• Ragland Charged: The Tulare County District Attorney has filed a felony complaint against Howard K. Ragland, Jr.  The DA’s public information officer advises, “Greenlife is a system used to look up recommendations and or generate new patients for the recommendations. Obtaining money from the capper refers to monies that were allegedly attained during the commission of the conspiracy count.”  MORE TK

• Patients to be Taxed:   I was just reading about the initiative to legalize cannabis and it says that MMJ patients will have to get an ID card to avoid paying some of the taxes but still will be subject to an excise tax.  THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!  I have hundreds of families of incredibly sick children that are already stretched to their financial limits, with some already using lower doses than the child requires due to overwhelming cost. So an extra $100 for ID card (which is not mandatory and so most don’t get) and then taxes on necessary and life-saving medication – my gosh, is this really what is going to be in the initiative?Bonni Goldstein, MD

• Dr. Dustin Sulak’s emergency forum on the opioid epidemic drew more than 800 people. Here is a recording.