Morning Roundup: May 22, 2019

In Cities Where It Once Reigned, Heroin Is Disappearing [NY Times]
Heroin is “fading”—but fentanyl, a more potent opioid, is replacing it. “At the dealer level right now, fentanyl is like a magic dust—it’s a moneymaker… They’re never, ever, ever going to go back to selling heroin around here again.”

Overpoliced, Underrepresented: Racial Inequality and Cannabis Capitalism [Harvard Political Review]
How weed became white: Ownership of the legal cannabis industry is already majority white. The “emerging cannabis market is abandoning the values of racial justice that in large part motivated initial calls for legalization.”

Beauty Queen Uses Platform to Ease Mental Health Stigma in Asian American Community [KQED]
Miss Asian America, Sophia Ng, won her first crown last August, then was crowned Miss Global in her second-ever pageant. The mental health therapist is using her platform to address mental health stigma in the Asian community.

Mitch McConnell Unveils Bill to Combat Youth Tobacco Use By Raising Purchase Age to 21 [CNN]
The Senate Majority Leader introduced legislation to raise the national age to purchase tobacco products. “Youth vaping is a public health crisis.”

This Chef’s Culinary Program Gives Felons a Second Chance [WBUR]
The two-month-long REfire Culinary Program gives people a second chance by preparing them for a career in the culinary industry. Founder Rebecca and her right hand man Quintin are both in recovery.

Study Finds CBD Effective in Treating Heroin Addiction [CNN]
Study participants, heroin users, who were given cannabidiol (CBD) craved the drug less, according to a new study. Levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, were lower in the CBD group as well. 

The Unanswered Questions About Cannabis and Psychiatry [Psych Congress]
A panel at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting reviewed the medical literature on medical cannabis relating to mental health disorders. Many in the room acknowledged the need for more research on cannabis for this purpose.

Hunter S Thompson Ran for Sheriff on a ‘Free Weed’ Platform—And Almost Won [Leafly]
In his campaign for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, iconic journalist Hunter Thompson promoted cannabis legalization, environmental protection, and an end to abusive policing and corruption in government.