Integrating Medical Cannabis Into Medical Education

An estimated three million Americans use cannabis for medical purposes, primarily for chronic pain, muscle spasms, anxiety, nausea, seizures, and other conditions. Yet, most healthcare practitioners and students in the health professions report feeling unprepared to counsel patients or integrate cannabis into care. Currently, standardized education on the therapeutic use of medical cannabis remains absent from most medical school curricula. On this episode of the GW Integrative Medicine podcast, we discuss a new study published in JAMA on the importance of standardizing and integrating medical cannabis into the medical education curricula. We have three of the article’s co-authors here with us today. • Dr. Ethan Russo is a neurologist, preeminent psychopharmacology researcher, and founder and CEO of CReDO Science. A renowned global expert, Dr. Russo is author of some of the most influential and scientifically important books within the field of medical cannabis research. He has been actively researching medical cannabis and cannabinoids for nearly 30 years. • Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple is the chair of the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Dr. Temple is the and Owen L. Coon Chair of Integrative Medicine, Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Endeavor Health and a clinical professor of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker (PRIT-skur) School of Medicine. • Dr. Misha Kogan, chief medical officer of the GW Center of Integrative Medicine, co-author of “Medical Marijuana: Dr. Kogan's Evidence-Based Guide to the Health Benefits of Cannabis and CBD,” and an associate professor of Medicine here at GW. His specific area of interest is utilizing cannabis as a solution to reduce polypharmacy in the geriatric patient population. He is a renowned international speaker in the field of medical cannabis. ◘ Developing Medical Cannabis Competencies: A Consensus Statement (JAMA Article) https://bit.ly/4o82GtM ◘ Transcript bit.ly/3JoA2mz ◘ This podcast features the song “Follow Your Dreams” (freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Ho…ur_Dreams_1918) by Scott Holmes, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (01https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) license. ◘ Disclaimer: The content and information shared in GW Integrative Medicine is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. The views and opinions expressed in GW Integrative Medicine represent the opinions of the host(s) and their guest(s). For medical advice, diagnosis, and/or treatment, please consult a medical professional.