ASSOCIATION OF CANNABINOID SPECIALISTS LAUNCHES WORLD’S MOST UP-TO-DATE ONLINE CME ACCREDITED COURSE FOCUSED ON ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM AND CLINICAL EXPERIENCED-BASED CANNABINOID MEDICINE

Available Now for Healthcare Providers and Anyone Interested in Cannabis Education

BROOKLINE, MA October 23, 2024 – Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (ACS) today announced the availability of its multilingual “Introduction to Cannabinoid Medicine”, an online, 3-hour CME AMA PRA Category 1 Credit video course. The announcement was made by Jordan Tishler, MD, Founder and President of ACS. 

ACS is an international non-profit association of healthcare professionals whose focus is ensuring the highest standards in the practice of cannabinoid medicine, safeguarding patient care with clinical best practice and advocating for the transition of cannabis medicine being “recommended” by health professionals in legal states to a more conventional prescription. 

The new course was developed based on the custom course ACS designed for the State of Alabama, which is also a CME accredited course for healthcare providers entering the state-run medical cannabis program. According to Mark Jackson, Executive Director, Medical Association of Alabama, “The Medical Association of the State of Alabama was responsible for developing a course for physicians interested in becoming certified to recommend Medical Cannabis to their patients and Association of Cannabinoid Specialists was highly recommended to do this course. Throughout our work with Dr. Tishler and ACS, I found them to be very knowledgeable, easy to work with and attentive to the specific needs related to our medical cannabis law. I would highly recommend Association of Cannabinoid Specialists as a resource to anyone who is looking for someone to provide education and guidance around medical cannabis.” 

ACS has been on the forefront of bringing evidence-based information about cannabinoid medicine to healthcare providers, law makers and regulators since its founding in 2018. “ACS has been instrumental in providing its members and those regulating the cannabis industry evidence-based data from published, peer reviewed studies and real-life clinical experience”, stated the organization’s Founder and Harvard Medical School faculty, Dr. Jordan Tishler. “We worked closely with the State of Alabama to develop a fact-based course for which they could receive CME accreditation. We took that learning into a new introductory course we could offer anyone through our online platform and provide accreditations that are important to our members and followers.” 

The new course covers several areas of cannabinoid medicine that are foundational to understanding how cannabis interacts with the human body and how clinicians can best diagnose and treat patients with cannabinoid medicine. Importantly, the clinical data, as demonstrated in the course, includes specific cautions related to potential drug interactions; diseases for which this is either little scientific evidence by which to recommend cannabis or for which cannabis is not appropriate; and recommendations for dosing and patient follow-up to reduce complications of treatment. 

The course is available in English and with subtitled versions in Spanish, French, German, Greek, and Portuguese. The main sections include:  

  • Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System and Common Cannabinoids 
  • Therapeutic Implementation of Cannabinoids (and cases) 
  • Risks and Special Groups (and cases) 
  • Challenges (aspects that make Cannabinoid Medicine different from conventional medicine and how to deal with them effectively)

“This course provides the necessary science and clinical understanding for me to effectively and safely take care of my patients using cannabinoid medications.  The rising prevalence of cannabis use, and also complications of cannabis use, underscores the importance of clinician guidance for medical cannabis patients and recreational users alike.  This course is a must for any clinician who has patients who might benefit from cannabinoid treatment and for those whose patients may be using cannabis for any reason,” commented Barton Hershfield, MD, ACS member and course advocate. 

The new course is available to anyone.  Physicians and Nurse Practitioners can earn CME AMA PRA Category 1 accreditation.  

ACS members who pass the course can also claim status as a Diplomate of Association of Cannabinoid Specialists for the following 2 years.   

ACS provides a course discount for members as well. For those who wish to become members there is a standard membership and discounted membership for recent medical student graduates and a 100% subsidized membership for current students, a benefit supported by ACS’ donors. 

To learn more about this course, visit: https://cannaspecialists.thinkific.com/courses/CME101 

ABOUT ASSOCIATION OF CANNABINOID SPECIALISTS  

Founded in 2018, Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (ACS) is a physician founded, evidence-based, international non-profit membership organization focused on educating healthcare professionals, lawmakers and cannabis regulators. ACS is funded by its members and donors who are supporters and recipients of ACS’ information distribution and educational activities. For all of ACS’ constituents, we provide evidence and experience-based education to support the premise that cannabis should be treated as a medicine and, therefore, patients and related laws and regulations need to be created, modified, and viewed differently than recreational-use laws and regulations. 

Learn more at www.cannaspecialists.org  

Media Contact:  

Kelsey Engvik 

[email protected]  

(855) 864-4404