Michigan Walmart worker reports being fired because of medical marijuana use

Here's a look at some of the top health news being talked about around the U.S. and the world today:

â€¢ A Battle Creek man who worked at a Walmart store says he was fired for his legal medical marijuana use. The man says he was using marijuana to deal with pain caused by sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor pressing against his skull, and he never used it while on duty. According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, employers may legally prohibit all medical marijuana use, even if it is legal usage.

â€¢ Breast cancer researchers say they could cut years out of the time it typically takes to test new drugs for certain kinds of tumors, using a new study to be started at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, the Star Tribune reported. The study will compare several experimental drugs at once and tailor them to patients most likely to benefit, according to the article.

â€¢ The recent release of records from a lawsuit against an insurance company could have repercussions for the entire health insurance industry. Reuters reported the story of an insurance holder who won a case proving his insurance policy had been wrongly dropped by his insurance company because he'd contracted HIV.

â€¢ Too often, researchers needlessly cut gay individuals out of clinical trials investigating everything from cancer to diabetes to depression, according to a recent study reported on ABC News.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.