Health

The state unveiled a plan this week to add chronic pain and an eye disease to a list of qualifying conditions. Here’s what you need to know about how the medical marijuana program has evolved — and where it might be headed.

The World Health Organization has released the latest data on measles. The increase in cases is notable — and a sign of how much work needs to be done to address the outbreak.

The fishing-sinker manufacturer based in White Bear Township is working to reduce lead dust leaving the plant under a court-approved plan. Children living with employees were found to have elevated blood lead levels.

Many women get their hair dyed or straightened regularly with products that contain thousands of chemicals. Researchers are teasing out whether our hair habits could be raising our breast cancer risk.

Mayo Clinic has closed or consolidated at least 16 facilities in southern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa since 2009. In announcing the closure of facilities in Springfield and Lamberton, Mayo leaders said the organization is not immune to financial and demographic pressures facing rural health care.

Minnesota officials are taking their fight against vaping to court, alleging that Juul Labs illegally marketed flavored e-cigarettes to children and violated several consumer laws, including fraud.

After rising for more than 50 years, life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped for a third year in a row. The trend is driven by three preventable causes of death that researchers call the “depths of despair.”

Portable generator use increases in winter, raising the risk of deadly carbon monoxide exposure. Safety advocates say the issue transcends user error, but legislative and regulatory efforts stall.

Health officials say Minnesotans soon will experience the full punch of flu season, and it’s not too late to get vaccinated.

Increases in gabapentin prescriptions came along with more cases of the drug being misused, causing poisonings and being used in suicide attempts, according to a new study.