Biennial National Clinical Conferences on Cannabis Therapeutics

Since the marijuana prohibition began in 1937 and cannabis was subsequently removed from the pharmacopoedia by 1941, cannabis as a medicine was no longer included in medical education.  Beginning in 2000, Patients Out of Time began its biennial series of national clinical conferences on cannabis therapeutics.  The goal was to re-introduce cannabis as medicine to healthcare professionals with current evidence based research in an accredited forum.  In order for research to be considered of merit it must be replicated and peer reviewed. The results must then be made public, scrutinized, and validated.  Patients Out of Time brings together cannabis/cannabinoid researchers from around the world as well as clinicians, patients, and others to provide this needed education.

Science-Based Clincal Applications, April 2000 - The First National Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics , co-sponsored by Patients Out of Time and the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing of the University of Iowa, was the first accredited therapeutic cannabis education program held in the U.S. since 1860.  Melanie Dreher, PhD, RN, a founding board member of Patients Out of Time, was responsible for getting this partnership for the conference through her role as Dean of the U of IA College of Nursing.  The sponsorships of the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing were critical to our work, enabling the agenda to be accredited for professional education for MD’s, RN’s, SW’s, and other professionals.  All conferences in the series have received this accredited status.  The entire conference was broadcast live to various locations including McGill University in Canada and to the public health education network of the State of Oregon.  The faculty was of the highest quality; the press response supportive and the studies were presented under the theme of Science Based Clinical Applications, forming a benchmark of knowledge from which there has been no retreat.

2000 Conference Agenda; Synopses; DVDs and On-Line Videos

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Analgesia and Other Indications, May, 2002 - The Second National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was held in Portland, OR and was co-sponsored by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Health Services; Oregon Nurses Association; Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse; and the Portland Community College Institute of Health Professionals. This conference featured the results of The Chronic Cannabis Use Study, otherwise know as The Missoula Study - the only evaluation of how over twenty years of federally supplied smoked marijuana affected four US legal patients.  The theme, Analgesia and Other Indications, was chosen because chronic pain was the most frequently claimed indication for meicinal cannabis use.

2002 Conference Agenda; Synopses; DVDs and On-Line Videos

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Cannabis Use Throughout the Lifespan, May, 2004 - The Third National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was held in Charlottesville, VA, co-sponsored by the Virginia Nurses Association, the Pain Management Center and the Medical, Law and Nursing Schools of the University of Virginia, known in the U.S. for its conservative ways. The faculty included the world’s finest cannabis researchers, clinicians, patients and caregivers from the US, England, Israel, and Canada. At this venue cannabis use as medicine ranged from the therapeutic use by infants and children to use at end of life with Hospice patients.

2004 Conference Agenda; Synopses; DVDs and On-Line Videos

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The Mind-Body Connection, April, 2006 - The Fourth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was held in Santa Barbara, California, hosted by City College of Santa Barbara and accredited by the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. The Mind-Body Connection was chosen as the theme to highlight what was known about the endocannabinoid system and how that knowledge helps explain the therapeutic effects of cannabis on physical ailments as well as mental health problems such as PTSD, ADD, depression and other problems.

2006 Conference Agenda; Synopses; DVDs and On-Line Videos

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Re-Entering Mainstream Medicine, April, 2008 - The Fifth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, held in Pacific Grove, California, was co-sponsored and accredited by the University of California, San Francisco's School of Medicine.  Supporting organizations included the California Nurses Association, Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA), the Compassion Center of Santa Barbara County and... The conference faculty included researchers from the U.S., Canada, Israel and The Netherlands.  Our theme served to remind attendees that cannabis was a mainstream medicine prior to its wrongful prohibition based on reefer madness and to announce its re-introduction to mainstream medicine based on the booming research in the cannabinoid field today.

2008 Conference Agenda; Synopses; DVDs and On-Line Videos

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