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After seeing an unusually high number of children with life-threatening brain infections last year, doctors are calling attention to the puzzling trend. In a presentation Thursday, researchers at the Southern Nevada Health District said there were 18 cases of pediatric brain abscesses — pus-filled pockets in the brain — in Clark County in 2022. By comparison, there was an average of five cases annually from 2015 to 2021. (Bendix, 4/28)

The long wait is over for patients and caregivers on Georgia’s medical marijuana registry who received the state’s permission to possess the drug eight years ago but have had no way to legally obtain it. The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission this past week approved licenses for dispensing the drug for five stores in Macon, Marietta and the Savannah area. (Denery, 4/28)

Minnesota may soon become the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana. The state House and Senate both approved the bill last week, and it heads next to Gov. Tim Walz, who has already shared his support. A key part of this legislation is how it would affect people with marijuana records whose crimes would no longer be considered crimes. Like in other states that have already fully legalized weed, Minnesota lawmakers are proposing ways for people to get marijuana offenses cleared. (Birnstengel, 5/1)

Not long ago, urinating in a cup for a drug test was a widely accepted, if annoying, requirement to start a new job. The legalization of marijuana in more and more states in recent years upended that, prompting many employers to shelve hiring rules from the “Just Say No” era. There was a major holdout: the federal government, by far the nation’s largest employer. But now, it too is significantly relaxing drug screening rules as agencies struggle to replenish the ranks of a rapidly aging work force in a tight job market. (Londono, 4/30)

A Missouri judge is expected to rule Monday on whether a strict, first-of-its-kind rule in the U.S. on gender-affirming health care can take effect, or if the new rules will remain unenforced as a legal challenge seeking to overthrow them plays out in court. The rule, which requires documented gender dysphoria for three years and more than a year of therapy, was scheduled to kick in last Thursday. (Ballentin, 5/1)

With her insurance about to run out and Republicans in her home state of Missouri ramping up rhetoric against gender-affirming health care, Erin Stille nervously visited a foreign pharmaceutical site as a “last resort” to ensure she could continue getting the hormones she needs. Stille, 26, sent a $300 bank transfer to a Taiwan-based supplier for a 6-month supply of estrogen patches and androgen-blocking pills. For three weeks she feared she’d been scammed but breathed a sigh of relief when a large package arrived at her home in St. Peters. (Schoenbaum and Ballentine, 4/30)

Transgender women have a small but meaningful risk of prostate cancer, but traditional screening tools may not work well for them, especially if they’re taking estrogen for gender-affirming care, according to a national study led by UCSF researchers. (Allday, 4/29)