Keynote Presentation: Cannabis Medicine is Flowering: How Clinical Trials Validate Cannabis

Clinical trials are the backbone of medical science. Traditional pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars and a decade plus on conducting trials to substantiate the marketing of a new drug. Cannabis is federally illegal yet 33 states and the District of Columbia are permitting the sale of cannabis and cannabis based medicines and without traditional scientifically backed proof. Additionally, the knowledge of the endocannabinoid system and how cannabis and cannabis medicines interact within that system is left to those curious enough to do the research. The federally illegality of cannabis has prevented the widespread education of the endocannabinoid system in traditional learning platforms. The majority of health care providers and scientists are not exposed to the endocannabinoid system and therefore are not thinking about this type of research. The federal landscape makes it difficult or impossible to obtain grants for research. Th sourcing of the study material poses another impediment. There are solutions to these obstacles and I will discuss the issues, challenges and successes of conducting clinical trials in the legal medical cannabis world.

Listeners will:
1. Understand the importance of substantiating claims with science backed trials
2. Learn the steps needed to conduct  clinical trials in a highly challenging and federally illegal environment.