USA Today (6/26) reports that a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that excessive drinking was the cause of one in 10 deaths among working-age adults between 2006 and 2010. The paper notes that the CDC defined excessive drinking activities to include “binge drinking, heavy weekly alcohol consumption and drinking while underage or pregnant.” The CDC found those activities instigated “long-term health effects such as liver disease and heart disease, as well as short-period effects such as violence, alcohol poisoning, car crashes and drowning.”

The Washington Post (6/27, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog reports that CDC researchers estimated that “excessive drinking cost the United States about $224 billion in 2006, or about $1.90 per drink” in public health costs. The study found that deaths caused by excessive drinking varied greatly by state from the 16.9% of deaths occurring in New Mexico as the highest to the 7.6% of deaths occurring in Maryland as the lowest nationwide.

Related Links:

— “Drinking behind 1 in 10 deaths of working-age adults,” Hoai-Tran Bui, USA Today, June 27, 2014.

On its front page, the New York Times (6/27, A1, St. Louis, Subscription Publication) reports in a nearly 1,500-word article that while New York state has legalized medical marijuana for specific conditions, “no rigorous scientific evidence that marijuana effectively treats the symptoms of many of the illnesses for which states have authorized its use.”

The Times adds, “Experts say, lawmakers and the authors of public referendums have acted largely on the basis of animal studies and heart-wrenching anecdotes.” The article also mentions that the National Institute on Drug Abuse is the only legal supplier of the substance.

Related Links:

— “Politicians’ Prescriptions for Marijuana Defy Doctors and Data,” Catherine Saint Louis, New York Times, June 26, 2014.

HealthDay (6/27, Preidt) reports research suggests that “if your spouse has a stroke, and the two of you disagree about the rate of recovery, your own health might suffer.” Investigators found that “the caregiving spouse is at increased risk for emotional distress and depression if the couple has different perceptions of the post-stroke progress.” The researchers came to this conclusion after studying “35 couples in which one spouse had suffered a stroke within the past three years.” The findings were published online in Aging & Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “After Stroke, Spouse May Also Need Care,” Robert Priedt, HealthDay, June 26, 2014.

USA Today (6/25, A1, Szabo) reports in a front-page story that “systemic discrimination” against people with mental illnesses, which is “embedded in Medicaid and Medicare laws, has accelerated the emptying of state psychiatric hospitals, leaving many of the sickest and most vulnerable patients with nowhere to turn.”

According to advocates and experts, the system is “in shambles, starved of funding while neglecting millions of people across the country each year.” The piece also mentions that a bill before Congress sponsored by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) called the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act would allow states to receive Medicaid matching payments for adult psychiatric hospitalizations.”

The measure enjoys the support of the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians, among others.

Related Links:

— “Cost of not caring: Stigma set in stone: Mentally Ill Suffer in Sick Health System,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, June 25, 2014.

The Times of Trenton (NJ) (6/26) reports that a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) enhancing “federal programs for families touched by autism cleared the House of Representatives” yesterday night. The measure, called the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (Autism CARES) Act, “earmarks $1.3 billion over five years for autism research, particularly for programs to aid people with autism as they transition from childhood into adulthood.”

Included in the “$1.3 billion is $950 million in research grants at the National Institutes of Health and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and $110 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program.”

Related Links:

— “Legislation to enhance federal aid for autism research passes House of Representatives,” Mike Davis, Times of Trenton, June 25, 2014.