Addiction, Health Policy, Law, Opioids

Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Aimed to Make Cops a Gateway to Rehab, Not Jail. State Leaders Failed to Make It Work.

Ballot Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, created a new role for law enforcement in Oregon. While there’s evidence people living with addiction in the state are increasingly finding their way into treatment, the failure to turn police encounters into successful on-ramps to rehab has been cited by critics as prime evidence the measure isn’t working. Oregon lawmakers, noting an ongoing rise in overdose deaths, are now looking to restore jail time for drug possession.

But Oregon’s political leaders themselves played central roles in failing to deliver on the potential for law enforcement to connect people with lifesaving services under the new measure, documents and interviews with a wide array of people involved in the system indicate.

Abortion, Law, Women's Health

Texas Abortion Ruling Nears, But Blue States Aren’t Waiting to Protect Pill Access

A federal judge in Texas soon could make one of the two pills used in medication abortions harder to come by, even in blue states that support abortion rights.  Officials and advocates in those states aren’t waiting for the judge to rule. They’re trying to ensure continued access to the drugs that a growing number of Americans are using to end their pregnancies at home.

Aging, Law, Medicaid, Medicare, Seniors

Supreme Court Case Could Curtail Rights of Medicaid Patients

Twenty-two Republican-leaning states have urged the Supreme Court to block beneficiaries of federal safety net programs from suing. If the court agrees participants in many federal entitlement programs could lose the right to go to court when they believe a state, city or county has violated their rights in the administration of those programs.

Picture of a man's arm extended pointing an semi-automatic hand gun
Injury Prevention, Law, Public Health

Health Harms of Mass Shootings Ripple Across Communities

Research shows that mass shootings lead to higher rates of depression and anxiety and higher risks for suicide among young people. They also lead to an overall decline in a community’s sense of well-being. Some studies suggest that mass shootings damage economic prospects in a community, diminishing productivity and earnings.