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Congress tightens THC restrictions on hemp, closing farm bill loophole The restrictions on hemp-derived THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis, threaten to wipe out an industry worth approximately $30 billion, critics say.

A last-minute provision in the federal spending bill will re-criminalize many hemp-derived products, reversing their legalization in the 2018 Farm Bill.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Annual Family Premiums for Employer Coverage Rise 6% in 2025, Nearing $27,000, with Workers Paying $6,850 Toward Premiums Out of Their Paychecks | KFF Family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance reached an average of $26,993 this year, KFF’s annual benchmark health benefits survey of large and smaller employers finds. On average, workers...

KFF's latest employer survey is out. The average cost of a family health insurance policy has climbed to $26,993. Health insurance is wildly expensive because health care in the U.S. is expensive.
www.kff.org/affordable-c...

Trump Administration Cuts Staff at Key Mental Health Agency The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sent reduction-in-force notices to employees working on mental health services, substance use prevention, and substance use treatment, acc...

The Trump administration has laid off between 100 and 150 workers at SAMHSA during the federal government shutdown.

news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...

How to Fight Your Health Insurance Denial with an External Appeal When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

Few patients appeal a health insurance denial, but a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment.

Here’s what experts say you need to know.

How to Survive the Government Shutdown in the DC Area - Washingtonian Our guide to where furloughed federal workers can find joy right now—on a budget.

Our guide to where furloughed federal workers can find joy right now—on a budget.

Warning: Serious cardiovascular events don’t come out of the blue Study finds 99% of all heart attacks, heart failure, or strokes occur in people with "suboptimal" blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, or smoking history.

Study finds 99% of all heart attacks, heart failure, or strokes occur in people with "suboptimal" blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, or smoking history
www.statnews.com/2025/09/29/r...

Feeling overwhelmed? Despair? Unending urgency?

My friends feeling this… a few things...🧵
1/6

Tracking State Actions on Vaccine Policy and Access | KFF With recent federal actions to curtail vaccine access, many states have announced actions intended to maintain broader access. This issue brief provides a snapshot of this rapidly changing landscape, tracking which states have instituted changes in resp...

As some states form alliances on vaccine policy, others bar vaccine mandates, and ACIP pulls back on recommendations for certain vaccines, we provide a snapshot of what states are doing on vaccine policy.

Dive in: https://on.kff.org/3IhxRnr

Press Release: More than 2 Million of Our Country’s 22 Million Health Workers Can Access Mental Health Support Without Fear of Professional Repercussions In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, ALL IN: Wellbeing First for Healthcare, a national coalition led by the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, unveiled a monumental achievement in improving access to mental health care for more than 2 million U.S. health workers.

We're proud that 2 million+ docs & health care workers can now seek mental health support or care for a substance use disorder without fear of professional repercussions. This is a big step in strengthening the healthcare workforce & ensuring better patient care. spr.ly/63323AwhUB

Thanks! If anyone is interested in blow-by-blow coverage, just read over my posts from today. I lived posted through the whole ACIP, including lots of slides.

Today’s ACIP meeting promoted false claims and misguided information about vaccines. AAP will continue stepping up and working with our local, state and federal partners to make sure every child in every community continues to have access to immunizations.
bit.ly/4puP4uf

Map of Regional Public Health Coalitions Northeast Public Health Collaborative (Blue) West Coast Health Alliance (Yellow)

IT'S OFFICIAL: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York City have formed the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.

The collaborative will issue their own vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health efforts.

‘Never would have imagined it’: Pennsylvania NPR station set to be first to shutter following Trump’s cuts WPSU, which has been broadcasting out of Penn State since 1953, will shut down following federal cuts to public media organizations

WPSU is set to be the first in the country to go dark after the Trump administration stripped away federal funding for NPR and PBS.

“The news devastated me, it devastated all the employees,” said Jeff Hughes, WPSU’s former program director.

RFK Jr. wants to end mental health screenings in schools. Experts say it's a bad idea Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are against schools giving kids standardized questionnaires about their mental well-being. But experts say they are wrong.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are against schools giving kids standardized questionnaires about their mental well-being. But experts say they are wrong.

