CNN (2/23, Holcombe) reports, “For decades, nearly every state has required law students to answer questions about their mental health treatment as part of the requirements before they can practice law,” and consequently, “according to one study, 45% of law students said they would be discouraged from seeking mental health treatment for fear that it would negatively affect bar admission.” Currently, New York, along with “38 other states,” has “questions regarding mental health on their character and fitness evaluations, according to the latest data from the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights.” Now, however, “a New York court is weighing whether to drop the question from the state’s bar application after a working group within the New York State Bar Association issued a report (PDF) in August calling for the removal of any questions about ‘mental history, diagnoses, or treatment.’” That report deemed “such questions…’unnecessary and ineffective in identifying applicants who are unfit and are likely to deter individuals from seeking mental health counseling and treatment.’”

Related Links:

— “Law students say they don’t get mental health treatment for fear it will keep them from becoming lawyers. Some states are trying to change that, ” Madeline Holcombe, CNN, February 23, 2020

The San Francisco Chronicle (2/21, Egelko) reported “the Trump administration dropped its appeal of” US District Judge John Kronstadt’s “order Friday and agreed to provide mental health care to thousands of immigrant parents and children who were separated at the Mexican border by the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy.” Kronstadt “of Los Angeles issued the injunction in November requiring the government to promptly provide mental health screenings for the parents and their families, and treatment for those who needed it,” and “said there was evidence that the family separations caused ‘severe mental trauma to parents and their children’ and that administration officials had been ‘deliberately indifferent to the mental health risks’ of their policy.”

Related Links:

— “Trump lawyers drop appeal — separated immigrant families to get mental health care, “Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle, February 21, 2020

Reuters (2/21, Emery) reported, “Alcohol-related deaths in the United States rose sharply from roughly 2012 through 2016, with the biggest increases among white and Latino women, according to a new study by researchers who called the trend ‘an urgent public health crisis.’” The findings were published on Friday in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Study shows sharp increases in U.S. alcohol deaths, especially among women, “Gene Emery, Reuters , February 21, 2020

MD Magazine (2/21, Rosenfeld) reported, “Varenicline, an effective medication for smoking cessation, was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular or neuropsychiatric hospitalizations compared with nicotine replacement therapy,” research indicated. In comparison, “bupropion, a smoking cessation aid and antidepressant, was linked with lower risks of cardiovascular hospitalizations and higher risks of neuropsychiatric hospitalizations compared with nicotine replacement therapy.” Included in the 618,500-patient study were 454,698 who “used varenicline,” 131,562 who “used bupropion, and 32,237” who “used nicotine replacement therapy.” The findings were published online Feb. 19 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Varenicline Safe for Smoking Cessation, Reduces Hospitalization Risk, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, February 21, 2020

Politico (2/20, Ehley) reports, “The Trump administration’s war on addiction has left behind an oft forgotten piece of the problem: alcoholism and the lifelong damage it can do to children.” The Administration “has boosted treatment, research and prevention, including directing millions to help babies exposed to narcotics in the womb.” But, there has “been no similar help or attention from Washington to pregnant women who abuse alcohol, or to the children impacted by fetal alcohol syndrome.”

Related Links:

— “Harmed before birth, America’s ‘lost children’ overshadowed by opioid crisis, “Brianna Ehley, Politico, February 20, 2020