Medical marijuana users can continue to grow their own pot: judge

Several B.C. municipalities say a last-minute victory for licensed medical marijuana users to keep growing the plants in their own homes will hamstring...

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• Preventing patients from growing medical marijuana unconstitutional: lawyer
• Metro Vancouver mayors study tax issues around medical marijuana
• Washington State issues first legal marijuana business license
• Pot dispensaries, though illegal, must adhere to Vancouver bylaws, councillor says
• VPD to feds: illegal pot dispensaries not high priority
• Medical marijuana program 'seriously compromised' by rapid growth: federal government
• Richmond company moves closer to medical marijuana distribution facility near RCMP local HQ

Health minister intervenes in abortion clinic dispute

B.C.’s health minister has intervened in a dispute over increased fees charged to abortion clinics and instructed provincial health authorities ...

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• Regulatory fees soar for B.C. abortion clinics as exemption ends
• Tensions rise over Vancouver Island abortion clinic protests

Overcrowding plagues Royal Columbian Hospital emergency department

Emergency doctors at Royal Columbian Hospital are slated to meet with Fraser Health Authority officials next Friday to deal with chronic overcrowding ...

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• Fraser Health struggles with superbug outbreak, overcrowding
• Lack of ER communication protocol a potential threat to patients: BCMA chief
• B.C. government orders review of Fraser Health Authority
• Crowded conditions and bacterial infections reduced, Fraser Health report says
• Overcrowding causing problems once again at Royal Columbian

Doors open at St. Paul's Hospital mental health emergency unit

Nine beds, seclusion rooms, and safety measures such as doors with unbreakable glass and bathrooms free of anything that patients can harm themselves ...

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• Man accused in West End stabbing spree found not criminally responsible
• B.C. struggles with treating the most serious of mentally ill drug addicts
• B.C. investing $20 million to help mentally ill drug addicts in Vancouver
• Time to rethink where and how to house Vancouver's homeless?
• Vancouver mayor focuses on ‘urgent crisis’ of untreated mental health
• Vancouver mayor and police chief say ‘alarming trend’ of violent attacks signals mental health crisis

Measles cases spreading to general population in Chilliwack, Agassiz

Fraser Health is reporting that measles cases now appear to be occurring in the general communities of Chilliwack and Agassiz, outside the previous school...

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• Fraser Valley measles outbreak linked to family returning from the Netherlands
• Fraser Health Authority warns of measles outbreak

Wisconsin hospital flips hierarchal care model to better serve patients

“We needed to do something game-changing," said Jamie Dunham, vice-president of operations at Wisconsin's Appleton Medical Center.

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• Conference examines experiences of patients in health system
• Vancouver authors put food to work in treating health concerns
• Progress in small steps for B.C. Children’s Hospital
• B.C. questions whether doctors provide good value for money
• Have scalpel, will travel: It's pricey, but Alberta surgeons are now operating abroad to bypass wait times
• Paying doctors higher fees may not improve patient access
• Surrey’s Innovation Boulevard aims to create a medical hub in the City Centre

Fraser Valley measles outbreak linked to family returning from the Netherlands

The measles outbreak in the eastern Fraser Valley originated with a family returning from a trip to the Netherlands in January, the Fraser Health Authority...

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• Fraser Health Authority warns of measles outbreak

B.C. to recognize heart disease as job-related stress for firefighters

The B.C. government will introduce legislation today that allows firefighters to claim heart disease, including heart attacks, as job-related stress.

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B.C. NDP backs call for cancer survivor clinic

NDP health critic Judy Darcy is calling on the provincial government to approve a special health clinic to help cancer survivors deal with the often devastating...

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• Survivors of childhood cancer call for specialized B.C. treatment centre
• Barbara Yaffe: Unique Surrey-Israeli partnership driving innovation

Genetic engineering: The pushback against GMO foods

Demand for food free of genetically modified organisms is growing fast and nowhere stronger than in British Columbia.

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• Video: B.C. a hotbed for GMO foods
• GMOs: Satan or saviour?
• The case for and against genetic engineering of food crops
• What are GMOs and why are they here?

Walk away from foot pain, injuries

Gung ho about racing into a spring exercise program? “Don’t rush!” cautions Regina foot specialist Dr. Riaz Bagha.

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• Video: Caring for your feet
• Get out there and walk with purpose
• Choosing the Right Shoes
• Foot care: Put some spring in your step
• Exercise for diabetes: What type and how much?
• Sports Injuries

Down-to-earth advice about healthy eating

Tosca Reno, bestselling author and health and fitness guru, wants us to “suspend the trust we put in food manufacturers and instead put our trust...

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• Crack the Colour Code for Healthy Eating
• Live a healthy lifestyle
• Staying motivated
• Diet and nutrition
• Fitness: Solution to losing, keeping pounds off is elusive
• Susan Schwartz: Showing up to work while fighting a cold is ill-advised

Quiz: Do you know these trans-fat facts?

Trans-fats have been in the news a lot recently. Have you retained the important facts?

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• Visit our Nutrition Edition for more information
• Diet and nutrition
• What's fat got to do with it?
• Heart Disease: Lowering Your Risk

Second baby born with HIV may be cured: MDs

A second baby born with the AIDS virus may have had her infection put into remission and possibly cured by very early treatment - in this instance, four...

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• Video: MDs hope for cure in 2nd baby born with HIV
• More information: HIV/AIDS
• 30 years later, still no cure for AIDS
• More information: Sexually transmitted infection
• More information: HIV testing
• Should I be tested for HIV?

4 of 9 women who received transplanted wombs trying to get pregnant

A Swedish doctor says four women who received transplanted wombs have had embryos transferred into them in an attempt to get pregnant.

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• Video: Nine Swedish women receive uterus transplants
• Swedish doctors transplant wombs into 9 women
• Organ Donation: The Gift of Life
• Fertility 101
• Common reasons for infertility

Older fathers linked with many psychiatric troubles in kids

Older fathers may face higher risks than previously thought for having children with psychiatric problems, including bipolar disorder, autism and attention...

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• Video: Children of older dads may have more mental health issues
• At 30, I wasn't even ready for a goldfish
• More information: Mental Health
• Factsheet: Autism
• Fertility 101
• Father's diet before conception may play role in health of offspring: study
• Shape up, dads: a better baby is up to you, too