Business of Cannabis

A Mediaplanet Guide to Empowering the Cannabis Industry

Business of Cannabis

Jim Belushi The original “SNL” cast member and sitcom star talks about what inspired him to start growing cannabis

Learn how hydroponic farming can empower a more sustainable future

DECEMBER 2021 | FUTUREOFBUSINESSANDTECH.COM

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What the Cannabis Business Needs in Order to Thrive Our panel of experts discusses the political, technological, social, and educational resources the cannabis industry needs to succeed.

How should the cannabis industry engage the healthcare community and foster healthcare provider education so clinicians can safely and effectively manage the care of medical cannabis patients?

What kind of technology should cannabis businesses be prioritizing today?

Juanjo Feijoo: The two main challenges for cannabis businesses today are compliance and effıciency. Finding technology solutions that allow dispensary owners to focus on running their businesses effectively is key to succeeding as competition heats up in the industry.

Whether it’s your customer relationship management tool, your menu and orders management tool, your point of sale, or your logistics software, being able to not have to worry about the software just working, or potentially running afoul of complex compliance requirements, is key.

Juanjo Feijoo COO and CMO, Weedmaps

What are the greatest challenges facing the cannabis industry today?

opposite of what Californians voted for with Proposition 64.

Jennifer Lujan: High state taxes and federal inaction on banking. Cannabis businesses pay much higher taxes than other industries, but we still can’t walk into a bank and open an account.

Our industry is a huge job creator, provides an essential product, and contributes millions in tax revenue to state and local budgets. But this will all go away if governments don’t provide tax and banking relief to licensed businesses, because the legal industry will be subsumed by illicit sales. That outcome is the exact

Meredith Fisher-Corn: One of the most signifıcant barriers to the growth of the medical cannabis market involves the lack of healthcare provider engagement. Most doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists have been informed of the risks of cannabis use, including cannabis use disorder, and they know the U.S. federal government classifıes marijuana/cannabis as a Schedule I drug (a substance that has no accepted medical use, lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and has a high potential for abuse).

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Meredith Fisher-Corn M.D., Editor-in-Chief, TheAnswerPage.com

Yet few healthcare providers know about the therapeutic use of cannabinoids or the endocannabinoid system.

In fact, the results of a survey of recent medical school graduates indicate that nearly 90 percent of medical residents and fellows felt not at all prepared to recommend medical cannabis, and 85 percent reported receiving no education in medical school or residency on medical cannabis.

Should we be focused on changing the existing stigma surrounding cannabis, especially in front of an older demographic?

Jennifer Lujan Senior Director for Social Impact, Eaze

JF: The latest Pew research shows that only 8 percent of U.S. adults think cannabis should be totally illegal, and 60 percent are in favor of adult-use cannabis.

Attitudes toward cannabis have already shifted drastically over the past several years, and we believe they will continue to do so, but unfortunately action is way behind attitudes in this case, and many people are unable to use cannabis as would be best for them due to lingering stigma or outdated rules and regulations. Encouragingly, we see change starting to happen in spaces that have historically been anti-cannabis, such as professional sports.

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MFC: Clinicians typically base their medical practices on the fındings and results of large-scale clinical trials. Relatively few clinical trials examining the effıcacy and safety of cannabis-based products have been conducted to date, but there is still a signifıcant amount of quality information about the endocannabinoid system and medical cannabis that can be offered to clinicians. Growers and dispensaries should enlist the expertise of independent medical cannabis educators to provide unbiased, evidenced-based education for clinicians.

How can we ensure we communicate about cannabis in a way that appeals to different sets of stakeholders?

LJ: I hope our industry leans into the good we’re doing for society, because that message will resonate and motivate. Our businesses create thousands of good jobs that support families and communities.

We farm an agricultural commodity that has huge benefıts for physical and mental health. We contribute many millions in tax revenue to fund community priorities. And we’re addressing decades of racist policies that put generations behind bars. If we cohesively make this case, we can and will successfully build greater support outside the industry.

