Category: Mental illness and substance abuse
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Autism-related Vulnerability of Virginia Medicaid
by James C. Sherlock Virginia is not doing enough to prevent Medicaid fraud. Our attempts are hampered by the dysfunctional design of the state regulatory system. They often fail because they cannot work. This piece will focus on behavioral health and recommend specific actions, but the entire healthcare regulatory system needs an overhaul. Absent that,…
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What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Read the City Journal article here.
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When Schools Overreach
by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora As Virginiaโs public schools fail at their core missionโeducating childrenโstate legislators are expanding their role in ways that encroach on parental rights. Debra Gardner, a former social worker who was first elected to Virginiaโs House of Delegates in 2023, introduced HB 355 in January. Beginning in the 2028โ2029 school year, the bill would require Virginiaโs public…
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School Districts Skirt State Requirements in Mental Health Outsourcing
by Victoria Manning Restoration News has uncovered school districts across Virginia offering telehealth mental health therapy for children without parental permission. State lawย permitsย telehealth in schools, but requires parental consent and the adoption of school board policies on the topic. Federal law also prohibits the disclosure of private student information, but these laws are ignored in…
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Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Down 44% in ’24
And now for a piece of good news! Fentanyl-related deaths in Virginia declined 44% in 2024 compared to the year before, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and touted by the Youngkin administration. Better yet, that was the best year-to-year performance of any state in the country. Nationally, drug overdose deaths…
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Hospitalizations from Drug Use Disorders Persisted in 2024
Hospital discharges for patients diagnosed with drug-use disorders leveled off in 2024 compared to the previous year but remain elevated compared to the pre-COVID era, according to data released by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Discharges numbered 64,460 last year, up marginally from 64,248 the previous year. In 2020 the number was 57,997. The…
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A Public Health Crisis in Central Virginia
by James C. Sherlock A terribly injured 33-year-old homeless male schizophrenic recently was found lying hidden in a church in Chesterfield County. He was discovered with multiple displaced fractures in the lower pubic bone, a break on the left side of the sacrum (base of the spine), a large amount of blood in his pelvis,…
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The Limitless Demand for Mental Health Services
by James A. Bacon Mental-health advocates in Virginia are making the case for more money for… what else? … mental health. An article by Radio IQ illuminates a disturbing example (I find it disturbing, not Radio IQ) of how the alleged need for mental- health services expands relentlessly to cover ever more of life’s travails.…
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Whatever Could Account for the Decline in Opioid Deaths?
by James A. Bacon Opioid deaths in Virginia have declined markedly since the end of the COVID epidemic, reports Virginia Public Media (VPM). The fatalities, many of which were attributable to fentanyl overdoses, peaked at 2,229 in 2021 and have fallen to a predicted 1,552 this year — down 30%. That number is still frightfully…
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A Public Service Message from Bacon’s Rebellion
Res ipsa loquitur — the thing speaks for itself.
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Tools of Bureaucratic Repression
by James A. Bacon The biggest controversy roiling the University of Virginia today swirls around accusations leveled by 128+ letter signatories against leaders of the UVA Health System and School of Medicine for using the tools of bureaucratic repression to create a culture of fear and intimidation. The accusers have yet to release any specifics…
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The Snowflake Factory
by James A. Bacon On Feb. 15, 2022, the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at the University of Virginia instructed its pledges to show up blindfolded at the frat house at precisely 10:28 p.m. After being led to the basement, the newbies were ordered to race one another in consuming various combinations of milk, bananas, Sprite,…
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Haidt on Cell Phones and Teen Mental Illness
๏ปฟ You can gain insight into the Youngkin administration’s thinking behind its recommended bell-to-bell cell-phone restrictions in Virginia public schools by watching this video. Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera and Secretary of Health and Human Services Janet Kelly make introductory remarks. First lady Suzanne Youngkin follows with a Q&A with former University of Virginia professor…
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Fewer Children Seeking ER Treatment for Cannabis Ingestion
by James A. Bacon The number of pediatric patients visiting hospital emergency rooms in cannabis-related incidents fell 21.5% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period the year before, a decline that some attribute to bipartisan legislation regulating the production, sale, and potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana-related products. A Virginia Hospital…
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Lost Kids of Southwest Virginia
Kingsolver, Barbara. Demon Copperhead.ย Harper, 2022 ย A review by Dick Hall-Sizemore Barbara Kingsolver is an award-winning author who lives on a farm in Washington County, Virginia. Her latest novel, Demon Copperhead, is what she calls her โgreat Appalachian novel.โ It was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year. Kingsolver grew up in Appalachia, in…