Daily Briefing: California Tobacco Tax Proposition Pits Lance Armstrong Against Big Tobacco

Smoking: A big tobacco tax on the ballot for tomorrow's primary election is pitting the tobacco industry against public health advocates – and tax supporters Lance Armstrong and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Garance Burke reports for the Associated Press.

Medical Marijuana: A new strain of marijuana that lacks THC, the compound that gives users a high, the munchies and memory problems may offer a new option for treating schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease among other conditions, Maia Szalavitz reports for Time. (Read our interview with Szalavitz on media coverage of addiction and pain treatment.)

Dentists: "Dental therapists," who aren't dentists but can fill cavities and perform other basic tasks, could help millions of Americans who lack access to dental care, but dentists are fighting their growth, saying that the therapists aren't adequately trained, Anna Gorman reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Children's Health: Kids with special needs living in rural California have an extraordinarily difficult time getting the specialized and coordinated health care they need, Callie Shanafelt and Heather Gilligan report for HealthyCal.org.

End of Life Care: Hospitals around the nation are quickly adding programs in "palliative care," which provides pain treatment and other services aimed at helping terminally-ill patients, Matt Sedensky reports for the Associated Press.

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Photo credit: SuperFantastic via Flickr