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Schizophrenia is a poorly understood illness, but scientists now have greater insight into one of the disorder’s hallmarks, auditory hallucinations, thanks to new research published Thursday. People with schizophrenia often “hear” voices and sounds even when there are none — up to 80% of people with the mental illness have auditory hallucinations. Scientists have theorized that this happens when a person with schizophrenia struggles to recognize inner speech as self-generated. But nobody had been able to fully explain the mechanisms behind this phenomenon until now. (Broderick, 10/3)

Oregon hospitals are again suing the state over its failure to provide mental health services — just as lawmakers prepare to write a new budget. Legacy Health System, PeaceHealth and Providence Health & Services brought a similar lawsuit in September 2022. St. Charles Health System later joined it. A federal judge struck it down, only to have it revived on appeal. Now, four months after that appeals decision, hospitals have filed beefed-up arguments intended to sidestep the state’s earlier objections. The suit seeks to compel the Oregon Health Authority to provide better treatment for civilly committed patients whom a judge has determined are a danger to themselves or others because they are experiencing mental illness. (Budnick, 10/3)

Some 2,400 Kaiser mental health workers in Southern California say they’re prepared to go on strike if the health care provider can't meet demands aimed at reducing employee turnover and improving patient care. More than 80% of caregivers — including psychologists, social workers and marriage and family therapists — signed the strike authorization petition. (Garrova, 10/3)

In midcoast Maine, a pediatrician sees teenagers so dependent on cannabis that they consume it practically all day, every day — “a remarkably scary amount,” she said. From Washington State to West Virginia, psychiatrists treat rising numbers of people whose use of the drug has brought on delusions, paranoia and other symptoms of psychosis. (Twohey, Ivory and Kessler, 10/4)

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey immediately implemented new gun legislation on Wednesday that not only cracks down on unserialized "ghost guns," and attachments like bump stocks and trigger cranks, but also requires applicants to demonstrate basic safety principles and complete live-fire training before being granted a gun license. State lawmakers approved the gun reform law in July, which was expected to go into effect later this month, and comes as the deep-blue state already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. (Wehner, 10/3)

In the second episode of our three-part series, we look at Harborview Medical Center’s initiative to treat the long-term impacts of gunshot wounds. (10/2)

Interviews with family members and a review of private texts and public documents open a window on a 14-year-old’s path to alleged gunman at Apalachee High School. (Blaskey, Cox, Natanson, Meckler and Boburg, 10/3)