Founded | 1999 |
---|---|
Founder | Tod H. Mikuriya |
Type | 501(c)(3) |
Origins | California |
Area served | Global |
Key people |
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Website | cannabisclinicians.org |
Formerly called | California Cannabis Research Medical Group (CCRMG) |
The Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the United States, dedicated to educating healthcare professionals about the medical use of cannabis. [1] Its mission is to unite into one association members of the various medical specialties and allied professionals with this common purpose. SCC is one of the oldest active organization of its kind, and one of the few global non-profit medical societies [lower-alpha 1] related to cannabis and cannabinoids, along with the International Cannabinoid Research Society and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines. [1] [2] [3]
The group was first established in 1999 [1] by California-based psychiatrist Tod Mikuriya, MD [4] as a project of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group to facilitate voluntary medical standards for physician-approved cannabis under California law (HSC §11362.5).
The California Cannabis Research Medical Group (CCRMG) was established as a 501c3 non-profit by Tod Mikuriya in 1999, [5] [1] to help physicians share and exchange data about cannabis use by their patients, essentially in California around the San Francisco area. [1] [6] [7] The CCRMG members published their research findings, such as president Jeffrey Hergenrather's survey of patients with Crohn's disease, [8] in the unconventional Journal of Cannabis in Clinical Practice O'Shaughnessy, and developed an online research archive[ permanent dead link ]. CCMRG maintained the William B. O'Shaughnessy Archives.
After 2004, SCC progressively took over the CCRMG [9] as it started expanding beyond California, as other US States opened access to medical cannabis.
In 2015, SCC launched a Medical Cannabis Continuing Education program, worth 12 CME credits, which in sequential order, a series of 12 courses designed to take a practicing clinician from the basics of the plant, its history and the underlying physiologic (endocannabinoid) system to the pharmacology and clinical practice of medical cannabis.
In 2019, SCC started an International Committee and launched several national chapters outside the United States, claiming presence in 21 countries [10] and three active chapters. [11]
In 2020, the SCC submitted contributions to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation with access to medical cannabis [12] [13] [14] [15] and the rights of people who use drugs. [16] SCC also contributed to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in relation with the recommendations of the World Health Organization to withdraw cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
In 2021, SCC engaged in the field of veterinary medicine with the launch of an International Veterinary Cannabis Alliance. [22]
SCC members hold quarterly meetings of physicians and allied professionals featuring presentations by clinicians, researchers, and legal experts in the medical cannabis field.
The society runs five thematic committees [23] (Editorial, Education, International, Outreach, and Research) for members to share their areas of expertise in the fields that relate to the medical uses of cannabis and cannabinoids.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term THC usually refers to the Delta-9-THC isomer with chemical name (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is a terpenoid found in cannabis and, like many pharmacologically active phytochemicals, it is assumed to be involved in the plant's evolutionary adaptation against insect predation, ultraviolet light, and environmental stress. THC was first discovered and isolated by Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam in Israel in 1964. It was found that, when smoked, THC is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain, attaching itself to endocannabinoid receptors located in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and basal ganglia. These are the parts of the brain responsible for thinking, memory, pleasure, coordination and movement.
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.
Tod Hiro Mikuriya was an American medical doctor and psychiatrist. Known as an outspoken advocate for the use of cannabis for medical purposes and its legalization, he is often regarded as the grandfather of the medical cannabis movement in the United States.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. It is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. As of 2019, clinical research on CBD included studies related to anxiety, cognition, movement disorders, and pain, but there is insufficient high-quality evidence that cannabidiol is effective for these conditions. Nevertheless, CBD is a herbal dietary supplement promoted with unproven claims of particular therapeutic effects.
In the United States, the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. It has been proposed repeatedly since 1972. The category is the most tightly restricted category reserved for drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use."
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 is an international treaty that controls activities of specific narcotic drugs and lays down a system of regulations for their medical and scientific uses; it also establishes the International Narcotics Control Board.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law.
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.
Cannabis tea is a cannabis-infused drink prepared by steeping various parts of the cannabis plant in hot or cold water. Cannabis tea is commonly recognized as an alternative form of preparation and consumption of the cannabis plant, more popularly known as marijuana, pot, or weed. This plant has long been recognized as an herbal medicine employed by health professionals worldwide to ease symptoms of disease, as well as a psychoactive drug used recreationally and in spiritual traditions. Though less commonly practiced than popular methods like smoking or consuming edibles, drinking cannabis tea can produce comparable physical and mental therapeutic effects. Such effects are largely attributed to the THC and CBD content of the tea, levels of which are drastically dependent on individual preparation techniques involving volume, amount of cannabis, and boiling time. Also in common with these administration forms of cannabis is the heating component performed before usage. Due to the rather uncommon nature of this particular practice of cannabis consumption in modern times as well as the legality of cannabis throughout the World, the research available on the composition of cannabis tea is limited and based broadly around what is known of cannabis as it exists botanically.
Fred Gardner is an American political organizer and author best known for his opposition to the Vietnam War and his writings about the medical marijuana movement in the United States.
Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access (VMCA), which was founded as Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access (VMMA) reflecting the pejorative word "marijuana", is an Elliston, Virginia-based non-profit service organization designed to assist American veterans who wish to be able to use marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. VMCA works towards the freedom for veterans to discuss the medical use of marijuana with their doctors without the risk of reprisal.
In the United States, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 38 states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as of March 2023. Ten other states have more restrictive laws limiting THC content, for the purpose of allowing access to products that are rich in cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis. There is significant variation in medical cannabis laws from state to state, including how it is produced and distributed, how it can be consumed, and what medical conditions it can be used for.
The International Nonproprietary Name dronabinol, also known under the trade names Marinol, Syndros, Reduvo and Adversa, is a generic name for the molecule of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the pharmaceutical context. It has indications as an appetite stimulant, antiemetic, and sleep apnea reliever and is approved by the FDA as safe and effective for HIV/AIDS-induced anorexia and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting only.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) is a Thai state enterprise which manufactures pharmaceutical products in Thailand. In 2011, the GPO netted a profit of 1.6 billion baht from the sale of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. As of 2011, the GPO employed 2,812 persons. In 2016, the organization produced drugs at two government-owned factories.
Medical cannabis research includes any medical research on using cannabis. Different countries conduct and respond to medical cannabis research in different ways.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the plant Cannabis sativa and its relatives Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis, the drug cannabis (drug) and the industrial product hemp.
For Alternative Approaches to Addiction, Think & do tank is an international non-profit organization working on drug policy, created in 2015 and based in Paris, France.
Michael Alan Krawitz is a US Air force veteran, Executive Director of the non-profit Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, researcher on the history of medical cannabis, and international advocate for cannabis policy reform with FAAAT think & do tank and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines.
The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM), formerly known as the International Association for Cannabis as a Medicine, is a non-profit scientific society founded in Cologne in 2000 and dedicated to the advancement of knowledge of cannabis and cannabinoid medicines among medical professionals. IACM is one of the few global non-profit medical societies or associations related to cannabis and Cannabinoids, along with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians and the International Cannabinoid Research Society.
The removal of cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on narcotic drugs, 1961 is a change in international law that took place in 2021, on the basis of a scientific assessment by the World Health Organization.