The ACS believes that cannabis dispensaries play a vital role in providing care and products to patients.  Ideally, dispensaries provide access to high-quality, regulated, and tested cannabis in appropriate forms and for use in appropriate routes of administration to meet patients’ medical needs.

Cannabis Specialists (MD, DO, NP, or PA if authorized by each state program) must keep up to date on the emerging data in the field. Their ability to provide medically appropriate, helpful, and safe treatment depends on being aware of new data in a field that, unlike many more established fields of medicine, is changing weekly if not more frequently.

While a patchwork of state cannabis laws exists, the lack of a unified, federal framework regulating medical cannabis places patients at risk, and undermines the relationships that doctors must maintain to ensure an effective and safe treatment paradigm.  Such a framework is both overdue and sorely needed for safe, optimized care of patients across the country. 

In recent years, the field of cannabis research has experienced an unprecedented boom, with a staggering 32,000 articles shedding light on various aspects of cannabinoid medicine.

Many medications, like benzodiazepines, opioids, and antibiotics can lead to impairment.  We do not prospectively penalize patients who use these substances.  We expect that patients monitor their own impairment and not drive when incapable.

“And even if medical science has changed its views on addiction, policies and social structures have been slower in following the science toward a public health-based approach.” - Dr. Nora Volkow, President of NIDA

On January 30, 2024, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists hosted our quarterly virtual Student Education Series.  ACS was proud to welcome Suraj Tandon, MD, FRCPC, DABIM as its speaker on the topic of Basics of Medical Cannabis.  To watch the full presentation, click here.

As a doctor, you may specialize in a particular area of the medical field, and as a specialist, you may know that education and study never truly end.  While doctors may be experts in their field of study, they should not limit their education to that field.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: My name is Elizabeth (Beth) Dost, and I am a cannabis nurse. I am currently a Senior Executive Healthcare Consultant in Medical Cannabis. 

Cannabinoids have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their potential therapeutic applications. However, there are distinct differences between the various types of cannabinoids.