Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Georgia Slams Brakes On Medical Marijuana
The state鈥檚 medical cannabis production program is stalled again after a court action suspended the state-issued grow licenses to two companies. It means that while medical marijuana is legal in Georgia 鈥 it鈥檚 still illegal to buy it because nobody is producing it in-state. 聽Last week, a south Georgia medical cannabis company granted one of the state鈥檚 two new grow licenses and gave a tour of a facility already in place in south Georgia 鈥 documented on Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Tyler Harper's Facebook page.聽(Richards, 10/3)
Medical marijuana cultivation started on the night licenses were awarded in Georgia. Trulieve opened a nursery in its South Georgia greenhouse as soon as it became one of two companies that won a license last month to grow, process and sell medical marijuana oil to registered patients. (Niesse, 10/3)
In other health news from across the U.S. 鈥
The 鈥淣o on 29鈥 campaign, backed by the dialysis companies, says the union is abusing California鈥檚 direct democracy system, trying to push the companies to the negotiating table and gain leverage. But the union says the dialysis industry is making huge profits off vulnerable patients. Proposition 29 backers insist they are just using the tools available to check corporate power, and accomplish their broader policy goals. (Blair Rowan, 10/3)
Throughout her century-long life, Ruth Gottstein broke new ground as an activist and publisher in the fields of domestic violence, women鈥檚 health, civil rights, gay rights and the La Raza movement as well as being an avid outdoorswoman. So in her final days, when she and her son Adam Gottstein were planning the disposition of her body, it was fitting that they decided she would be in the vanguard there as well, choosing to have her earthly remains turned into literal earth. (Said, 10/3)
After more than two years of turmoil and stress during the COVID pandemic, here鈥檚 a bit of good news for the state鈥檚 public health system: Cases of monkeypox have plummeted in recent weeks. (Ingold, 10/3)
Parkinson鈥檚 disease affects the nervous system. It muddles how the brain sends signals that coordinate movement. In Vermont, it's estimated that one out of a thousand people over age 55 have it. (Keck, 10/3)
