Los Angeles Times: Medical Marijuana: Research, Not Fear Last week the DEA ruled once again, a decade after it made the same decision, that marijuana is a potentially dangerous drug without known medical benefits. During the intervening 10 years, though, nine more states passed medical marijuana laws, bringing the total to 17. Two years ago, the American Medical Assn. recommended changing the classification of marijuana to Schedule II, which would make it easier for researchers to obtain the drug for medical studies (7/13). 

Minneapolis Star Tribune: [State] Senate Majority Leader: Shutdown Isn't Necessary We know what's at stake. [Gov.] Dayton's shutdown closed state parks, stopped new road construction projects, closed license renewals for teachers and medical professionals, suspended inspections in hospitals and nursing homes, and closed domestic abuse and women's and children's shelters, among many other critical services. All of these services were funded and would be open under the Republican budget (Amy Koch, 7/12).  Detroit Free Press: Betty Ford's Spirit, Struggles Helped Heal And Inspire Nation It is hard these days to imagine the world as it was before Betty Ford, when breast cancer was only whispered about and people barely knew what "rehab" was. ... By not allowing the job of first lady to change her, she brought numerous subjects out of the closet and championed women's issues -- the Equal Rights Amendment, the right to choose an abortion, the right to pursue and hold significant political offices -- in a way that few others had or could (7/13).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.