Hepatitis A Affects Hundreds, Kills 1 In Georgia

More than 300 people in Georgia have been affected by hepatitis A and one person has died between June 2018 and May 3, state health officials said Tuesday.

The report comes the same week as officials in South Carolina report an outbreak of hepatitis A in Aiken County. That's 30 miles from Augusta, where the Georgia Department of Public Health reported the second highest number of cases. Rome had the highest number with 137 cases of hepatitis A.

Read the full story from GPB's Ellen Eldridge here.

Rep. Lucy McBath speaks outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, GA with House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano and Georgia veterans. ROBERT JIMISON / GPB

McBath Visits Veterans Affairs Medical Center Amid Georgia Deaths

Two veterans in Georgia committed suicide last month, one outside the entrance of the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and another in the parking lot of the VA Hospital in Dublin. The two incidences punctuated the struggles that have plagued the Georgia facilities in recent years. 

On Monday, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-6) toured the Atlanta VA with House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Rep. Mark Takano. The two met with officials, healthcare providers and local veterans to hear about how congress can help improve care for those who rely on the medical facility.

Read the full story from GPB's Robert Jimison here.

CBD oil has approved medical uses here in Georgia, but it's also beginning to crop up in other places, such as Atlanta menus. DON RYAN / AP

CBD In Georgia: From Medicine Cabinets To Metro Atlanta Cocktails

Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday signed a bill into law that allows Georgia farmers to grow hemp. The crop is the source of products ranging from rope to soap to CBD oil.

Kemp had already signed a separate bill that allows medical marijuana, a stronger derivative, to be grown with some limitations in the state. With these developments, medical marijuana and hemp will soon crop up on Georgia farms. At the same time, CBD oil is a suddenly ubiquitous trend, showing up even on Atlanta menus.

Allen Peake is a former Georgia State Representative who pioneered much of the legislation regarding hemp and CBD. He joined On Second Thought from GPB's studio in Macon to talk about the development of the legal and medical uses of marijuana derivatives in the state. Lia Picard, a journalist who recently wrote about the growing social trends of CBD oil for Atlanta Magazine, also joined the conversation.

Listen to their discussion here.

For these stories and more visit GPBNews.org.