The Inaugural Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium (IICS) is a University of Arizona project sponsored by the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, the BIO5 Institute, College of Medicine Tucson, College of Science & CEAC. It is designed to inform our community about recent evidence-based research and teaching in Cannabis horticulture and medicine.

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Program

08:00 Welcome Welcome Video

08:30 Todd Vanderah The Endocannabinoid System: The Biological Foundation of It All

09:30 Natalie D. Eddington Journey to an MS in Medical Cannabis

11:00 Thomas Marcotte The Promise and Challenges of Cannabis and Cannabinoids as Medicine

12:00 Yu-Fung Lin Teaching the Human Physiology of Cannabis and Cannabinoids

Suman Chandra, PhD, U Mississippi NIDA Cannabis Ctr Thomas Marcotte, MD, UC San Diego Cannabis Res Center

Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, U Maryland @ Baltimore, Sch of Pharmacy Dedi Meiri, PhD, The Technion, Israel Cancer Biology Lab

Richard Huntsman, MD, U Saskatchewan Pediatric Neurology Todd Vanderah, PhD, U AZ Col of Medicine Pharmacology

Yu Fung Lin, PhD, UC Davis Sch of Medicine Physiology Raphael Gruener, PhD, IICS Organizer rgruener@email.arizona.edu

The University of Arizona Inaugural Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium (IICS) is an inclusive, University-wide project sponsored by the Colleges of Science, Agriculture Life Sciences & Veterinary Sciences, Medicine, and the BIO5 Institute. It is designed to inform our Community about recent research and teaching in the emerging field of medicinal Cannabis. The impetus for the IICS grew from the realization that initiatives concerning the horticultural and medicinal potential values of Cannabis have become widespread among top-ranked institutions in the United States. There are 13 US universities, as well as several countries, where Cannabis research and teaching is taking place. We believe that it is vital for the UofA to keep abreast of this emerging field to create future new opportunities for collaboration and for the creation of novel courses in several colleges.

Moreover, the medical use of Cannabis-derived phyto-cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids is an inevitable and growing field, which requires impartial, evidence-based inquiries into research projects including scientific product testing. The University of Arizona has a mandate and responsibility to initiate discussions of issues that are pivotal to the public’s health, interest, and commercial enterprises.

The increasing number of legal initiatives, by States and the Federal government, point to a nationwide trend towards the legalization of medical Cannabis. The State of AZ is among 33 States to have legalized medical Cannabis, the Federal government has recently removed restrictions from growing Hemp (a close relative of Cannabis designated by the USDA as belonging to the Cannabaceae family). And, recently the UofA Extension services announced that it will consult with Arizona farmers to assist them in optimizing growing conditions for Hemp.

Symposium Proceedings