Healthcare Provider-Focused Medical Cannabis Research Study Launched by Cannabis Center of Excellence, Medicinal Genomics, and UMass Dartmouth

The Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc., Medicinal Genomics, and UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business (North Dartmouth, MA) (1-3) recently announced the formation of the “Healthcare Provider Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices Related to Medical Cannabis Research Study.” The intention of this study is to collect information from healthcare providers in both the United States (US) and Canada about their experiences with medicinal cannabis in their practices, prior education around the topic, and interest in future clinical education related to medical cannabis. Participants personal information will not be collected from healthcare providers in the study.

“The basics of the endocannabinoid system, medical cannabis benefits and risks, and approaches to integrating medical cannabis use are hardly taught in mainstream medical, nursing, dental, public health, emergency medicine, addiction and recovery, and other healthcare education and training programs,” said Dr. Marion McNabb, President, Cannabis Center of Excellence. “With more evidence of its efficacy emerging every day and increasing numbers of medical patients and veterans using cannabis for treatments, this study seeks to hear from healthcare providers themselves about what they know and want to know about medical cannabis, and how its use can be integrated into their practices.”

The Healthcare Provider Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices Related to Medical Cannabis Research Study has been approved by the UMass Dartmouth Institutional Review Board (IRB). Healthcare providers completing the survey will be entered into a lottery to win a $100 Amazon gift card or one free full pass to CannMed 2021 (4), which is a conference that hosts the world’s leading experts in medical cannabis research and clinical care. CannMed is organized by Medicinal Genomics and will be held September 29–October 1, 2021 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. The study is financially supported by Supercritical Labs and additional study sponsorship slots are available. For more information, please contact: Rachel Bacon rachel@cannacenterofexcellence.org.

Principal investigator, Dr. Marion McNabb, President of Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc. and Chief Research Officer of Georgia Atlas, is joined by 15 co-investigators that include researchers, clinicians, and veterans representing a variety of backgrounds, diversity, and expertise. Co-investigators include:

• Kevin McKernan, Medicinal Genomics Founder and Chief Science Officer;
• Dr. Steven White, Professor, UMass Dartmouth;
• Dr. Staci Gruber, Director, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core, Director, Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) at McLean Hospital, & Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School;
• Dr. Jessica Knox, The American Cannabinoids Clinics, Pivital EDU;
• Dr. Dustin Sulak, Healer.com;
• Blue Quisquis, National Native American Cannabis Association;
• Dr. James (J) Smith, Chief Medical Officer of Georgia Atlas;
• Chris McElvany, Chief Production Officer of Georgia Atlas,
• Dr. Peter Grinspoon, Primary Care & Medical Cannabis Clinician at Mass General Hospital;
• Stanley Atkins, II, the “CanniMedic'' & Georgia Chapter Director of Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM);
• Melissa Bouchard, Associate in Nursing;
• Stephen Mandile, Iraqi War Veteran and Joint Venture & Co;
• Mary Lynn Mathre, Founder, Patients Out of Time & 14th National Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics;
• Rachel Bacon, Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc;
• D.J. Ritter, Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc;
• Alex Rewegan, MIT PhD candidate

Healthcare providers located in the US or Canada may complete the survey at: https://www.cannacenterofexcellence.org/hcpmedcannstudy.html (5), which will be available from May 5, 2021 to May 5, 2022. Updates regarding the study can be found on the Cannabis Center of Excellence’s website (1). Preliminary results will be revealed at CannMed 2021 on October 1, 2021 and also at the 15th National Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, Patients Out of Time Conference in May 2022. The study’s final results are planned to be presented in the Fall of 2022 at CannMed 2022.