Literature Review

Over 1,200 medical marijuana cards issued ahead of Qualla Boundary dispensary opening Blue Ridge Public Radio News, by Lilly Knoepp; 4/16/24 This Saturday, North Carolina will become the 39th state with access to medical marijuana as the Eastern Band of Cherokee opens the first marijuana dispensary in the state. The Great Smoky Cannabis Company will host a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a grand opening at 10 a.m. A spokesperson for ECBI said preparations for the opening have involved a variety of stakeholders. ... In March, ... a total of 1,200 cards had been issued. Now, he says, there have been 3,000 applications submitted to the board.

'I'm dying, you're not': Those terminally ill ask more states to legalize physician-assisted death The Washington Post, by Jesse Bedayn, AP; 4/12/24 On a brisk day at a restaurant outside Chicago, Deb Robertson sat with her teenage grandson to talk about her death. She’ll probably miss his high school graduation. ... “Medical aid in dying is not me choosing to die,” she says she told her 17-year-old grandson. “I am going to die. But it is my way of having a little bit more control over what it looks like in the end.” ... At least 12 states currently have bills that would legalize physician-assisted death. ... Two states have gone in the opposite direction. ...

2 federal bills look to boost pipeline of healthcare workers McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 4/12/24 Bills introduced in both houses of Congress may bolster the healthcare workforce if they become law. Both pieces of legislation are supported by LeadingAge. The bicameral Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act is meant to address the shortage of healthcare workers across the country. Specifically, the legislation would help internationally educated healthcare workers overcome barriers to working in the United States ...

Telehealth access threatened as internet subsidies near endModern Healthcare, by Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF News; 4/4/24 More than 23 million low-income households — urban, suburban, rural, and tribal — are enrolled in the federal discount program Congress created in 2021 to bridge the nation’s digital connectivity gap. The program has provided $30 monthly subsidies for internet bills or $75 discounts in tribal and high-cost areas. But the program is expected to run out of money in April or May, according to the Federal Communications Commission. In January, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked Congress to allocate $6 billion to keep the program running until the end of 2024. 

Vermont bill would address violence against home health workers CBS TV 3 WCAX, by Laura Ullman; 4/3/24 The increase in violence against health care workers in recent years is also happening behind closed doors. Vermont’s hospice and home health care workers say they’re facing sexual violence, threats, and assault. Now, Vermont lawmakers are considering a bill to provide further protections. “Home health nurses go into homes, unknown homes, by themselves all the time. So, we really need to be able to protect them,” said Jill Mazza Olson with the Vermont Visiting Nurse Association.

[Maine] Senate backs safe staffing bill with aim to increase patient safety, decrease nurse burnout Main Morning Star, by Lauren McCauley; 3/27/24 If passed, Maine would be the second state in the country to institute nurse-to-patient ratios. ... Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland), who sponsored the bill, shared with the chamber her experience as a nurse and how the stress of being understaffed can contribute to burnout and what she described as “moral distress.” ... Brenner said the bill accomplishes two goals: increasing patient safety and increasing nurse retention. 

Physician-assisted deaths reached new high in 2023 The Lund Report, by Anna Del Savio; 3/28/24The most common end-of-life concerns were loss of autonomy, dignity and access to activities that make life enjoyable. A growing number of people said they were concerned about the financial costs of continued medical treatment. ... More than four out of five patients were 65 years or older. The youngest person was 29. The oldest was 102. Two-thirds had cancer. One in 10 had a neurological disease. 

Medical marijuana law does not impair employers’ right to drug-free workplace Insurance Journal, by Andrew G. Simpson; 3/22/24 A Connecticut employer has the right to terminate an employee who is impaired by medical marijuana in the workplace. The Connecticut Appellate Court on March 19 upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a nonprofit pre-school by a teaching assistant who used medical marijuana for treatment of her disability and was fired for violating the school’s drug-free workplace policy by showing up for work impaired. 

Noem signs bill removing some medical marijuana dispensary protections SDPB Radio (South Dakota Public Radio), by Evan Walton; 3/19/24 Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill removing some protections medical cannabis facilitates now receive. Senate Bill 71 allows local law enforcement to inspect, search, seize, prosecute, or impose disciplinary action on medical cannabis dispensaries. This includes medical cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and testing facilities. 

Colorado Senate votes to shorten ‘Medical-Aid-in-Dying’ waiting period Colorado Newsline, by Sara Wilson; 3/8/24 The Colorado Senate approved a bill Friday that would alter the state’s medical aid-in-dying law by shortening the required waiting period and allowing more medical professionals to prescribe the medication. ... Senate Bill 24-68 would tweak the law by shortening the waiting period between a patient’s first and second request for the medication from 15 to seven days. ... Statistics from Denver Health’s medical aid-in-dying program show that about 1 in 4 patients died from their illness during the current 15-day waiting period.

Aid in dying or physician-assisted suicide? As Minn. lawmakers weigh bill, advocates and opponents choose different terms ArcaMax / Pioneer Press, by Alex Derosier; 3/10/24... “Medical aid in dying” or “physician-assisted suicide” is an emotional issue for many, with a January [Minnesota] House hearing on the bill drawing an audience of hundreds on either side. Lawmakers heard hours of testimony from cancer patients with only months to live, and families of people who suffered painful deaths from disease. There also were people concerned legal elective death could eventually become an option for people with disabilities and negatively affect care. But it isn’t just a debate on medical ethics. There’s also an ongoing discussion in medicine, academia, journalism and law over what society should call the practice.

The strength it takes to suffer JAMA Intern Med., by Alice Curtis, Amy Hamblin, MA, and William E. Rosa, PhD, MBE, APRN; 3/4/24J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH—my dad (A.C.) and my husband (A.H.)—was an intensive care and palliative medicine pioneer whose impact as a researcher, mentor, and humanist was legend long before his death. When Randy first revealed his diagnosis publicly, he said it was exhausting being strong. ... Throughout his career and illness [ALS], Randy came to appreciate medical aid in dying (MAID) as an ethical way for physicians to care for patients. The moral edict of medicine—first, do no harm—does not mean, nor can it mandate, the ultimate prevention of death, but rather that the physician’s role is to ease suffering at all stages of living and dying. For Randy, the only end to his extreme suffering while ALS was surely killing him was the overwhelming act of hastening his own death. In his case, he was his own most compassionate physician.Editor's Note: For the other perspective, see this newsletter's article "Editorial: 'Right to Die' debate comes to Illinois."