Medical marijuana researchers, clinicians, policymakers and trainees gathered in Orlando on May 19-20 for the second annual Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference. The event attracted more than 100 participants to discuss the ever-changing landscape of medical marijuana research in Florida and beyond.
The conference featured three keynote presentations from cannabis researchers at Harvard Medical School, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Northeast Ohio Medical University. Multiple sessions addressed topics such as research methods, clinical trials, IRB challenges and regulatory obstacles in conducting cannabis research in Florida. A poster session was also held to allow scientists to share their medical marijuana research.
“Our goal was to bring together community stakeholders and people in the medical marijuana research community at Florida universities and colleges who are participating in the consortium and studying the effects of medical marijuana use,” said Amie Goodin, Ph.D., M.P.P., chair of the conference’s scientific program committee, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the UF College of Pharmacy and the faculty lead for research strategy in the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research. “Medical marijuana is relatively new to Florida and the Consortium is charged with studying the health effects.”
The Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research was founded by the Florida Legislature and conducts, disseminates and supports research on the clinical effects of medical marijuana use. It is composed of nine universities in Florida and is led by Almut Winterstein, R.Ph., Ph.D., a distinguished professor and chair of the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Several other UF College of Pharmacy faculty serve on the consortium’s leadership team and committees. For more information, visit the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research website.