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Publisher Neetu Wadhwani Business Developer Neetu Wadhwani Managing Director Luciana Olson Lead Designer Tiffany Pryor Designer Kayla Mendez Lead Editor Mina Fanous Copy Editor Dustin Brennan Director of Content and Production Jordan Hernandez Cover Photo Tyler Maddox All photos are credited to Getty Images unless otherwise specified. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve LA Times.

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Creating a Fair and Equitable Cannabis Industry

As the end of prohibition approaches, the cannabis industry must work together to make ours an industry to be emulated by others, and ensure U.S. cannabis policy is built upon the foundations of fairness, inclusivity, sustainability, and opportunity for businesses of all sizes.

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t the federal level, there is more support and momentum for comprehensive cannabis policy reform than ever before. The House of Representatives is considering the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act again after approving it in a historic vote in December 2020, and several other bills to end cannabis prohibition have been introduced there as well.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pledged to make legalization a priority in this session and intro-

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duced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act in the upper chamber after accepting feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders. This level of congressional activity around ending prohibition is unprecedented.

There is also a signifıcant amount of incremental legislation being considered — covering topics from research to improving access for veterans — that is much more likely to be passed into law in the current political climate. The best example of this is the Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would provide safe harbor for banks and

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other fınancial institutions to provide cannabis businesses with fınancial services and traditional lending, often cited as the biggest needs for social equity applicants and small businesses.

Empowering the industry NCIA is happy to be able to get back to some of its activities that were put on hold in 2020, including the Midwest Cannabis Business Conference in September in Detroit, and the Cannabis Business Summit just a few weeks ago in San Francisco. These events are invaluable for prospective industry

members, newcomers, and veterans to network and showcase their innovations, while learning from dozens of experts and industry leaders about the issues that most directly impact the cannabis industry now and in the future.

We are also very excited to be bringing back our annual Lobby Days in 2022 after a two-year pandemic hiatus.

Historically, this event has brought hundreds of our members to Washington D.C. each year to directly engage with their elected representatives in support of sensible cannabis policy reforms at the federal level. This is just one of many

ways cannabis industry professionals can get involved in the political process and influence change with NCIA. No matter what kind of business you are involved in or how you are connected to cannabis, it has never been more important to get knowledgeable, get engaged, and get active if you care about what this market will look like in the future and what it will represent. Together, we can make the cannabis industry one to be emulated for generations.

Morgan Fox, Media Relations Director, NCIA (National Cannabis Industry Association)

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“war on drugs” just over 50 years ago, ultimately led to millions of Americans and immigrants arrested primarily for cannabis possession.

Racially-biased cannabis criminalization perpetuated recidivism in communities, creating a prison pipeline in most hoods across America. We now have signifıcant proof that the war on drugs was purposely designed to disproportionately impact BIPOC communities using racially-biased enforcement of criminalization in policing, sentencing, and collateral consequences, such as child custody.

Until recently, cannabis legalization efforts largely ignored the eyeopening history of the plant’s use and prohibition in America. People are often shocked to learn that cannabis, in all its forms, was a very important plant in the United States and abroad.

We have really only been exposed to the “devil’s lettuce” or reefer madness that turned into the “war on drugs” and millions of dollars spent on DARE programs designed to scare teens into staying away from the world’s best “gateway drug.”

Growing up in pre-gentrifıed Brooklyn in the ‘80s, I know fırst-hand the dichotomous existence of saying “no”

to drugs to avoid unwanted problems with the police or school, while living with a strict, but fun-loving, single mother and supportive grandparents in a stable and academically challenging home, which also smelled like weed and collard greens most of the time.

I can’t speak enough about the diffıculties growing up in Brooklyn, living in the land of loud sirens and “suspects.”

Never wanting to be caught up in either, I never used drugs, although it didn’t prevent me from being exposed to harmful and terrifying police harassment common in East New York.

History ignored Prior to the 1930s, cannabis was part

PHOTO: BRIAN FRASER PHOTOGRAPHY

Diminishing Cannabis Opposition With Science and Justice

of the American pharmacopeia, with products available over-the-counter, and well-known pharmaceutical companies manufacturing many of these cannabis products. Understanding that hemp is cannabis, too, the crop ultimately transitioned from an essential part of U.S. agriculture, with predominantly slaves cultivating and growing, to the unknown crop that it is today.

