Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Illinois Governor Approves Bill Letting Parents Administer Medical Marijuana To Students At Schools, On Buses
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law requiring public schools to allow parents to administer medical marijuana at school to eligible children. The Republican signed the legislation Wednesday. The new law allows parents or guardians to administer a 鈥渃annabis-infused product鈥 to a student on school property or on a school bus if both parent and child have been cleared to use the product by the state鈥檚 medical marijuana law. (8/2)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo took another step toward legalizing marijuana in New York, announcing the formation of a 20-person work group to draft legislation allowing for recreational use by adults. Thursday鈥檚 announcement came on the heels of a state health-department study that addressed the effects of pot legalization on public health, the economy and the criminal-justice system. The final report, released last month, concluded that the positive effects of a regulated marijuana market would outweigh the potential negatives. (Korte, 8/2)
Two of the first states to broadly legalize marijuana took different approaches to regulation that left Oregon with a vast oversupply and Colorado with a well-balanced market. But in both states prices for bud have plummeted. A new Oregon report by law enforcement found nearly 70 percent of the legal recreational marijuana grown goes unsold, while an unrelated state-commissioned Colorado study found most growers there are planting less than half of their legal allotment 鈥 and still meeting demand. (8/2)
This fall, Missouri voters will decide whether to raise the minimum wage, legalize medical marijuana and institute sweeping ethics reforms after a slate of progressive campaigns collected signatures across the state to put the issues on the November ballot. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on Thursday certified five initiative petitions to appear on November鈥檚 general election ballot. (Kite, 8/2)