Our Latest Updates – Archive

On Aug. 4, 2021, the Mexican government sued US gun manufacturers in US federal court. The Mexican government accused the manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.; Beretta U.S.A. Corp.; Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC, and Glock Inc, of “actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals in Mexico.” The Foreign Affairs Ministry estimates 70% of guns trafficked in Mexico came from the United States, contributing to 17,000 homicides in 2019 alone. In Feb. 2022, the attorneys general of 13 states filed a brief in federal court supporting the Mexican government’s lawsuit.

Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation on Feb. 2, 2022, after both the Senate and House passed the bill on Jan. 26. The law is expected to go into effect later in 2022.

A majority of US states are “shall-issue” states, with more and more embracing permitless (or “constitutional”) carry laws.

As of Jan. 10, 2022, the USDA listed 12 bioengineered products available in the US: alfalfa, Arctic apples, canola, corn, cotton, BARI Bt Begun varieties of eggplant, ringspot virus-resistant varieties of papaya, pink flesh varieties of pineapple, potato, AquAdvantage salmon, soybean, summer squash, and sugarbeet. Find out more about the GMO foods debate.

Colombia legalized euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses in 1997. In 2021, the Colombian court recognized that the procedure should not be only available to those with terminal illnesses and, on Jan. 7, 2022, Victor Escobar, who had a degenerative disorder (end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), was the first person with a non-terminal illness to die via legally regulated euthanasia in Colombia. The next day, Martha Sepulveda, who suffered with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, was the second person with a non-terminal illness to die via legally regulated euthanasia in Colombia.

A 2021 survey found 38% of respondents streamed three or more hours of content on weekdays, and 48% did so on weekends.

A record 21 states raised the minimum wage levels effective Jan. 2021, putting 30 states above the federal level.

On Dec. 16, 2021, the FDA permanently lifted the in-person requirements for mifepristone, which will be available via telemedicine appointments and the mail. However, telemedicine appointments for abortions were banned in 19 states and six states had bans on mailing the pills in place at the time of the decision.

The move is expected to save 2.1 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2040.

As of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan, there have been 442 positive doping tests, resulting in the loss of 173 medals (57 gold, 66 silver, and 50 bronze) over 28 Games in 52 years. Explore positive doping results by Games, country, sport, and drug(s) or drug offense.

Malta’s legislation, passed on Dec. 14, 2021, awaits the president’s signature (a formality) to become law. The country will just beat Luxembourg, which announced in Oct. 2021 that it would legalize adult-use marijuana soon, to be the first European country, joining only Canada and Uruguay globally in legalization.

Chile’s conservative President Sebastián Piñera came out in support of gay marriage over the summer and fast-tracked the legislation to legalize gay marriage. The law is set to take effect 90 days after the president signed the bill (Mar. 9, 2022).

On Dec. 6, 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics: “The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic games given [China’s] ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”

The FDA recently pulled two additional drugs from the market: Belviq/Belviq XR and Zantac.

The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 24, 2021 that the amendment passed by 54% of voters in 2020 was void because of a technicality. The state’s constitution requires amendments to focus on one issue, while the court held that Amendment A included three separate issues.