While Harry Angslinger was ranting about “darkies” and marijuana to the general public, he was conspicuously linked to developing industry ticoons, William Hearst and Lamont DuPont, both of whom suffered from poor growth because of the competition from hemp-derived textiles.

Through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, Anslinger was clever enough to kill two birds with one stone; by outlawing marijuana, he made only industrial hemp growth legal, but with heavily imposed taxes. While industrial hemp faded into near non-existence, overshadowed by the growth of paper and plastics, marijuana use persisted at a relatively equal rate among all races.

Very shortly after the civil rights movement, America was responsible for the purposeful cover-up of physician-led opposition to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which deemed newly discovered delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) a Schedule I illegal substance. This law, and Nixon’s public declaration of the

Building back As a Black woman, I am deeply committed to providing leadership in the public and private sectors to demonstrate how our knowledge of cannabis science and the legacy of its traditional use, in this country and abroad, can create regulatory frameworks and business ecosystems that signifıcantly impact the sustainable health and wealth of all communities, most especially the communities that were purposely targeted and destroyed through cannabis prohibition.

I am continuously inspired by my work with CHEM, including the Association for Cannabis Health Equity and Medicine (ACHEM). Led by the brilliant and generous Dr. Rachel Knox, along with her family of doctors — endocannabinologists specifıcally — ACHEM has brought a combined 75+ years of experience across emergency medicine, anesthesiology, family medicine, and preventative medicine to the cannabis industry.

As a cannabis patient of ACHEM’s American Cannabinoid Clinics, I am grateful for their service to this industry and over 60,000 patients, and countless people across the world, now with the means to reclaim their legacy in cannabis through the Knox family’s education, empathy, and empowerment provided over the past six years.

This is the work to build the future of cannabis that we deserve after nearly 100 years of the legacy denied.

Dasheeda Dawson, Co-Founder & Chief Strategist, Cannabis Health Equity Movement (CHEM)™; Chair, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC); Founder Author, The WeedHead™ & Company

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SPONSORED

What You Need to Know About Growing Your Own Cannabis For new home growers, focusing on the basics — like creating the right environment — is critical for successfully cultivating your own cannabis.

In more and more states, it’s becoming legal to not only use marijuana both medically and recreationally, but to grow your own as well. The changing laws mean more people are growing cannabis than ever before, but what does it take to create a successful home grow?

“If you don’t create the right environment, you are destined to fail down the road,” said Jeremy Corrao, vice president of GrowGen Management Corp. for GrowGeneration, a leading supplier of products, services, and solutions for commercial and personal cannabis growers of all sizes, with more than 60 retail and distribution centers in the United States.

“Environment” refers to a lot of things when it comes to agriculture — and

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hydroponics (plants that grow without soil) in particular — including, but not limited to, light, temperature, and humidity.

For cannabis to properly bloom, it needs all these factors to stay relatively consistent throughout the cultivation process. A good way to ensure this consistency, Corrao recommends, is to invest in a grow tent.

“They create a nice barrier to have a controlled environment,” Corrao said.

“With a grow tent, you won’t have light leaks, and you can keep things like your light schedule on track without compromising your cultivation.”

Keep it simple Corrao says it’s also important for new growers to keep their grows relatively simple. Cannabis takes a long time to grow, so it’s better to try one alteration to your process at a time, rather than making wholesale changes.

“If you can create a good control, and

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only change one thing at a time, that allows you to see what differences that change made,” Corrao said. “I think the most important thing is really understanding how to look at a garden.”

One of those small changes that can benefıt new and experienced growers alike is Power SI. The backbone of the brand’s products is monosilicic acid, which increases nutrient uptake in plants, strengthening their stalks and stems, and making them more resistant to things like environmental changes, and overwatering and underwatering.

