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California voters have approved Proposition 34, a measure from an apartment trade group that aimed to restrict spending by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has bankrolled several rent control initiatives and criticized the measure as unconstitutional revenge. The Associated Press called the initiative Wednesday evening. According to the California Secretary of State, the measure is ahead 50.8% to 49.2%. (Khouri, 11/21)

Drug reform advocates hailed Oregon as a progressive leader when it became the first in the nation to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. But four years later, voters in a growing list of its cities have banned the substance. (Rush, 11/22)

A 2021-2022 blastomycosis outbreak that sickened five people—one fatally—and six dogs in a Wisconsin neighborhood may have stemmed from sources such as a riverbank, riverside trails or yards, or dust from extensive construction and excavation, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led research team reported yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Blastomycosis, which can lead to life-threatening disease in people and animals, is caused by the infectious Blastomyces fungus. Blastomyces thrives in moist, rich soil that, when disrupted, can lead to aerosolization of spores that can then be inhaled. Most US cases occur sporadically in the midwestern, south-central, and southeastern states, but clusters related to waterway-related occupational and recreational activities occasionally occur. (Van Beusekom, 11/21)

Alabama began using nitrogen gas earlier this year to carry out some executions. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen. Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the nitrogen flowed for 15 minutes and an electrocardiogram showed Carey Dale Grayson, 50, no longer had a heartbeat about 10 minutes after the gas began flowing. (Chandler, 11/21)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Florida Gov. DeSantis’ Canadian Drug Import Plan Goes Nowhere After FDA Approval

Nearly a year after the Biden administration gave Florida the green light to become the first state to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada — a longtime goal of politicians across the political spectrum, including President-elect Donald Trump — the program has yet to begin. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed the FDA’s approval of his plan in January, calling it a victory over the drug industry, which opposes importation on the grounds that it would lead to a surge in counterfeit medications. (Galewitz, 11/21)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Georgians With Disabilities Are Still Being Institutionalized, Despite Federal Oversight

Lloyd Mills was tired of being stuck in a small, drab hospital room. On a rainy mid-September morning, a small TV attached to a mostly blank white wall played silently. There was nothing in the space to cheer it up — no cards, no flowers. In February, the 32-year-old with autism, cerebral palsy, and kidney disease was brought to Grady Memorial Hospital from the group home where he had been living because he was having auditory hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, he said. (Whitehead, 11/22)