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Faculty for the Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics Tucson, Arizona - April 26 - 28, 2012  Donald I. Abrams, M.D. is chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. He has an Integrative Oncology consultation practice at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. He received an A.B. in Molecular Biology from Brown University in 1972 and graduated from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1977. After completing an Internal Medicine residency at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Francisco, he became a fellow in Hematology/Oncology at the Cancer Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco in 1980. He was one the original clinician/investigators to recognize and define many early AIDS-related conditions. He has long been interested in clinical trials of complementary and alternative medicine interventions for HIV/AIDS and cancer, including evaluations of medicinal marijuana, as first inspired by Rick Doblin in 1992. In 1997 he received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct clinical trials of the short-term safety of cannabinoids in HIV infection. Subsequently he was granted funds by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research to continue studies of the effectiveness of He was one the original clinician/investigators to recognize and define many early AIDS-related conditions. He has long been interested in clinical trials of complementary and alternative medicine interventions for HIV/AIDS and cancer, including evaluations of medicinal marijuana, as first inspired by Rick Doblin in 1992. In 1997 he received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct clinical trials of the short-term safety of cannabinoids in HIV infection. Subsequently he was granted funds by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research to continue studies of the effectiveness of cannabis in a number of clinical conditions. He completed a placebo-controlled study of smoked cannabis in patients with painful HIV-related peripheral neuropathy as well as a study evaluating vaporization as a smokeless delivery system for medicinal. His last NIDA-funded trial investigated the possible pharmacokinetic interaction between vaporized cannabis and opioid analgesics in patients with chronic pain. He co-authored the chapter on “Cannabinoids and Cancer” in the Oxford University Press Integrative Oncology text that he co-edited with Andrew Weil.  Al Byrne is co-founder, COO and Secretary-Treasurer of Patients Out of Time, a national non-profit (501c3, educational charity) and Virginia corporation devoted to educating health care professionals and the general public about the therapeutic uses of marijuana. He works with the four remaining federally supplied Cannabis patients, who are enrolled in the Compassionate Individual New Drug (IND) Program. As the son of a cancer patient who used Cannabis in 1966 to relieve the negative aspects of cancer chemotherapy, he has maintained activism in reforming cannabis laws since that time. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) from 1989 to 1994 acting as Managing Director of the organization during 1991 and 1992 and as the National Secretary 1992 to 1994.Mr. Byrne is a United States representative of patient advocacy for the European based International Academy of Cannabis Medicine (IACM). He sits on various Boards of Cannabis orientated organizations. He has moderated a large number of debates and conferences about cannabis reforms including the on-going clinical conference series of Patients Out of Time. Mr. Byrne has co-produced the award winning video “Marijuana as Medicine” and consulted on other documentary projects to Warner Bros., “Bullshit”, Len Richmond Films, Jed Riffe Films and more. He has written articles, essays and opinion pieces for varied journals and publications including Kush Magazine, High Times, Talk of the Town, Medical Cannabis Journal and Teaching Yourself. He is continually quoted in cannabis articles and has been interviewed by dozens of radio and television stations. He is a consultant to several state representatives actively engaged in writing legislation to reform Cannabis prohibition. Byrne has been certified by the DEA as a medicinal cannabis expert. Mr. Byrne is a retired Naval officer of 24 years service (Lcdr) with a logistics specialty concentrated in the special warfare/Seabee area. For 5 years he worked as an outreach counselor in Appalachia to Vietnam veterans for the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program and is a unique source for information concerning cannabis use for PTS affected Veterans. Cdr. Byrne has co-founded Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, a 501c3 designated as a Veteran service organization. VMCA is responsible for the Veterans Health Administration issuing a Directive in July 2010 that allowed Vets in “legal” states to use cannabis medically in VA treatment protocols. Please see: www.Veteransformedicalcannabis.org.