“We like to call it an insurance policy for your garden,” said Rex Gill, the founder of Power SI, which you can fınd at GrowGeneration. “Let’s say your air conditioner breaks and you don’t notice it for three hours, and your grow room gets to 105 °F. If you’re using Power SI, the chances of your plant growing through that are going to be much better.”

Gill says the Power SI’s “Original” formu-

lation is beloved by cannabis growers with grows of all sizes, and that its “Granular” product can be used in both cannabis cultivation and general agriculture.

And as hydroponic “vertical farms” are becoming increasingly popular as a sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture, products that were originally intended for cultivating cannabis (like Power SI) are now being used to bolster our food supply.

Expert advice The gradual legalization of marijuana in the United States means there’s a lot of information available for new home growers, and not all of it can be trusted.

That’s why it’s important to fınd an expert who knows what they’re doing and listen to their advice above all else.

“Cannabis is a long-growing plant — if you start getting bad information, it’s going to take a long time to learn how to cultivate well,” Corrao said.

A great place to fınd an expert like this is at your local GrowGeneration store. As a company, GrowGeneration prides itself on hiring knowledgeable professionals who stand ready to recommend the right products and assist new and veteran cannabis growers alike, regardless of the size of their grow.

“You can really trust the people who are at your local store,” Corrao said. “We supply the staff that is going to hold your hand through the process and help you grow successfully.”

Whether you’re looking to get started or improve the way you’re growing your own cannabis, or want to create your own vertical farm, GrowGeneration can help.

Dustin Brennan

Shop online for the best in hydroponics today by visiting growgeneration.com

Jim Belushi Is High on the Wellness Benefits of Cannabis He’s faced the death of a loved one, his dear brother John; divorce; and similar traumas that have threatened the grounding presence that is family.

“The No. 1 fear in life is death, and the No. 2 fear in life is the collapse of family. Family collapses from alcoholism, from death, from losing a job, from PTSD,” said Belushi, a comedian and actor who was one of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live” and played the lead role on the sitcom “According to Jim.” These days, Belushi, 67, is dedicating his time and energy toward raising awareness of the potential wellness benefıts of cannabis, which is currently legal recreationally in 18 U.S. states, two territories, and Washington D.C. Medical marijuana is legal in 36 states and four territories.

Belushi owns a 93-acre farm in Rogue Valley, Oregon, on which he grows legal cannabis. He also hosts “Growing Belushi,” a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel where he educates newbies on how cannabis is grown and what it can be used for. What’s more, Belushi is on the board of the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofıt dedicated to freeing the estimated 40,000 people currently imprisoned for cannabis use.

Branching into cannabis On Belushi’s farm, there are 200 cannabis plants — up from the 48 he started with when he began his farm in 2015. He uses high-tech greenhouses with Anden humidifıers and Fohse lights, and, like

PHOTO: TYLER MADDOX

Jim Belushi is one of the most recognizable stars in Hollywood, and yet he’s just like many of the rest of us.

many farmers, considers pests his biggest challenge in farming.

Belushi isn’t the only one getting into the business. One report suggests the cannabis industry will be worth nearly $100 billion by 2026, fueled largely by medical and therapeutic uses.

Veteran growers clued Belushi into those applications of cannabis, and that’s the main reason he got into the business, a feat that required “capital, patience, and love,” he explained.

Research suggests increased access to marijuana is linked to reduced opioid prescriptions, and Belushi is one of many advocates for using cannabis as a signifıcantly safer wellness alternative to those highly addictive painkillers. Public health offıcials in the United States have declared the opioid crisis one of the most pressing health issues: In the 12 months prior to May 2020, 81,000 people died of drug overdoses,

the majority of them involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl, government data shows.

Belushi recalled talking to a veteran who refused to take opioids and asked his doctor if he could use marijuana to manage his PTSD instead. The man cried and thanked Belushi for the cannabis, which he said was the only therapy that allows him to talk to his family and sleep again.

