Weekly Wins: Vermont Bans Paraquat, the Medical Freedom Poll You Never Saw, a USDA Cotton Redux, and a New Approach to Lyme Disease

It was a short week, but still long on MAHA wins.

Vermont Bans Dangerous Herbicide Linked to Parkinson’s

Vermont became the first state to ban paraquat, an herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease. Republican Governor Phil Scott signed the bipartisan bill, which phases out the sale and use of paraquat beginning on November 1, with limited exemptions for certain crops. A full ban will take effect in 2030.

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Medical Freedom

A Daily Caller article by Emily Kopp highlighted an unpublished October 2025 poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates showing strong public support for health freedom among Americans. The poll showed that 73% of voters voiced concern over childhood vaccine mandates, while 90% expressed worries about the corrupting influence of Big Pharma. Afraid that its findings would hurt then presidential candidate Trump, the poll was never released.

The polls’ findings closely mirror results from a March 2026 survey commissioned by Brownstone Institute President Jeffrey Tucker and Health Freedom Defense Fund founder Leslie Manookian. Conducted by John Zogby Strategies, that poll revealed a strong majority of likely voters support health freedom and informed consent, while expressing alarm over government-imposed medical mandates.

USDA Unveils Great Cotton Plan

The Great American Cotton Plan, announced by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, aims to prioritize American-grown cotton over synthetic, plastic-based fibers. It promotes natural fibers through the theme “Plant, not plastic” and the slogan “Real Americans/Cowboys/Farmers wear cotton,” emphasizing cotton’s role in supporting U.S. farmers, jobs, rural economies, and manufacturing.

The seven-point plan includes promoting domestic natural fibers, expanding cotton manufacturing and textile production, increasing export opportunities, strengthening support for mills and processors, protecting growers from market volatility, modernizing facilities, and ensuring long-term profitability for farmers. Overall, it seeks to rebuild the industry, boost American agriculture, and reduce reliance on imports.

Secretary Kennedy commented on the initiative, “Yes: plant, not plastic. Proud to support USDA, Secretary Rollins, and the Great American Cotton Plan. American-grown cotton supports our farmers, strengthens rural communities, fuels U.S. manufacturing, and gives families a natural alternative to synthetic, plastic-based materials. This plan helps Make America Healthy Again.”

HHS Secretary Kennedy Unveils New Lyme Disease Plan

On Friday in New Hampshire, Secretary Kennedy announced new actions to tackle Lyme disease and other diseases transmitted to humans by ticks.

He expressed sympathy for those suffering from the “invisible illness,” declaring an end to the era of “gaslighting” patients. HHS pledged to reduce Lyme disease spread by 25% by 2035 compared to 2022 levels through stronger patient support, standardized treatment protocols, improved diagnostics, and advanced therapies.

HHS will host roundtables with frontline physicians, launch nationwide education initiatives to help doctors diagnose the disease earlier, and has introduced a dedicated website at hhs.gov/lyme. This site connects patients with specialists via the ILADS clinician locator tool and provides educational resources.

The centerpiece of the initiative is a multi-million-dollar CDC-led pilot program, developed in partnership with the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, the Indian Health Service, and the Wampanoag Tribe, aimed at eliminating ticks on wildlife to disrupt disease transmission at its source. HHS will also address Alpha-gal syndrome with similar urgency.

For more, see our article, here.

Fraud Busters: Vance Thanks Kennedy and Oz at Cabinet Meeting

At this week’s Cabinet meeting, Vice President Vance thanked HHS Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz for their collaboration with his Anti-Fraud Task Force, which has been cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid and Medicare. As reported by The MAHA Report, on May 21 Kennedy and Oz oversaw the arrest of 15 suspects accused of stealing $90 million from Medicaid.

Laura Delano Says Secretary Kennedy Is Already Winning his Fight Against Overmedicalization

Laura Delano, whose 2023 memoir Unshrunk helped spark a debate about the long-term use of psychiatric drugs, endorsed Secretary Kennedy’s push to reduce the overmedicalization of Americans struggling with mental health issues. People who have talked about the harms of psychiatric drugs and the challenges of withdrawal have long been dismissed or slandered, she said. Delano, who with her husband founded Inner Compass Initiative, noted a significant shift away from psychiatric medicalization. Case in point, she said: the recent annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, which included multiple panels on deprescribing, overmedication, and withdrawal, along with psychiatrists openly expressing regret for not helping patients taper off these drugs sooner.

Secretary Kennedy Takes Deep Dive on Microplastics

In the latest episode of the Secretary Kennedy podcast, Dr. Leo Trasande discussed the widespread dangers of microplastics and the proliferation of PFAS (aka forever chemicals) in the environment and human tissue. There are 16,000 chemicals in plastic he said, 10,000 of which scientists know very little about. Exposures to some of these 6,000 chemicals can cause hormone imbalance, infertility and premature births.