ALBANY - New York's plan to legalize marijuana this year collapsed on Wednesday, dashing hopes for a potential billion-dollar industry that supporters said would create jobs in minority communities and end decades of racially disproportionate policing. Democratic lawmakers had been in a headlong race to finalize an agreement before the end of the legislative session this week. But persistent disagreement about how to regulate the industry, as well as hesitation from moderate lawmakers, proved insurmountable. "It is clear now that M.R.T.A. is not going to pass this session," Senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan said in a statement on Wednesday morning, using an acronym for the legalization bill she had sponsored. "We came very close to crossing the finish line, but we ran out of time." [continues 806 words]
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy visited what some locals call "the worst intersection in Boston" on Friday as part of his effort to talk to prescribers nationwide about how they can address the country's rising opioid crisis. The Boston stop on Murthy's "Turn the Tide Rx" tour brought him to the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program on Albany Street, at the heart of "Methadone Mile," so nicknamed for the cluster of homeless shelters and drug addiction programs there that draw people battling substance abuse from across the city. Accompanied by the program's top officials and state Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, Murthy toured the facility and met with patients who shared their stories of stigmatization and recovery. [continues 507 words]