“I said, ‘Hey, man, I didn’t make this,’” Belushi said of the cannabis the man was using. “And he goes, ‘No, but you’re the steward.’ And that was the paradigm shift on my mission from God.” Finding wellness “[Cannabis] makes you feel good,” said Belushi, adding that it’s nonviolent. “I was once a bouncer in Chicago, and I never broke up a fıght between two potheads.”

Other potential uses of marijuana that are currently being stud-

ied include lessening symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, migraine, cancer treatment, and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. For Belushi, cannabis has helped him reduce anxiety, aid sleep, and manage PTSD. “I take 2.5 milligrams [of cannabis] to go to sleep,” Belushi said. “I don’t do any sleeping pills or whatever, and I wake up feeling great.”

Despite the drug being stigmatized in the past, marijuana as a therapeutic tool has been increasingly accepted — across generations, political party lines, and the like. The key, he explained, is buying cannabis from a legal seller that supplies dosing information.

This allows for a more controlled experience.

“Everybody knows somebody who’s suffering,” Belushi said, and cannabis is one potential source of relief.

CSC Is Coming to Long Beach Cannabis Science Conference (CSC), the world’s largest scientifıc and medical cannabis event, is coming soon.

Join us in Long Beach, California, from Feb. 2-4 for exciting analytical, medical, cultivation, hemp, and psychedelic science tracks. Learn and network at this must-attend cannabis science event!

Expand your brand on our large exhibit floor, and attend educational and inspirational presentations, keynote addresses, and panel discussions. We pull together cannabis industry experts, academics, instrument manufacturers, QC testing labs, cultivators, research scientists, medical professionals, policy makers, patients, and interested novices. Whether you are a cannabis professional or an interested novice, CSC has something for everyone.

For a truly unique experience, be sure to join our hands-on, pre-conference Canna Boot Camp — a full-day, interactive workshop that covers everything from cultivation, pre-processing, sample prep, analytical testing, extractions, and much, much more. Vendors join forces to demonstrate techniques, instruments, and technologies to share their experiences. In one day, you can get a full understanding of many aspects of the cannabis industry. This is also a great opportunity to network with industry experts.

This year’s newly added psychedelic track provides two full days of talks from industry leaders and pioneers, delivering insights and information on an emerging market that is growing rapidly.

LA Times readers can receive 25 percent off tickets by using code LATIMES at checkout.

Visit www.cannabisscienceconference.com to learn more. Exceptional sponsorships and exhibition opportunities are still available.

This article has been paid for by CSC Events.

CSC Events

Melinda Carter

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Why It’s Time to Repeal Local Bans on Licensed Cannabis Sales As the end of prohibition approaches, the cannabis industry must work together to make ours an industry to be emulated by others, and ensure U.S. cannabis policy is built upon the foundations of fairness, inclusivity, sustainability, and opportunity for businesses of all sizes.

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ive years later, the voters’ desire has yet to become a reality. In many cases, local elected offıcials are largely to blame.

More than half of the state’s cities and counties prohibit the operation of licensed cannabis businesses. In absence of above-ground legal cannabis outlets in these jurisdictions, illicit market providers are more than willing to meet consumers’ demands.

That’s because local moratoriums banning the establishment of licensed cannabis retailers do nothing to limit local residents’ access to cannabis; they only limit their access to legal cannabis.

Reality Marijuana production and sales exist in every neighborhood in California. However, in those localities that have chosen to regulate this marketplace, these transactions take place in a safe environment.

Consumers have access to lab-tested products, and revenues from these transactions are redirected back into the local community.

By contrast, in localities without a regulated marketplace, these transactions take place in the shadows — initiated by unlicensed (and sometimes underage) sellers who don’t check ID, who lack the means (or desire) to test their products for quality or purity, and who most certainly don’t pay sales taxes.

Local voters and their locally elected offıcials must choose which sort of cannabis marketplace they want operating in their neighborhoods. Acting as if no local marijuana marketplace currently

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Unlike street-corner sellers, licensed retailers do not provide marijuana to minors. According to data published this year in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, 97 percent of adult-use retailers in California checked customers’ identifıcation prior to making a transaction.

