California lawmakers have modified a psychedelic drug bill that was vetoed last year, narrowing it to allow only supervised use of psilocybin mushrooms, ecstasy, and other hallucinogens rather than decriminalize more broadly. The current bill would establish new state agencies to regulate the program.
California launched two teletherapy apps as part of the governor’s $500 million foray into health technology with private companies. But the rollout has been so slow that one company has yet to make its app available on Android, and social workers worry youths who need clinical care won’t get referrals.
The state is looking at ways to weed out false reporting of child abuse and neglect as the number of reports reaches a record high.
California state lawmakers this year are continuing their progressive tilt on health policy, debating bills banning an ingredient in Froot Loops and offering free condoms for high schoolers.
To reduce recidivism, some rural counties are hiring community health workers or peer support specialists to connect people leaving custody to mental health resources, substance use treatment, medical services, and jobs.
Most Medicare enrollees have two or more chronic health conditions, making them eligible for a federal program that rewards physicians for doing more to manage their care. It shows promise in reducing costs. But not many doctors have joined.
Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton is expanding her campaign for more public reporting on residential therapeutic centers’ use of restraints and seclusion rooms in disciplining teens, setting her sights on legislation in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.
For more than 20 years, children in Arkansas have been measured in school as part of a statewide effort to reduce childhood obesity. But the letters have had no impact on weight loss — and obesity rates have risen. Still, the practice of sending letters has spread to other states.
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The surge in overdose deaths among teens is opening a new path to treatment: pediatricians. A doctor in Massachusetts shows how it works with a 17-year-old patient.
