Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Voters Across The Country Will Weigh Health-Related Ballot Questions
CNN: Your Health Is On The Ballot In The Midterm Election
Voters in 37 states will have more than candidates to choose in Tuesday's election. There are more than 150 statewide measures on ballots this midterm election, and several involve health-related issues such as Medicaid expansion, marijuana, abortion, grocery taxes and charges related to drug use and possession. (Christensen, 11/5)
The Washington Post: Marijuana Legalization Referendums: Where They're On The Ballot
Now, legalization advocates are hoping to build on these successes with a number of statewide ballot measures up for consideration Tuesday, including full recreational legalization in two states and medical marijuana in two more. Here’s a rundown of what the measures say and where the polling on them stands. (Ingraham, 11/5)
The Associated Press: Michigan, North Dakota Weigh Bringing Legal Pot To Midwest
Voters in Michigan and North Dakota will decide Tuesday whether to legalize recreational marijuana, which would make them the first states in the Midwest to do so and would put conservative neighboring states on notice. More than half the states have already legalized medical marijuana, and Utah and Missouri could join their ranks Tuesday. (Karoub, 11/6)
Politico: West Coast Voters Could Set The Soda Wars On A New Course
Voters in Oregon and Washington state are about to decide whether new soda taxes have a future here in the Pacific Northwest, but the results could reverberate far beyond the region. The two statewide ballot initiatives, if approved, would make the entire West Coast — the very place where U.S. soda taxes were born — off-limits to new taxes for the foreseeable future. (Evich, 11/4)
Kaiser Health News: Soda Industry Steals Page From Tobacco To Combat Taxes On Sugary Drinks
In the run-up to the midterm elections, the soda industry has poured millions of dollars into fighting taxes on sugary drinks, an increasingly popular approach to combating obesity, which affects 40 percent of American adults. Soda makers have campaigned against sugary drink taxes in dozens of cities in recent years, mostly successfully. ... Soda makers also have cultivated close relationships with doctors, scientists and professional societies, including the Obesity Society and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Both groups say there’s not enough evidence to know if sugar taxes are effective. (Szabo, 11/6)