 Dr. Vincenzo Di Marzo is a Research Director at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB-CNR) in Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy, coordinator of the Endocannabinoid Research Group in the Naples region, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Dr. Di Marzo was awarded a ChemD from the University of Naples in 1983, and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular pharmacology from Imperial College in London in 1988. He also completed postdoctoral studies in lipid biochemistry and natural product chemistry at ICB-CNR in 1990. Dr. Di Marzo is co-author of more than 450 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, including several reviews on endocannabinoids. He has been also Editor or co-Editor of three books on endocannabinoids. He is Editor-in-Chief of Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery. In addition, he is, or has been, on the editorial board of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids; Critical Reviews in Neurobiology; Recent Patents in CNS Drug Discovery and the British Journal of Pharmacology, CNS & Neurological Disorders-Drug Targets, The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal, The Open Drug Discovery Journal. He is Editor-in-Chief of Recent Patents in CNS Drug Discovery. In 2010 he was the 1th most cited author in the field of “Pharmacology and Toxicology” (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=414533). Dr. Di Marzo has been the recipient of numerous research grants, including a Human Frontier Science Program research grant to study the biosynthesis, metabolism, and structure-activity relationships of anadamide; an INTAS research grant to study the immunomodulatory role of endocannabinoids; and a 3-year research grant from the VolkswagenStiftung in Germany. He has served as President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) between 2004 and 2005. Since December 2005 he is member of the board of the International Chair of Cardiometabolic Risk of Laval. In June 2006 he was awarded a Merkator Fellowship for Foreign Scientists by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinshaft. In June 2007, he was awarded by the ICRS the Mechoulam Award for “his outstanding contributions to cannabinoid research”.
 Melanie Creagan Dreher, PhD, RN, FAAN, is John L. and Helen Kellogg Dean and Professor of the College of Nursing of Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Long Island University School of Nursing and holds a doctorat3e in anthropology from Teachers College and Columbia University where she completed her dissertation with distinction.In addition to her role as Dean, Dr. Dreher has had a distinguished research career as the principal investigator of several community-based studies examining the health and development of women and children in Jamaica. Her research interests also include cross-cultural studies of the health care systems, the organization and financing of community health care and the effects of substance use on the health, development and task performance in adults and children. Dr. Dreher’s clinical interests lie primarily in public health nursing and the influence of culture in patient-provider communication. Her post-doctoral career began at Columbia University where she held faculty appointments in both the School of Public Health and the School of Nursing. In 1984, she became Dean and William Ryan Distinguished Professor of Transcultural Nursing at the University Of Miami School Of Nursing. In 1988, she was elected to the American Academy of Nursing. From 1988 to 1997 she was Dean and Professor at the University Of Massachusetts School Of Nursing at Amherst and from 1997 to 2006 she was Kelting Dean and Professor at the University of Iowa College of Nursing and Associate Director University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Dreher served as President of Sigma Theta Tau International, the International Nursing Honor Society, and was past president of the Council on Nursing
Christopher Glenn Fichtner, M.D. is
 a psychiatrist who divides his time between Illinois and California. He has clinical and administrative public mental health experience in federal (U.S. Veterans Affairs), state and county systems, and served as state mental health director for Illinois from 2003 to 2005. Dr. Fichtner has served on the faculty of several medical schools, including the University of Chicago, and currently holds a volunteer appointment as Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield. He is board-certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Fellow of the American College of Physician Executives and a Past President of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators. Dr. Fichtner is a graduate of the University of California at Riverside (B.S.), Columbia University in the City of New York (M.A.), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (M.D., 1987). He completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Fichtner is a member of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access and Vice President for Public Policy of the newly founded American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine. He has testified on medicinal cannabis and drug policy to the Illinois and Wisconsin state legislatures, the American Medical Association, and members of the United States Congress. His publications in the professional and scientific literature include articles on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health administration, pharmacoeconomics, and real-world clinical practice. He is the author of Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point (Well Mind Books, 2010).  