Mathew Swinburne

Dietary supplements and foods containing cannabidiol (CBD) are being sold over-the-counter throughout the United States. The over-the-counter sale of dietary supplements and foods containing CBD has created a lot of confusion regarding the legality of this practice because of CBD’s association with marijuana and recent changes in the 2018 Farm Bill.

This issue brief outlines the four permissible uses of the term as they relate to the percent of organic ingredients included in the food product.

This issue brief examines the major legal underpinnings of the debate surrounding plant-based beverages labeling and looks at the current developments at the Food and Drug Administration that could definitively address this question.

Among the most pressing public health issues of 2018, access to healthcare, electronic nicotine delivery systems, injury prevention, and food insecurity saw significant legislation and policy impacts. In this webinar, subject matter experts will recap how four important public health initiatives—expansion of scope of practice; regulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems; traumatic brain injury prevention; and food insecurity and SNAP—were impacted in 2018.

Many municipalities in the U.S. have enacted nuisance property ordinances, which can have harmful effects on victims of domestic violence. Attend this webinar to learn about the impact of housing law on domestic violence survivors, hear from speakers with experience advocating for the housing rights of domestic violence survivors, and obtain tools and strategies that can be used to provide legal protections for victims.

This resource summarizes lead testing policies in each state for children not enrolled in Medicaid.

WIC is a highly effective program that helps address the food insecurity of young children. However, WIC benefits end at age five, the assumption being that children will start school and participate in the National School Lunch Program. However, thousands of children do not start school until age six, leaving a critical gap in benefits and creating negative effects on the food security of families.

When Amazon purchased Wholefoods for $13.7 billion in 2017, most people did not think of how this might affect low-income Americans living in food deserts. However, thanks to the 2014 Farm Bill, the power of online food retail will soon help increase food access for some of the 41.2 million Americans struggling with food insecurity.

Tax incentives can be an effective legal intervention for advancing the public’s health. In this Q&A, Mathew Swinburne, Associate Director at the Network's Eastern Region Office, discusses ways in which tax deductions are being used to address a key barrier to improving the health status of ex-offenders: the inability to secure employment because of conviction status.

One of the key barriers to improving the health status of ex-offenders is the inability to secure employment because of their conviction status. Unemployment is associated with a number of negative health results, including mental health issues like depression, and lack of medical coverage. This Policy Brief examines ways in which states are using tax deductions to encourage employers to hire individuals from chronically unemployed populations, including ex-offenders.

In the U.S., 42.2 million people lack access to adequate food due to insufficient income or other resources. Food insecurity is associated with a wide range of health issues including depression, anxiety, behavioral problems in children, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Conversely, it’s estimated that between 30 to 40 percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted. This waste, in turn, generates substantial greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. Tax incentives for food donations could be one policy approach to address these issues.

The movement to legalize the intrastate sale of raw milk continues despite warnings from the FDA and CDC that its consumption is a health risk. Federal law prohibits selling or transportation of raw milk, but there is decreased regulation within states. In the first month of 2017, five states have already introduced raw milk legislation to allow or expand its sale within their borders.