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Minnesota just sorta, kinda, almost legalized weed. A law took effect earlier this month allowing anyone at least 21 years old to purchase edibles or beverages with up to 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC per serving. Those relatively low potency products with up to 50 milligrams per package still pack enough of a psychoactive punch to get most users plenty high. But some key lawmakers who approved the significant change in drug policy were seemingly confused about what they’d done. (Demko, 7/10)

A group selected last month to turn a massive settlement into action to combat opioid addiction will meet for the first time this week. The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission will hold its first meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Capital Complex East in Frankfort, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed. (7/11)

A mass fentanyl overdose event in Gadsden County over the Fourth of July weekend is deepening concerns about drug trafficking and the rising cost of drug abuse in the state. Nineteen people overdosed on the drug and nine died. (Hatter, 7/10)

A district court on Friday night temporarily blocked Texas officials from investigating two families for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care for their trans children. (Gonzalez, 7/9)

KHN: A 63-Year-Old Transgender Woman Is Caught In Montana’s Birth Certificate Dispute 

At 10 years old, Susan Howard knew she was a girl, even though her birth certificate said otherwise. It wasn’t until last year, at age 62, that the Montana resident came to terms with being transgender. Howard underwent hormone therapy, had gender-affirming surgery, and began changing her name and gender on official documents. “It has been a godsend for me,” Howard said. “I feel so right and at ease with myself for the first time in so many ways.” (Zurek, 7/11)

The Wisconsin Supreme Court chose not to block a Madison public schools policy that allows students to self-identify their names and pronouns without parental permission, in a 4-3 decision shared Friday that kicks the case back to circuit court. (Linnane, 7/8)

A former caregiver charged in connection with the 2019 poisoning death of a developmentally disabled woman has been acquitted of felony assault. Fikirte T. Aseged mistakenly gave cleaning vinegar instead of colonoscopy prep medicine to her 64-year-old client Marion Wilson. (7/9)

“No one who is mentally ill and now on the street will be on the street in five years,” promised the late Rusty Selix, who was executive director of the Mental Health Assn. of California and a co-author of the ballot initiative, Proposition 63. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be homeless. But you will see a measurable decline.” Since voters approved the tax in 2004, it has generated an escalating gusher of money — $29 billion in total, half of which has come in just the last five years. (Garrison, Gutierrez and Luna, 7/10)