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The Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to a marijuana user's challenge to a federal law that bars people who consume illegal drugs from having firearms. Gun rights advocates argue the law falls afoul of the Constitution’s Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms. Based on oral arguments, it appears a majority of the court could rule in favor of Texas-based Ali Danial Hemani, an alleged regular user of marijuana who had a handgun at his home in the Dallas area when it was searched by the FBI in 2022. The ruling could be limited in scope, based on concerns that prosecutors could not show that Hemani's use of marijuana made him a danger to society. (Hurley, 3/2)

More health and wellness news —

A rise in rectal cancer rates is driving an increase in colorectal cancer diagnoses in people younger than 65, according to a report published Monday from the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer rates in people under 65 are surging, with nearly half (45%) of new diagnoses occurring in this age group, up from 27% in 1995. At the same time, colorectal cancer rates are falling in people 65 and older. (Edwards, 3/2)

Balance — the literal kind that keeps people upright and steady on their feet — is a tricky task for the body: It requires keen senses, healthy signals from the joints and limbs, and the muscle strength to respond quickly to an ever-changing environment. In other words: There are lots of ways for people to lose their balance. In fact, it’s a challenge almost everyone will face to some degree as they age. (Allday, 3/1)

In global health news —

Health authorities in Spain confirmed to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) a human case of variant H1N1 swine influenza (H1N1v). This marks the first case of H1N1v flu in Spain since 2024; since 2009, only four human cases of swine flu have been documented in Spain. No human-to-human transmission of H1N1v has ever been documented in Spain. The case was detected in Catalonia in February, the same region where the case in 2024 was detected. The patient had no flu symptoms. (Soucheray, 3/2)

South Africa’s consumer regulatory authority is investigating nine sanitary pad suppliers after a local university study detected potentially harmful chemicals in some menstrual products they sell to women in the country. On Monday, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) said its probe could take six months or more to complete. In the interim, suppliers are asked to submit their most recent test results, with results expected in a month. “The NCC is prioritizing this investigation,” spokesperson Phetho Ntaba told The Associated Press. (Gumede, 3/2)

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have issued a draconian decree that makes sodomy punishable by death and allows men to beat their wives so long as they don’t break bones or leave visible, lasting wounds. Human rights campaigners have decried the move as “devastating” and warned that women’s recourse to justice would be further curtailed. The decree was issued last month but has only recently come to international attention after it was leaked to the Afghan rights group Rawadari, which published it in the original Pashto. The Afghanistan Analysts Network then translated the document into English. (Krever and Yeung, 3/2)