Greg Gerdeman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where he teaches courses in Cell Biology, Human Physiology, Receptor Pharmacology and Neuroscience. As a neurophysiologist with expertise in the endocannabinoid system and mechanisms of drug reward and addiction, he has received research support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Science Foundation, and his articles have appeared in journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Trends in Neuroscience and Neuropsychopharmacology. His ongoing research at Eckerd College includes studies of the evolution and comparative physiology of cannabinoid receptors and neuropeptides. Andrea G. Hohmann, PhD is a Linda and Jack Gill Chair of Neuroscience and a Lilly Presidential Life Sciences Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University. Dr. Hohmann joined the faculty at Indiana University in 2010 after serving as Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Georgia. Dr. Hohmann completed her graduate work in the laboratory of J. Michael Walker (Brown University) and her postdoctoral work in neuroanatomy in the laboratory of Miles Herkenham (NIMH). Dr. Hohmann’s research has focused primarily on harnessing the therapeutic potential of the cannabinoid signaling system to suppress pathological pain. The discovery of cannabinoid receptors and identification of brain constituents that act at these receptors established the existence of an endogenous cannabis-like (endocannabinoid) transmitter system. The endocannabinoid system consists of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), endogenous ligands for these receptors and the enzymes catalyzing endocannabinoid synthesis and degradation. Dr. Hohmann’s research has demonstrated that the antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids are indicative of a novel, nonopiate system that modulates pain. Dr. Hohmann’s work provided the first demonstration that cannabinoids suppress activity in nociceptive neurons and subsequently identified an enzyme, monoacylglycerol lipase, implicated in endocannabinoid deactivation as a previously unrecognized therapeutic target for treating pain and stress-related disorders. Dr. Hohmann’s research program combines behavioral, drug self-administration, neurophysiological, neuroanatomical and molecular approaches to study cannabinoid mechanisms of pain suppression. Her laboratory demonstrated that activation of cannabinoid CB2 receptors suppresses the processing of pathological pain, including pain produced by toxic challenges with chemotherapeutic agents. Dr. Hohmann’s research strives to maximize the therapeutic potential of endocannabinoid signaling systems while minimizing unwanted central nervous system side-effects (e.g. psychoactivity and addiction). Such strategies (i.e. inhibitors of endocannabinoid deactivation, cannabinoid CB2 agonists, peripheral cananabinoid analgesics) may show a more beneficial and circumscribed spectrum of biological effects compared to direct activation of central cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Dr. Hohmann received the Young Investigator Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society (2007) and the Ester Fride IACM Award for Major Contributions to Cannabinoid Basic Research (2011). Her research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
 Julie Holland, MD is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.She is the editor of two non-profit books which help to fund clinical research: Ecstasy: The Complete Guide, and The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. She is the author of Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych ER. Dr. Holland is the medical monitor for two clinical research studies on treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, one using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and the other using cannabis.  Catherine Jordan was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in 1986 by leading ALS doctors, told she would die within five years. She began using medicinal cannabis in 1989, which she credits with halting the progress od the disease and she is now recognized by the ALS Association as one of the longest living ALS patients. In 1996 a threat from an ALS researcher launched Cathy into medical cannabis activism, participating in Journey's for Justice in Florida and Texas, numerous television interviews and political actions. In 2010 Cathy signed on as one of the two patient plantiffs in the appeal of the DEA's decision not to reschedule cannabis. She is now President of the Florida Cannabis Action Network (www.flcan.org), working to make medicinal cannabis legal in Florida as well as empowering patients to advocate for themselves . Cathy has a website - www.ALSandCannabis.com and a You Tube video series - www.youtube.com/SurvivingALS
 Bryan Krumm MSN, CNP, RN, BC is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Sage Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He provides comprehensive evidence based psychiatric care, treating a variety of disorders. He is also the Director of New Mexicans for Compassionate Use and Bishop of Medicine for the Zen Zion Coptic Orthodox Church. He helped author New Mexico’s medical cannabis law and he is one of leading referral sources to New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program. He maintains hundreds of patients in the program, the majority of which have been referred for PTSD.
