ACS – MCRAA Joint Comments on FDA Proposed Research Guidelines

The Medical Cannabis Research Advocacy Alliance (MCRAA) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments in response to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Compounds: Quality Considerations for Clinical Research Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability 85 FR 44305 (July 22, 2020).

ACS Takes Issue with Wall Street Journal Advertisement

To Whom It May Concern at the Wall Street Journal:

We write to you to express a concern over a recent ½ page advertisement in the Journal.

ACS Letter To ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta

Dear Dr. Gupta:

Congratulations on the confirmation as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. We welcome your leadership as our respective agendas are to improve and serve the health of the American people.

ACS and MSNJ Letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland

Dear Attorney General Garland:

Subsequent to the letter sent to you, and to Secretary Becerra, by Senators Warren and Booker dated October 6, 2021 requesting that you exercise your authority under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA), we write to support their request and to support your pragmatic efforts to do so.

ACS and ASA Comments on Senator Schumer’s Cannabis Opportunity and Administration Act

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Senators Booker and Wyden:

The below signed stakeholders are collectively parties that have an interest in or work with medical cannabis. We are committed to ensuring qualified physicians administer sound medical cannabis advice, that patients have access to high-quality, safe cannabis medicines, and that appropriate regulatory oversight is implemented to protect the integrity and value of cannabis medicine.

ACS Guidance to CDC on Pain Management

The Association of Cannabis Specialists would like to offer the following comments on the topic of acute and chronic pain management, per the CDC’s request.

Why A Medical Cannabis System Is More Important Than Ever

Now that recreational cannabis is rolling out in Massachusetts, why do we need a medical cannabis system anymore? The short answer is that patients are different from recreational users and have more complicated, precise needs that recreational sales are incapable of handling.

ACS Guidance for Dispensaries in Providing Care to Patients

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.

ACS Expectations of CME Requirements for Cannabis Specialists

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.

A Federal Framework of Regulation for Medical Cannabis Use

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. 

Navigating Cannabis Research: Deciphering 32,000 Articles

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.

ACS’s Guidance on Driving as a Medical Cannabis Patient

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.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Turns 50 Years Old

“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

Student Education Series: The Basics of Medical Cannabis

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.

ACS Wants to Know: What Do You Know About Cannabinoid Medicine?

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.

ACS Member Spotlight: Beth Dost, RN and ACS Board Member

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. 

Endocannabinoids, Phytocannabinoids, and Synthetic Cannabinoids

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. 

Exploring the Potential of Cannabis in Treating Depression: A Scientific Perspective

This article was written by Amanda Reiman, PhD MSW, of New Frontier Data.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis, particularly in the treatment of mental health disorders like depression. 

What is a Budtender? Medical Cannabis Patient Service Advocates

As a clinician, it’s important to understand the roles played in the cannabis industry and the ways in which this industry is different from the pharmacy system that we’re used to.  

The Veteran Experience: Pain Management, PTSD, and Cannabis

Veterans of the armed services, in the United States and around the world, have been using cannabis for pain and PTSD symptoms since at least the Vietnam War.  They have accumulated lifetimes of experience with this medication and, as a group, demonstrate the best, and worst, of what cannabis can do.

Bridging the Cannabis Knowledge Gap

As a medical professional, do you feel like you know enough about cannabis to address it with your patients? If not, you’re not alone. Countless physicians share the common problem of a knowledge gap. 

Why Call It Cannabis Instead of Marijuana or Another Name?

Cannabis by any other name would work just the same.  So why should we stick with calling it cannabis?

Student Education Series: Cannabis for Sexual Health

ACS was proud to welcome Suzanne Mulvehill of the Female Orgasm Research Institute and Jordan Tishler MD, President of ACS, as its two speakers on the topic of Cannabis for Sexual Health.

Take a Closer Look at Cannabis Use Disorder: JAMA Study

Recently the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) posted a study entitled "Prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder and Reasons for Use Among Adults in a US State Where Recreational Cannabis Use Is Legal". 

The World Needs Big Ideas: An Association for Cannabis Clinicians

In Part 1, “Who Needs a Professional Association for Cannabis Clinicians?”, I wrote about the importance of creating Association of Cannabinoid Specialists when I realized there was a big gap in patient care information for clinicians. 

Member Spotlight: Frederick Slezak, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, FACG

Welcome to ACS' member spotlight, where we shine the light on one of our members as they share their story and what led them to become a member of ACS. 

This month, we shine the spotlight on Frederick A. Slezak, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, FACG.

CBD RFI Response from Association of Cannabinoid Specialists

Recently ACS was asked to provide a response to the request for information from Congress with regard to regulation of CBD and derivatives.  The full response is available below and in pdf form here.

Who Needs an Association for Cannabis Professionals? Part 1

I’m Jordan Tishler, the founder and president of the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists.  This is the story of why I founded ACS and why the world needs a place for clinicians to learn more about cannabis medicine and influence cannabis policy.

Unpacking Doctor Sanjay Gupta’s Weed 7 Episode: Part One

On Sunday evening, August 6, 2023, CNN aired Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s “Weed 7: A Senior Moment” as part of Anderson Cooper’s “The Whole Story” show. Association of Cannabinoid Specialists has asked our member experts to help “unpack” the information packed into the hour-long episode.