Weaker Pandemic Liquor Laws May Have Boosted Problem Drinking
A Stateline report warns that looser pandemic laws designed to boost restaurants may have contributed to binge drinking and higher overall consumption. Harm reduction related to fentanyl, mental health pushes in Wisconsin and Ohio, and more are also in the news.
Stateline:
Looser Liquor Laws, A Boon To Bars And Restaurants, May Have Increased Problem Drinking
Most states that allowed curbside pickup or home delivery of alcohol to help restaurants, bars and liquor stores survive pandemic closures have extended the looser liquor laws. But in their desire to boost the hospitality industry, states might be fueling binge drinking and higher overall alcohol consumption, some research shows. (Povich, 8/4)
On drug use —
Side Effects Public Media:
Fentanyl Is Devastating Midwest Communities. But Expanding Harm Reduction Can Be Difficult
Karen Warpenburg is fighting an almost invisible enemy that’s claiming the lives of a growing number of people in her southern Indiana community: the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. Ingesting a tiny amount of the drug can be lethal. (Legan, 8/3)
Anchorage Daily News:
Other Alaska Law Enforcement Agencies Carry Narcan. Why Don’t Anchorage Police?
Overdose deaths in the Anchorage area have nearly tripled since 2018. Advocates are pushing for the police department to change its policy, and say doing so could help save lives. (Berman, 8/3)
On mental illness —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Gov. Tony Evers To Allocate $14 Million Toward Mental Health Services
Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday his administration will allocate roughly $14 million in federal funding to mental health services in collaboration with the state Department of Health Services. The funding will include a grant of more than $9 million to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater intended to expand the mental health care workforce and awarding $5 million to bolster youth psychiatric services. (Baker, 8/3)
Columbus Dispatch:
Ryan Day Makes Million Dollar Donation To Mental Health Fund
On Wednesday, Ohio State president Kristina Johnson announced that the Days had created the Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund with a donation of $1 million for research and treatment at the OSU Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. "The biggest differentiator is that (On Our Sleeves) is really for the children, and this is more for our students — Buckeye Nation — and for adults," Ryan Day said at a press conference at the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. (Rabinowitz, 8/3)
KHN:
When Mental Illness Leads To Dropped Charges, Patients Often Go Without Stabilizing Care
For seven years, Timothy Jay Fowler rotated between jail, forced psychiatric hospitalization, and freedom. In 2014, the Great Falls, Montana, man was charged with assaulting two detention officers while he was in jail, accused of theft. A mental health evaluation concluded that Fowler, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was unfit to stand trial, according to court documents. After Fowler received psychiatric treatment for several months, a judge ruled that he was unlikely to become competent anytime soon. His case was dismissed, and after a stay in the state-run psychiatric hospital, he was released. (Houghton, 8/4)
