The Michigan Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving a local medical marijuana ban. When a Grand Rapids suburb banned the cultivation of marijuana, a medical marijuana patient filed a lawsuit against the ban.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging an effort to keep Russians from dying of tobacco and alcohol abuse. Russia has the world’s fourth highest per-capital alcohol consumption, and smoking and drinking kill 900,000 people per year.

Congress has launched a $20 million incentive program to persuade more states to curb drunk driving by implementing ignition interlock systems. Alcohol impairment played a role in 10,000 highway deaths in 2010.

Professional athletes are more prone to substance abuse, eating disorders and suicide. New research sheds some light on this trend, finding that intensive exercise can be just as addictive as drugs and lead to fierce withdrawal symptoms.

A new report found that the 15 percent of U.S. high school seniors who abuse alcohol and drugs first began using them at age 14 or 15, pointing to the need for early prevention and intervention efforts.