Our conference director flew to Israel to discuss a variety of medicinal cannabis topics with three of our CannMed 2017 speakers: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, Dr. Michael Dor, and Amir Golan.
Each of them has an interesting perspective on the subject. Dr. Mechoulam is a cannabis research pioneer, credited with discovering the plant’s psychoactive component, THC, and making other important discoveries. Dr. Dor is the Head Medical Advisor of the Medical Cannabis Unit for the Israeli Ministry of Health. And Golan is a medical student who also uses medicinal cannabis as part of his treatment for Chron’s Disease.
The trio discussed a number of issues related to medicinal cannabis, which you can see in the video below. They include separating the issues of medical cannabis and recreational cannabis; the efficacy of using cannabis to treat cancer, brain trauma, and Chron’s Disease; and the medicinal cannabis education being taught to the next generation of physicians.
One of the more interesting topics discussed was the difficulty physicians and patients face when it comes to understanding which compounds are in a medicinal cannabis product. The levels of cannabionoids and terpenoids are not always disclosed on a cannabis product, which makes it difficult for physicians and patients to effectively treat certain conditions. Different combinations of these compounds can produce different effects for the user. This is not a problem with traditional drugs, which are manufactured in controlled environments and have very specific doses.
Dr. Mechoulam says patients should know as much as possible about the medicinal cannabis products they are taking and wants to place pressure on growers and producers who prepare cannabis for medical use to disclose the exact amounts of, at a minimum, THC and CBD in their product. Maybe later other cannabinoids and terpenoids. “Otherwise we are not there,” he says. “We are not in medicine.”
These topics and more will be discussed during the CannMed 2017 Personalized Cannabinoid Medicine Conference at Harvard Medical School, April 9-11. Register today to hear from the greatest minds in medical cannabis research.
Comments 1
Many websites are now available making available medical and recreational marijuana. The source appears to be the same and the only difference is the means for acquiring the product. It is becoming fairly simple to find a physician who will issue you a medical marijuana card. Once a patient acquires the product, there is little means to regulate how they use it or how they may offer it to others. These issues need to be urgently addressed, and appropriate means for regulating use needs to be put in place.