The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis, partnering with the Jamaican Medical Cannabis Corporation, announced their Global Medical Cannabis Research Symposium taking place in London.
On 18-19 September 2019, the event, which will showcase the latest developments in medical cannabis research, could not be more timely given the imminent releases of NHS England and NICE reviews that are expected to call for the need for more evidence to support the prescribing of medicinal cannabis via the NHS. These calls are a response to the Secretary of State Matt Hancock expressing his ‘immense frustration’ at the lack of prescriptions of medical cannabis.
The Global Medical Cannabis Research Symposium
The two-day Global Medical Cannabis Research Symposium will bring together medical researchers and clinicians working on cannabis-based treatments from around the globe to share their research methodologies and findings with their UK peers. These include:
- Medical cannabis pioneer Dr Henry Lowe, who will discuss his cannabis-based FDA-approved ‘orphan drug’ for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia;
- Leading Paediatric Epilepsy researcher and neurologist Dr Evan Lewis;
- Dr Regina Nelson, who specialises in male and female sexual health;
- The Hon. Professor Errol Morrison, Director General, Jamaican National Commission of Science and Technology;
- Dr Saoirse O’Sullivan, Science Lead, Centre for Medicinal Cannabis;
- Greer Deal, Director, Global Regulatory Services; and
- Dr David Horn, Medical Lead, Centre for Medicinal Cannabis.
Steve Moore, CMC Founder and Director, said: “The lack of evidence-based knowledge surrounding cannabis-based medicinal products is one of the key blocking factors as to why doctors in the UK are not prescribing despite recent law changes.
“The Medical Cannabis Research Symposium will bring together some of the world’s leading experts on medicinal cannabis to share their findings and experiences with their UK peers. The goal is to encourage more UK-based research to not only provide the much-needed data but also to position the UK as a world leader in this field.”
Attendees will learn about current UK and international research projects focused on cancer, paediatric epilepsy, AML, gastrointestinal disorders, sexual dysfunction and other conditions. Panels and discussions will facilitate the exchange of experiences on research and clinical trial best practices and funding sources.
The latest UK medical cannabis law and policy developments
A multinational panel of patients will share their first-hand treatment experiences with delegates. The patient’s voice will be represented by:
Jeff Sawyer, Canada (Cancer Survivor); Gerald Major, Canada (Ankylosing Spondylitis and Psoriatic Arthritis); Carly Barton, United Kingdom (Fibromyalgia) and Lina Eliasson, United Kingdom (Breast Cancer Survivor).
Attendees will also be brought up to speed on the latest UK medical cannabis law and policy developments and what they mean for medical research.
Diane Scott, CEO, Jamaican Medical Cannabis Corporation, said: “We’ve been fortunate in our travels to hear quite a bit about the many exciting medical cannabis research projects now in progress around the world, a few of which JMCC is supporting in different ways. So, we’re very pleased to help bring the researchers involved in a sample of these projects to London to discuss their work with members of the UK medical research community.
“At JMCC, our primary focus is on patients – delivering the safest, high-quality medical-grade cannabis available to researchers and medical product developers globally. And we are absolutely aligned with the need for more research of all kinds into determining the real medical benefits cannabis may offer. After nearly 100 years – and counting — of research-inhibiting prohibition, there is lots of catching up to do.”