 Martin A. Lee is the Director of Project CBD and a medical cannabis patient. He is the author of several books, including Acid Dreams and a forthcoming social history of cannabis, Smoke Signals, which will be published in the summer of 2012. Martin lives in Healdsburg, CA.
 Mary Lynn (ML) Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN is the President and Co-founder of Patients Out of Time, a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating health care professionals and the public about the therapeutic use of cannabis. She is editor of Cannabis in Medical Practice: A Legal, Historical Pharmacological Overview of the Therapeutic Use of Cannabis (1997) and co-editor of Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science and Sociology (2002).She received her BSN from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, MN in 1975 and began her nursing career in the US Navy Nurse Corps until 1979. Her specialty was medical surgical nursing until she returned to school and earned her master's degree at Case Western Reserve University in 1985. She began teaching at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, but changed her focus to addictions nursing in 1987 and returned to clinical practice first on the Addictions Treatment Unit at UVA, then as the Addictions Consult Nurse for the UVA Health System and from 2004 - 2007 she was Executive Director of an opioid treatment program in Charlottesville. Currently she is an independent addictions consultant. Ms. Mathre's focus on medicinal cannabis began in 1985 with the completion of her graduate thesis on Disclosure of Marijuana Use to Health Care Professionals. Since then she has authored cannabis resolutions for several organizations including the Virginia Nurses Association, the National Nurses Society on Addictions (now the International Nurses Society on Addictions), and the American Public Health Association; written numerous articles and chapters on medicinal cannabis; and served as an expert witness. Ms. Mathre is a founding member of the newly created American Cannabis Nurses Association.
 Amanda Reiman, MSW PhD is the Director of Research For Berkeley Patients Group, a community-based medical cannabis dispensary, an Affiliate Scientist at the Alcohol Research Group, and a lecturer in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley. Dr. Reiman has published numerous articles on medical cannabis dispensaries, patients and the use of cannabis as a substitute for alcohol. Dr. Reiman is on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board for Americans for Safe Access, and served as the Chairwoman of the first Medical Cannabis Commission for the City of Berkeley.
 Cristina Sánchez (Madrid, Spain, 1971) graduated in Biology at Madrid Complutense University in 1994. Once graduated, she joined Dr. Manuel Guzmán’s laboratory, where she studied the effect of cannabinoids on lipid and carbohydrate intermediate metabolism first and on cancer cell proliferation later. She obtained her PhD with Honors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University in 2000. During her postdoc at Dr. Piomelli’s laboratory (University of California Irvine, 2000-2003) she studied the involvement of another group of bioactive lipids (lysophosphatidic acid and related compounds) on pain initiation. In 2004, Cristina returned to Spain and she started coordinating a new line of research within Dr. Guzmán’s laboratory. The goal of her research is to understand and exploit cannabinoids as potential antitumoral agents in breast cancer. More recently, she has also focused her attention on new cannabinoid receptors and their possible involvement in cannabinoid antitumoral action in breast cancer and other type of tumors. Dr. Suzanne Sisley, MD joined forces with her mother, Hanna Sisley, MD, a family practice physician to develop a thriving private practice in the inner city of Phoenix. They are reportedly the only mother-daughter MD-physician team in Arizona. Dr. Sisley transitioned to her full-time TELEMEDICINE practice starting in 2009, where she employs a full array of telecommunications technology to continue delivering high-quality medical care to populations across rural/underserved areas of Arizona. Sue is an Institutional Member of the American Telemedicine Association and serves on the ATA’s Legislative and Policy Committee. She frequently presents at ATA International Meetings focusing on research Using Telemedicine to provide Addiction Treatment in Rural AZ. Sue also serves as Clinical Faculty at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center at the MercyCare Adult Medicine Clinic for indigent patients. Dr. Sisley completed her medical degree at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and proceeded to complete her five-year Residency Training at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in the fields of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. Sue founded and serves as CEO of a non-profit corporation entitled Ensuring Tomorrow Productions. This organization delivers health education through music, theater and dance. Sue has been a proud member of the Stage Actors Union since 2001, Actors’ Equity performing in professional theatre around the Valley. Dr. Sisley has received many recent honors including the President's Point of Light Award and the Leo B. Hart Humanitarian Award for "outstanding contributions made for social reform" by the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She was also honored with the Dr. Clarence Salsbury Medal from the Maricopa County Medical Society for "her overwhelming commitment to health education, abiding interest in using the arts to promote healthy lifestyles among youths and her resolve to providing indigent health care services in our inner-cities" Dr. Sisley was extremely humbled and grateful to be given Arizona Medical Association's highest honor, the President's Distinguished Service Award and to receive Arizona's most prestigious recognition for volunteerism, the Hon Kachina Award.