Mississippi Today opens 'black box' of opioid settlement spending - Mississippi Today A Mississippi Today investigation found that after nearly three years of state and local governments receiving money, they have reported spending less than $1 million – or less than 1% of the money…

Mississippi Today opens 'black box' of opioid settlement spending mississippitoday.org/2025/09/15/b...

A JAMA Network publication titled 'The Vocabulary of Our Discontent' by David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, and Robert Galvin, MD, MBA. Published August 18, 2025. Includes author affiliations and article information.

JAMA Perspective: How the vocabulary used to describe the way US health care is increasingly governed by the rules, values, and practices of other sectors of the market economy.

ja.ma/3K775P0

POLITICO Pro: New York AG proposes requiring social media companies to verify users’ ages Platforms like Instagram and TikTok could employ options such as having users take selfies.

NEW YORKERS- Did you see that Attorney General Letitia James released proposed rules yesterday that would force social media platforms to require age verification?

Would be awesome if the public comments section was jam packed with “don’t” 👀

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

SAMHSA Strategic Priorities

The contrast between this and the last few years, when we finally saw some evidence-based harm reduction initiatives coming out of SAMHSA, is stark. This does not portend well.

Illustration featuring anthropomorphized sun and cloud with smiling faces, wearing shoes. Above them, text reads: "Remember all of the times you thought you couldn't make it another day - And you did."

You’re taking it day by day and that’s something worth celebrating! 🎉
For those difficult days, text SHARE to 741741. We’re here to support your mental health 24/7. 📱❤️

📷: destressed on Instagram

Yup.

The Opioid Crisis: Scaling Up Treatment And Harm Reduction Programs To Reach More People Who Would Benefit | Health Affairs Journal A central challenge in the opioid crisis in the US has been the underuse of lifesaving treatment and harm reduction programs. Conventional explanations focus on limited access to care when services ar...

New at Health Affairs: The Opioid Crisis: Scaling Up Treatment And Harm Reduction Programs To Reach More People Who Would Benefit
www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10....

Big day for Robert and me—Recovery-ish Podcast just launched!
We’re here to cut through the noise, challenge the narratives, and bring fresh convos about PWUDS, policy, recovery and what actually works.

Episode 1 is live now: recoveryish.com

Overdoses Should Be Termed “Prohibition-Related Deaths” Major drivers of overdose fatalities have little to do with drugs and everything to do with our drug laws.

My latest article co-authored with @hrca.bsky.social colleagues for International Overdose Awareness Day #IOAD2025 explaining why referring to overdose as a drug related death is misleading - most of these deaths are prohibition related deaths!
filtermag.org/overdose-pro...

Specialize in comms with a focus on digital organizing? Come work with me and our growing team at TechTonic Justice. You’ll be our sixth team member.

An illustration of people discussing indoors with a flip chart, lights, and text about Elevyst's services in substance use coaching. Transcribed Text: ELEVYST OFFERS LEARNING EXPERIENCES + ORGANIZATIONAL COACHING IN SUBSTANCE USE SPACES Customized offerings include: Understanding the current overdose crisis response Understanding harm reduction Understanding substance use stigma Understanding ways to unpack + challenge stigma Understanding person and community-centered solutions Using novel, data-driven strategies to design and implement interventions Creating collaboration to develop + put solutions into practice Creating hope for the future ELEVYST.COM

We are now booking learning experiences and organizational coaching opportunities for Fall 2025 and into 2026!

elevyst.com/contact

🦠COVID & Flu infections can reactivate dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, causing rapid metastasis in mice within days driven by IL-6.

🦀COVID infection in humans is also linked to metastatic breast cancer tumors in the lungs & higher risk of death. buff.ly/a27BulF

#medsky #oncsky #COVID 🛟😷🧪

📌

Graph showing that pretrial detention made people lose housing, money, and jobs while also amassing debt and missing work.

Pretrial detention is a public safety concern.

It makes people lose jobs, housing & government benefits – life-altering consequences that judges ignore.

How does this leave anyone better off?

www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/08...

Punitive drug policies haven’t worked. Around the world, alternatives are being trialled with success. Important conversation from the UN in Geneva.

🔴 WATCH THE RECORDING: https://idpc.net/events/2025/06/support-don-t-punish-advancing-towards-a-health-and-human-rights-based-approach-to-drug-policy