5@5: CBD could help curb opioid crisis | School lunch debt soars

Study: CBD may reduce cravings, anxiety in recovering heroin abusers

A double-blind, randomized, controlled study published this week in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that cannabis-derived CBD could help curb the international opioid crisis. Patients who were administered CBD exhibited less anxiety and cravings when shown drug-related psychological cues. These participants also “showed lowered levels of stress hormones, and participants’ heart rates were found to be lower than those in the placebo group." Read more at Forbes …

Can we stop kids from being shamed over school lunch debt?

Student lunch debt is becoming a nationwide epidemic, with some states seeing it “soar into the millions of dollars.” However, the exact amount is unknown because the USDA doesn’t collect or provide that data. Now, Congress is planning on reauthorizing the child nutrition programs, which will hopefully modify the National School Lunch Program in a manner that reduces lunch-shaming practices. Read more at Civil Eats …

This is our last soda tax story ever

A recent analysis of soda taxes shows that despite critiques of classism, these taxes generate net benefits for the societies in which they are implemented. Researchers also determined an “optimal” soda tax of 1.5 cents per ounce that would outweigh the so-called negative effects of the tax, e.g., the enjoyment derived from the drinks and the financial impact that taxes have on the poor in general. Read more at New Food Economy …

Whole Foods is banning plastic straws, but you can still buy plenty on Amazon

While Whole Foods will become the first national U.S. grocer to remove plastic straws from all of its 500 locations, parent company Amazon hasn’t made any similar commitments. But plastic straws are only one small component of Amazon’s cornucopia of environmentally troubling business practices, which include free one-day shipping and carbon-intensive cloud computing. Read more at Quartz … 

Blue Apron latest to suffer in tough meal kit market

Meal kit company Blue Apron announced on Monday that it may be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because its closing share price has remained under $1 since early May. One market research analyst argues that meal kits are “a more expensive but less convenient option for busy people who do not have time to cook,” and that consumers often complain about the limited menu selections, poor ingredient quality and excess packaging that comes with a meal kit subscription. Read more at AP News …