A psychedelics hire at HHS
WASHINGTON WATCH
A well-known drug-policy lawyer is joining the Department of Health and Human Services to work on psychedelics policy, according to two sources with knowledge of the move who requested anonymity because it hasn't been announced yet, POLITICO's Natalie Fertig reports.
Matt Zorn, most recently a partner at Yetter Coleman, is listed in the HHS employee directory as deputy general counsel.
Zorn has been involved in numerous cannabis and psychedelics cases over the years, including representing one of the parties selected to participate in the DEA's administrative law hearings regarding the ongoing effort to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
Psychedelics momentum: Zorn's hiring is the latest in a string of encouraging signs for the psychedelic medicine advocates watching to see whether the Trump administration will support their agenda.
Supporters were initially heartened when Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS, since he previously expressed support for psychedelics.
They were further encouraged when Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins referenced psychedelics on a podcast appearance, on the social media platform X and at a cabinet meeting when Trump pressed him on what he's doing to drive down the high suicide rate among veterans.
While the FDA rejected drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics' plan last summer to offer the lab-made MDMA — also known as ecstasy — alongside therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said that getting answers to patients about psychedelic medicine is a top FDA priority during a News Nation interview earlier this month.
'When it comes to some of these psychedelics and other plant-based therapies, I don't think we're listening to patients,' Makary said. He further promised 'an expeditious and rapid review' of data from forthcoming psychedelics clinical trials.
'I don't think it's a silver bullet, but we owe it to people who are suffering to do everything we can as a government to get a decision on the results as soon as they are available.'
WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE
This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care.
There's a limit to how much California Gov. Gavin Newsom is willing to restrict artificial intelligence, an industry on whose tax revenues the state's coffers are increasingly reliant, our California colleagues report.
Asked by Sutter Health CEO Warner Thomas on Tuesday how the state should regulate AI, Newsom cautioned against overregulation. 'We have to be very careful in that respect,' Newsom said. 'No one is calling for an EU-style regulation,' he added. 'Some of you might be. We're certainly not.'
Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@politico.com, Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com.
Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01.
WORLD VIEW
France is a step closer to legalizing assisted dying, our POLITICO colleagues in Europe report.
On Tuesday, the French National Assembly voted 305-199 to pass a bill granting the 'right to assistance in dying for adult patients afflicted with a serious illness who have requested it.'
Big picture: France joins a growing list of Western European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, which are moving toward enabling people to end their lives under strict conditions.
In the U.K., British members of Parliament voted in favor of legalization in November. The legislation is nearing its final phase.
Putting safeguards in place: Those who oppose assisted dying warn such laws can endanger vulnerable people, especially young people and those with mental health conditions.
The French bill includes several safeguards against those risks:
— Patients must be over 18 and either French nationals or permanent residents.
— They must have a 'serious and incurable' illness that's both life-threatening and has reached an advanced or life-limiting stage.
— Their suffering, whether physical or psychological, must be considered 'unbearable' or 'resistant to treatment.'
— Patients must be capable of giving informed consent and must self-administer the lethal medication, unless unable to do so.
— A patient's doctor will make the final call. The legislation requires that doctors consult with at least one other medical professional who specializes in a patient's pathology, as well as with a health care worker who was involved in the person's care.
What's next: The French bill will be debated in the Senate, which is controlled by a conservative majority that could seek to amend or remove several provisions.
If the parliamentary process fails to produce an agreement between the two chambers, President Emmanuel Macron — who promised the legislation during his 2022 campaign — has suggested the issue could be put to the public via a referendum, although constitutional experts have questioned the legality of such a move.
