The times in which we live -- Editor’s Picks

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We monitor as many trends and developments as we can, but the L.A. Times Health section can’t actually produce stories on them all. Here are some we didn’t get to...

From NPR: Feeling the Economic Pinch: Health Bills Can Lead to Debt Woes for Insured, Too

‘As the economy sours, Americans say they’re being hit hard by gas bills and housing costs. But there’s another big problem: One in four say they’re having trouble paying health care bills.’

From the Washington Post: Too-Busy Teens Feel Health Toll

‘Despite warnings by experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, which in 2006 issued a report about the perils of ‘pressure-filled intense preparation for a high-achieving adulthood,’ and a recent spate of popular books including ‘The Overachievers’, there are few indications that high school students will face an altered landscape anytime soon.

And from the New Yorker: How Medical Marijuana Is Transforming the Pot Industry

‘In the past five years, an unwritten set of rules has emerged to govern Californians participating in the medical-marijuana trade. ... Any Californian who is reasonably prudent can live a life centered on the cultivation, sale and consumption of marijuana with little fear of being fined or going to jail.’

-- Tami Dennis