin? It’s a shifting boundary, one based as much on culture as it is on our understanding of the brain and mental health. The American public harbors deep collective anxieties about mental health that are continually being stirred up. Take Steven Soderbergh’s most recent film, “Unsane,” which tells the story of a woman who is committed against her will to a mental institution and becomes trapped, unable to convince anyone that she doesn’t belong there. Released in March, the trailer has garnered nearly 17 million views. Or look at the public response to recent revelations by NBA star Kevin Love about his panic attacks, Mariah Carey about her bipolar disorder, and Chrissy Teigen about her struggle with postpartum depression. Along with a spate of new documentary and fictional films about mental illness, including “Unsane,” these reflect the cultural significance of mental illnesses. (Rebecca A. Seligman, 5/8)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Let's Talk Openly About Mental Illness
Thankfully, several organizations and the people who work for them are making strides to change the mental health stigma. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide -- launched an ad campaign in January called Seize The Awkward. The goal is to empower teens and young adults to start a conversation with or offer help to a friend who is struggling with mental illness. LifeAct is a Cleveland-based organization committed to informing teens about depression and suicide prevention. Last year, its instructors educated more than 25,000 middle and high school students in Northeast Ohio at no cost to schools. As a result, 2,130 teens sought additional help. (Katie Khoury, 5/6)

Los Angeles Times: Target 'Gay Conversion Therapy,' Not Religion
In 2012 California enacted a law that bars licensed mental health providers from engaging in therapy designed to change the sexual orientation of patients under the age of 18. Now the state Senate is considering a sequel of sorts. But this new legislation is broader in its application — so broad that some critics are claiming that it could be used to interfere with the sale of religious books, even the Bible. Such fears may be farfetched. But AB 2943, which was passed by the Assembly last month, contains ambiguities that need to be cleared up if the legislation is to become law. (5/7)

The Baltimore Sun: Child's Behavior May Be Result Of Trauma, Not ADHD
After a stressed-out mother called me several times recently to help deal with her 11-year-old son, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and accused of acting out at school, I set up a wrestling-as-therapy session.In mentoring school-age boys, it helps to channel emotion and let it dissipate so clear thinking can take over. This particular 20-minute session at the Baltimore Police Academy seemed like forever. This boy had a lot of pent up rage, and as I pinned him down during our session, it broke my heart to see him hold back tears and refuse with every twitching muscle to allow himself to be vulnerable.And yet, I whispered in his ear that it was OK to feel. I refused to let him go.As founder of Project Pneuma — where we teach young men the art of forgiveness, self-control and discipline — I see what our kids are going through on daily basis. What’s being diagnosed as an attention deficit disorder is very likely to be a symptom of trauma, especially in the homes and communities of black children. (Damion J. Cooper,5/3)

Boston Globe: In The Worst Human Traumas, Psychologists Found The Roots Of Happiness
All around us are reminders of how important happiness is in people’s lives: in TED talks, in the practice of meditation, in the annual World Happiness Report, and in advice on how to embrace positivity. Though the concept has been addressed at least since Aristotle explored the meaning of “eudaimonia” (commonly translated as human happiness or welfare), the study of the nature of happiness — known as positive psychology — did not emerge as an academic field until the 1990s. Today, positive psychology informs everything from marketing to sports management to the most popular class at Yale, a course nicknamed “Happiness 101.”Ironically, positive psychology was born in misery and war — long before the current version, with its emphasis on scientific study of positive human functioning and resilience, emerged with self-consciousness and institutional heft in the 1990s. (Daniel Horowitz, 5/6)  

Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Gives Fake Women's Health Centers Permanent Funding
A perfect example of the important role of the courts in our daily lives is playing out right now in the U.S. Supreme Court with National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra. This case will determine if the First Amendment’s free speech clause allows anti-abortion counseling centers in Florida, and across the nation, to deceive women. (Amy Weintraub, 5/5)

The New York Times: Fighting Street Gun Violence As If It Were A Contagion
Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist, has spent his life treating contagious diseases: cholera, tuberculosis, H.I.V. — and for the last 23 years, violence. Yes, violence. A disease is a condition with identifiable symptoms that causes sickness or death. That describes violence. And we know it spreads itself. There is overwhelming evidence that hurt people hurt other people. Children who grow up in poverty and misery do not commit violence — unless they experienced it. If they were chronically exposed to violence as a child, they are more than 31 times more likely than other people to behave violently themselves. (Tina Rosenberg, 5/8)