 Gary Storck is a longtime Wisconsin medical cannabis patient, activist, speaker and writer. Gary was born with Noonan syndrome, and developed glaucoma at a young age. In 1972, he stumbled upon cannabis as a treatment for his glaucoma. He has been active in medical cannabis efforts in Wisconsin dating back to the 1970s. Since the late 1990s he has been directly involved in efforts to pass medical cannabis legislation in Wisconsin and has spoken at hearings, press conferences and various other forums. Gary is also the co-founder of IMMLY.org along with fellow Wisconsin activist Jacki Rickert. His opinion pieces have been published in numerous media outlets both in Wisconsin and nationally. He also has published a blog since 2005 and has published many articles on his Madison NORML Examiner site for Examiner.com. In 2010, Gary was a key organizer of the Dane County Medical Marijuana Advisory Referendum which gained over 159,000 yes votes and 75.49% of the total vote.
 Dr. Mark A. Ware MBBS MRCP(UK) is a family physician and Associate Professor in Family Medicine and Anesthesia at McGill University. He is the Director of Clinical Research of the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit at the McGill University Health Centre, co-Director of the Quebec Pain Research Network, and Executive Director of the non-profit Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids. He practices pain medicine at the Montreal General Hospital.In the past 10 years Dr Ware has given numerous lectures across Canada on pain to health care practitioners and the public. He teaches pain medicine and integrative medicine to medical students at McGill and was recently appointed as a McGill Teaching Scholar to coordinate pain education in the medical school curriculum. Dr Ware’s primary research interests are in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of medicines derived from cannabis (cannabinoids), population-based studies of the impact of pain on the population, and complementary therapies in pain and symptom management. His research is funded by the FRSQ, CIHR, and Alan and Louise Edwards Foundation as well as grants from pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Valeant.
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Melanie Kelly, PhD is a Professor in Pharmacology and Ophthalmology at Dalhousie University. Dr. Kelly leads a collaborative multidisciplinary vision research team, housed in the laboratory for Retina and Optic Nerve Research, within the Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University. Melanie Kelly’s primary research expertise is pharmacology and therapeutics. Professor Kelly’s laboratory has experience working with experimental models of central nervous system and ocular disease. Her work has examined pathways important in survival of retinal ganglion cells in experimental models of glaucoma and has made use of gene mutations, to explore signalling pathways involved in retinal progenitor cell growth and development. Professor Kelly’s current research addresses the pharmacology of the endocannabinoids and lipid signaling in the mammalian eye and central nervous system (CNS), with a specific focus on the regulation of intraocular pressure, interactions between glial cells and microvasculature in the regulation of blood flow and signalling pathways important for retinal neuron survival following ischemia and injury. She has several ongoing studies examining the use of endocannabinoid metabolic enzyme inhibitors in chronic models of retinal and CNS degeneration, as well as studies examining the use of cannabinoid receptor ligands in the treatment of ocular uveitis and uveoretinitis. Dr. Kelly is a founding member of CARENA (Cannabinoid Research Network Atlantic).
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