Health calendar

SHARP AS A TACK: Discussion about brain plasticity and how to prevent cognitive decline. 3 p.m. Thursday, Pardee Health Education Center, Blue Ridge Mall, Hendersonville. Registration required. Call 692-4600.

Smoking marijuana helps reduce pain, trial shows

Researchers in Montreal have completed what they say is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to show that smoking pot really helps to relieve pain.

Local nurse practitioner, physician offer patients acupuncture as alternative treatment

In a nondescript medical center room, Diane Ross Moody settles into a chair that looks like it belongs in a dentist’s office.

Asheville area health calendar

FREE CHOLESTEROL SCREENINGS: Lipid and glucose profiles by finger stick, along with blood pressure and body mass index screening. Today, Dollar General, Edneyville.

Acupuncture, Placebo Have Same Effect on Knee Osteoarthritis

Traditional Chinese acupuncture proved no more effective for treating osteoarthritis of the knee than a sham acupuncture, according to a new study.