Modern Healthcare (8/26, Perna, Subscription Publication) reports, “State legislators are moving quickly to regulate artificial intelligence in healthcare, particularly in the mental health arena.” With “federal legislation of AI unlikely during President…Trump’s administration, states are moving ahead with their own laws as the hype over the technology permeates all areas of healthcare.” States such as “Illinois, Nevada and Texas have already passed a handful of laws.” According to Modern Healthcare, “consulting firm Manatt Health said there are more than 250 additional AI bills under consideration across 46 states that could use these early adopters as a roadmap.”

Related Links:

— “States move legislation on AI-enabled mental health, prior auth,” Gabriel Perna, Modern Healthcare, August26 , 2025

Psychiatric News (8/26) reports “more than 70% of mental health apps do not mention any crisis hotline, and only one in seven mentions the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a study” found. The research also found that “a sizable minority of apps that mention alternative crisis hotlines link to ones that don’t work.” The findings were published in Psychiatric Services.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Apps and Crisis Support: Exploring the Impact of 988,” Bridget Dwyer, B.S., Jane Mikkelson, B.A., James Burns, B.S., Valeria Diaz-Pacheco, B.S., M.S., and John Torous, M.D., M.B.I., Psychiatric Services, August 21, 2025

The New York Times (8/25, Hoffman) reports, “As fentanyl propelled overdose deaths to ever more alarming numbers several years ago, public health officials throughout the United States stepped up a blunt, pragmatic response.” More states “authorized needle exchanges, where drug users could get sterile syringes as well as alcohol wipes, rubber ties and cookers.” As a result, “by mid-2023, overdose deaths began dropping.

Last year, there were an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States, down from 110,037 in 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” However, “states and communities are turning away from harm reduction strategies” after President Trump last month issued an “executive order that included a blast at harm reduction programs.”

Related Links:

— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (8/25, Firth) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 99 studies found that “cannabis products containing high concentrations of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive compound in marijuana – were linked to psychosis, schizophrenia, and addiction.” Researchers observed that “70% of the nontherapeutic studies (i.e., those not attempting to treat a medical condition or symptom) showed an unfavorable association with psychosis or schizophrenia and 75% found a relationship to cannabis use disorder (CUD).

Anxiety and depression appeared to be worsened in 53% and 41% of such studies, respectively, with even higher rates when studying healthy individuals specifically.” The researchers noted the findings complement those of prior systematic reviews in “reinforcing the conclusion that higher THC concentrations increase the risk for adverse mental health outcomes.” The review was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (8/22) reported a study found that “nonfatal firearm injuries raise the risk of mental and substance use disorders (SUD).” The researchers used data from Marketscan “to compare claims from 2007 with claims from 2019.” They observed “a higher prevalence of diagnoses before injury among survivors but not among family members relative to controls.” Specifically, they found that “after nonfatal firearm injury, psychiatric disorders increased among survivors, including 77% for mood disorders, 146% for trauma-related disorders, 57% for anxiety disorders, and 73% to 305% for psychotic, neuropsychiatric, and other disorders.” They also found that SUD diagnoses “rose after firearm injury, including 99% for tobacco use disorder, 186% for alcohol use disorder, and 49% to 195% for opioid, cannabis, sedative, stimulant, and other substance use disorders.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders After Nonfatal Firearm Injury,” Katherine A. Koh, MD, MSc1; Mia Giuriato, BBA, MA3; Chana A. Sacks, MD, MPH JAMA Psychiatry, August 20, 2025 (Access Required)