A separate study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and local law enforcement found 100 percent compliance among licensed cannabis retailers.

exists — or that banning licensed cannabis retailers will somehow keep cannabis and cannabis dealing “out of their community” — simply denies reality.

Crime rates Furthermore, concerns expressed by some politicians that establishing brick-

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and-mortar marijuana businesses will negatively impact community safety and prosperity have long been proven to be meritless. Rather than being magnets for criminal activity, studies have repeatedly found that licensed operators are associated with reductions in neighborhood crime.

This is because these operators take guardianship over the neighborhoods in which they operate. They employ security personnel and install security cameras. They displace illicit local operators.

They are associated with an increase in local property values because they create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

Underage use Finally, it must be acknowledged that youth who reside in localities with licensed retailers are no more likely to use cannabis than are young people in other jurisdictions.

According to research published this year by a team of investigators with the RAND Corporation, “Young adults who live in an area with a greater density of any type of [retail cannabis] outlet are not signifıcantly more likely to report stronger intentions to use cannabis, e-cigarettes, or cannabis mixed with tobacco/nicotine in the future.”

It’s time for local offıcials to put an end to the NIMBYism and unwarranted fears surrounding the establishment of marijuana retailers. Cannabis is here and here to stay. Municipalities need to embrace this reality and provide the necessary oversight in order to hold these businesses accountable, and to make this marketplace safe, transparent, and profıtable for the community.

Paul Armentano, Deputy Director, NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

Why More Seniors Are Using Cannabis Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and co-wrote the book “Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” He talked about the rise of senior cannabis use and what this means for health outcomes, politics, and more.

Is it true that more seniors are using cannabis?

Yes. Older adults are the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis consumers. According to data published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in 2020, self-reported cannabis use among people 65 and older increased from under 1 percent in 2006 to more than 4 percent today. Similarly, the percentage of seniors perceiving “great risks” from consuming marijuana is rapidly declining.

What is motivating seniors to turn to cannabis?

Older adults frequently defıne their cannabis consumption as medical.

In addition to perceiving cannabis as an effective therapeutic agent, many seniors also report that it possesses fewer adverse effects than their pre-

scription medicines. As a result, many older Americans acknowledge substituting cannabis products for more conventional medications. Numerous surveys of older Americans fınd that respondents report signifıcant improvements in their overall quality of life following their initiation of cannabis.

Are cannabis products effective?

Yes. Surveys consistently fınd that older adults who consume cannabis report they are more likely to frequently engage in physical activity and possess a greater quality of life than non-users. An Israeli study of more than 2,700 seniors (mean age: 75 years) prescribed medical cannabis products reported improvements in symptom management in over 93 percent of participants. The study’s investigators concluded, “The therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and effıcacious in the elderly population.”

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Why It’s Time to End CannabisRelated Incarceration The “Green Rush” has left tens of thousands still behind bars. It’s time to release our country’s cannabis prisoners, clear their records, and help them rebuild their lives.

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he United States is at a crossroads when it comes to cannabis. Legalization is fast becoming the law of the land, and there’s a lot of money being made in the sector. But while many are minting millions of dollars off of marijuana, tens of thousands languish behind bars for doing the exact same thing (if on a smaller scale).

For decades, the prejudicial penal codes and discriminatory policing prac-

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tices propping up American marijuana prohibition have destroyed millions of lives, devastated countless communities, and exacerbated the gross inequities in American society.

In fact, in 2018 — the same year multiple multi-state operators went public — U.S. law enforcement agencies made more than 630,000 cannabis arrests. For context, that represents more arrests for marijuana than for rape, murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery combined.

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Unyielding crusade I know the devastation caused by marijuana prohibition can’t be measured by statistics alone. After all, at the same time cannabis industry CEOs are gracing the pages of the New York Times and other major publications, the Last Prisoner Project — the criminal justice reform nonprofıt I run — represents people who are currently serving life sentences (without the possibility of parole) for nonviolent cannabis offenses.

The stories of our constituents are visceral reminders of the staggeringly high costs of this unjust and unyielding crusade. This is why I, alongside the Last Prisoner Project team and partners, have dedicated ourselves to securing the freedom of the tens of thousands of people still incarcerated for cannabis around the country.

