The Washington Post (5/16, Ovalle , Nirappil ) reports, “President Biden on Thursday publicly endorsed the Justice Department’s recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana, a long-expected measure that marks a historic shift in the nation’s drug policy.” Now, the Justice Department “will publish an official notice, opening a two-month period for the public to comment on the proposed change. The rule reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance would not go into effect until afterward.”

The AP (5/16, Whitehurst ) reports the “proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs.” The proposal “comes after a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department, which launched a review of the drug’s status at the urging of President Joe Biden in 2022.”

Reuters (5/16, Lynch) reports that in its analysis, the FDA “said it found ‘some credible scientific support for the use of marijuana in the treatment of chronic pain, anorexia related to a medical condition, and nausea and vomiting.” No safety concerns were raised “‘in the FDA’s review that would indicate that medical use of marijuana poses unacceptably high safety risks,’ the proposal says.”

NBC News (5/16, Tsirkin , Alba) reports that in Congress, Democrats “are pursuing a partisan effort to remove cannabis entirely from the Controlled Substances Act, empowering states to create their own cannabis laws and prioritize restorative and economic justice for those affected by the ‘war on drugs.’”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/15) reports, “Few individuals with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders were in remission or recovery 25 years after diagnosis, according to a report in AJP in Advance.” Investigators found that “for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and schizophreniform disorders), almost none experienced stable remission or recovery across 25 years.” According to the researchers, the “stability of symptoms across the follow-up period indicates that more effective treatments are needed to influence the course of remission and recovery for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and illuminates the need for sustained intervention and support for this population.”

Related Links:

— “Study Underscores Need for Sustained Intervention for Schizophrenia, Other Psychotic Disorders, Psychiatric News, May 15, 2024

The AP (5/15, Stobbe ) reports, “The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday.” If these figures are finalized, this “would be only the second annual decline since the current national drug death epidemic began more than three decades ago.” Around “107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year…the CDC estimated,” a decrease of “3% from 2022, when there were an estimated 111,000 such deaths, the agency said.”

The New York Times (5/15, Hoffman ) reports this is “the first decrease in five years.” This “was attributable mostly to a drop in deaths from synthetic opioids, chiefly fentanyl, said researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics, who compiled the numbers.” However, “the full portrait of the death toll from street drugs remains grim. Even as opioid deaths fell, deaths from stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine rose.” Overall, “opioid deaths fell 3.7 percent while deaths from cocaine rose 5 percent and deaths from meth rose 2 percent.”

The Washington Post (5/15, Ovalle ) reports, “Overdose deaths have surpassed 100,000 for the third straight year…a reminder that the nation remains mired in an intractable epidemic fueled by the potent street drug fentanyl.” Despite the decrease in deaths, “experts cautioned that the numbers could rise in ensuing years and that the toll remains unacceptably high.”

Reuters (5/15, Jain) reports, “States including Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Maine saw declines of 15% or more in such deaths, mostly from opioids, while Alaska, Washington and Oregon reported notable increases of at least 27% compared to 2022, the data showed.”

Related Links:

— “Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious,”Mike Stobbe, AP, May 15, 2024

KFF Health News (5/14, Chang ) reports, “Medicaid’s home and community-based services are designed to help people…who have disabilities and need help with everyday activities stay out of a nursing facility.” However, due to Medicaid “unwinding” following the pandemic, “people are losing benefits with little or no notice, getting bad advice when they call for information, and facing major disruptions in care while they wait for the issue to get sorted out, according to attorneys and advocates who are hearing from patients.” One nonprofit, the National Health Law Program, “has filed civil rights complaints with two federal agencies alleging discrimination against people with disabilities.”

Related Links:

— “Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Decried as Biased Against Disabled People,”Daniel Chang, KFF Health News, May 14, 2024

HealthDay (5/14, Mundell ) says, “Vaping rates among U.S. kids in grades 9 through 12 fell to 5% in 2021, the latest year for which data is available. That’s down from a peak of 7.2% of teens who vaped in 2019, a new report finds.” But “the 5% vaping rate observed in 2021 is still more than double the 2% rate observed among teens in 2015, the study authors noted” in the Ochsner Journal.

Related Links:

— “Vaping Rates Fall Among Teens, But Still Too High,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay , May 14, 2024