French lawmakers also unanimously green-lighted a separate bill to improve palliative care in France.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Opelousas Museum launches Neighborhoods Project
OPELOUSAS, La. () — Historic preservation has always been a priority as Opelousas continues to evolve. Now, Patrice Melnick with the is continuing that mission with the Where We Live: Opelousas Neighborhoods Project. 'The main idea of the project is to highlight the neighborhoods, and they have names like the Brickyard and the Oil Mill and Garland, and they're commonly known, but they don't appear on maps. So, we want to raise the profiles of the neighborhoods especially the profiles of the people who lived there,' Melnick said in an interview with News 10. The way the museum plans to accomplish that goal is by having residents take pictures in their neighborhoods along with written stories about their memories. 'At the end of the project, which will be the end of the year, we're going to print some of those photographs and we're going to have an art show,' said Melnick. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Melnick is also asking for assistance in labeling these special areas on a map of the city. 'We have one map that has the neighborhoods,' Melnick explained. 'Some of them may be wrong. So, we encourage people to we have a blank map with an invitation for people to come and draw in where their neighborhoods are. And even what's cool in each neighborhood.' With so much history in the city, Melnick says the people who live in it will tell the story of the city in the most genuine way possible. 'People are very proud of where they come from,' Melnick said. 'They're proud of their neighborhoods. It's a part of their identity. They have memories and a lot of associations, a lot of time that has to do with family and community. And so, it's exciting to hear those stories and to share them. And maybe it'll create a stronger sense of community between us.' For more on the Opelousas Neighborhoods Project, visit the link. Senators itching for Trump green light to move on Russia sanctions Concerns grow over river diversion project in Atchafalaya Basin Opelousas Museum launches Neighborhoods Project A Quiet Week of Weather With Near Normal Temperatures… Trump team emphasizes immigration in Boulder response Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Student Loans: Ed Dept pauses plan to garnish Social Security checks
(NewsNation) — The Trump administration has paused a plan to garnish the Social Security checks of those who have defaulted on their student loans, an Education Department official told NewsNation on Monday. 'The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets,' Ellen Keast, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement to NewsNation. The announcement will come as welcome news to hundreds of thousands of older Americans with defaulted student loans, after the Education Department warned in May that federal benefits would be subject to offset as soon as this month. Social Security plans to add AI to phone systems: Reports In May, the Education Department resumed involuntary collections on defaulted federal student loans for the first time since March 2020. As part of that process, hundreds of thousands of older borrowers were expected to be at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished. But on Monday, Keast said Social Security offsets have been paused, and that the Trump administration is 'committed to protecting social security recipients.' 'In the coming weeks, the Department will begin proactive outreach to recipients about affordable loan repayment options and help them back into good standing,' Keast said. This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and were likely to experience the renewed forced collections, according to a January report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Social Security increase missing? Here's what to do The Education Department did not say whether the garnishment pause applied only to Social Security benefits or also to other federal benefits. NewsNation has asked for clarification. The Social Security Administration (SSA) did not respond to NewsNation's request for comment. When the Education Department initially announced the restart of involuntary collections, it warned that the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) would begin administrative wage garnishment 'later this summer' after sending required notices. Last month, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's plan to move the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration, keeping the Education Department in charge of managing those loans, CNBC reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Walmart and Target workers are sharing pics of price increases amid Trump's trade war
Workers at Walmart and Target have been sharing evidence of price hikes that they believe to be caused by Donald Trump's tariffs. Since announcing his "Liberation Day" import taxes at the start of April, Trump has repeatedly raged at companies not to raise their prices — including Walmart, Ford, and Mattel. "Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices," he posted last month. "Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!" But on Reddit boards dedicated to the two U.S. retail giants, eagle-eyed workers have also been tracking the situation. "I work in Toys and we had about 600 price changes in the last couple days... EVERYTHING went up," one user posted last week. "Most things went up $4, but the bigger toys like RCs and hover boards jumped a whole $40-50. It's f***ing crazy." Another said: "I work apparel and we've had to start tearing off the parts on the price tags where they had the original price, 'cause majority went up $5-$10 more." One photo posted by a Walmart worker early May showed a toddler's ring-stacking toy increasing from $5.88 to $19.97 — a 240 percent increase. The toy is currently listed online for $8.23. Meanwhile, a Target worker uploaded a snap of them replacing the $9.99 tag on a six-foot phone charging cable with a new tag for $17.99, jacking up its price by 80 per cent. Other examples reported by Business Insider and Buzzfeed News, posted by both workers and customers, showed a dinosaur toy rising 38 percent from $39.92 to $55; a fishing reel jumping 45 percent from $57.37 to $83.26; a tablet computer climbing 23 percent from $79 to $97; and a roll of tape more than doubling from $4.24 to $9.94. Both Walmart and Target executives have warned that they might soon have to raise prices due to Trump's tariffs on imported goods, which make it more expensive for companies to source products or components from other countries. "We're wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb," Walmart's chief financial officer told CNBC last month. It's not clear whether either retailer is raising prices systematically across the board, and inflation figures for April showed little impact from Trump's tariffs. The Independent has asked Walmart and Target for comment. Retailers regularly change prices for all kinds of reasons, such as seasonal sales, temporary supply chain glitches, extreme weather due to global warming, or simple errors. Nevertheless, many store workers on Reddit said they were seeing unusual numbers of price changes in their departments — a labor-intensive process for stores that have not implemented electronic price displays, since every label must be replaced by hand. "Tons of price changes today," reported one Walmart worker in April. "It's been like that since the tariff stuff started," another replied. "Been doing price change everyday for the past four months or so, and seeing everything going up all at once is really making me sad," said a Target worker in late May. "I just feel terrible putting all these ridiculously high prices up." Some shared screenshots purportedly from their companies' internal apps, or photos of the giant stacks of tags they were sorting through, claiming there had been thousands or even tens of thousands of changes at their store. "What the actual F?" posted one Walmart worker in late April, alongside a screenshot showing 5,000 price changes that day alone. Another worker responded wryly: "Slow day?"