Our mission is simple, even if the legal mechanisms (clemency, compassionate release, resentencing, record-clearing, etc.) we use to

accomplish it seem complicated.

Release our country’s cannabis prisoners, clear their records, and help them rebuild their lives.

To learn more about how we’re working to end the injustice that is cannabis-related incarceration, please visit www.lastprisonerproject.org..

Sarah Gersten, Executive Director and General Counsel, Last Prisoner Project

Why Patients Deserve Cannabis-Educated Healthcare Professionals Cannabis consumption has become mainstream. Now is the time for clinicians to be educated on the endocannabinoid system and the therapeutic use of cannabis.

Nearly 35 million U.S. adults consume cannabis on a regular basis, according to a 2017 survey, and the population of recreational cannabis consumers has skyrocketed since then, as more and more states have enacted adult-use cannabis legislation.

The medical cannabis market has expanded, too. By June 2021, approximately 3.6 million patients were enrolled in U.S. state medical cannabis programs, and the number of enrollees has been increasing by the thousands on a weekly basis in some states.

In addition, in September 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB311 (aka “Ryan’s Law”), “requiring that hospitals and healthcare facilities allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis instead of opiates for pain relief.”

Lagging behind Despite burgeoning cannabis use across the country, the curricula in medical, pharmacy, and nursing schools have not changed suffıciently to meet the healthcare needs of medical cannabis patients, nor recreational cannabis consumers.

According to a recent study that assessed the preparedness of physicians-in-training to recommend medical cannabis, “the vast majority of residents and fellows (89.5 percent) felt not at all prepared to [recommend] medical marijuana, while 35.3 percent felt not at all prepared to answer questions, and 84.9 percent reported receiving no education in medical school or residency on medical marijuana.”

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According to that same survey, only 9 percent of U.S. medical schools’ curricula include information on the endocannabinoid system and/or medical cannabis. Articles published in nursing and pharmacy journals end with similar conclusions: Clinicians need cannabis education so they can best serve their patients, and help them obtain the potential benefıts of cannabinoid-based products and minimize the adverse consequences.

To date, only a few of the more than 30 states where medical cannabis is legal require recommending clinicians to enroll in continuing medical education (CME/CE) courses focused on the endocannabinoid system and medical cannabis, and no cannabis-legal state

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requires all clinicians to enroll in a cannabis/endocannabinoid system course.

As a result, there is an enormous educational gap; most doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and psychologists, are not prepared to manage the healthcare of cannabis consumers, or even address their patients’ cannabis questions.

Knowledge is power As editor-in-chief of TheAnswerPage. com, a medical education resource that provides accredited CME/CE education for the healthcare community and the community-at-large, I have addressed this educational gap. I have created comprehensive courses on the endocannabinoid system and medical cannabis that address many aspects of

the therapeutic use of cannabinoids, including administration, drug interactions, and the health effects of cannabinoids in various patient populations.

One of our courses, “CBD in Clinical Care,” provides information that assists clinicians in effectively treating and counseling CBD consumers; the physiological effects of CBD, CBD’s side effects, and the conditions for which CBD has been shown by evidence-based clinical studies to be effıcacious are discussed in detail.

TheAnswerPage also has tailored cannabis courses for multiple U.S. Departments of Health and State Medical Societies. We also provide free daily “Answer of the Day” emails that address topics such as cannabis and sexual health, topicals, edibles, drug interactions, drug metabolism,

and cannabinoid-based therapeutics for various health conditions.

All of the education provided in the accredited courses and “The Answer of the Day” is based on current pre-clinical and clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Reading through the medical journals, I have noticed a recurring theme: healthcare providers and patients need to improve communication about cannabis use. Whether or not a clinician approves of cannabis consumption is irrelevant.

Patients who consume cannabis (for medicinal or recreational purposes) need and deserve well-informed guidance from their healthcare providers.

Meredith Fisher-Corn, M.D., Editor-inChief, TheAnswerPage.com

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