Biographical note

This lecture will talk about a recent discovery by our laboratory that lends credence to earlier findings by molecular geneticists that the genetics of cannabis only goes three different ways. We call this the “three-way-split”. Associated with the different profiles (ratios of THC to CBD) are the different effects and medicinal properties of the specific profiles.

Cannabidiol (CBD) holds a greater medical future than Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) although they work synergistically in being effective against many illnesses; CBD has a profound efficacy with only small amounts of THC needed.

The greatest difference between THC and CBD is that THC is psychoactive and can lead to a potentially unpleasant (non-fatal) overdose, whereas this effect does not occur with CBD. Cannabidiol has been shown clinically to be a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory and also brings about pain relief with a marked reduction in anxiety.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is normally recommended as a daytime medicine for mental clarity, focus and anxiolytic properties as well as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-convulsent (epilepsy) effects

The workshop will focus on the process and importance of standardization and decarboxylation of cannabis for medical purposes.

Seeds of the cannabis plant have been carried with humans for thousands of years, planted and cultivated in virtually every corner of the planet and utilized for its many qualities, by peoples everywhere. It is only in the past 100-odd years that cannabis has come under prohibition as a result of competition with various industrialists near the turn of the last century, (Nylon, Petroleum, Pulp and Paper, to name a few). But it’s hard to keep a good plant down…  

Even under prohibition a few committed researchers continued to investigate the properties and attributes of cannabis, that eventuallylead to a number of extremely important and groundbreaking discoveries. In the seminar we will discuss the discovery of THC, the finding of the receptor that is activated by THC, the elucidation of, what is now called the endocannabinoid system and the resultant innovation of “the entourage effect”, a concept that could potentially revolutionize modern medicine.

The pharmaceutical industry, that now controls most of the medicines we use and indeed have access to, has always had the mandate of synthesizing ‘single’ molecule medicine that it can patent and own (no one can patent and own a plant or natural compound). These synthetic medicines are well known to cause serious side effects, that are often fatal, killing more than 100,000 people per year in the United States, alone.This does not occur with natural, plant medicines.

There has never been a reported death due to cannabis, alone. In fact many consider the plant as an anti-toxin. Interestingly, new research is demonstrating, time and time again, that single active molecules from cannabis that are synthesized have a completely different effect than plant extracts, or the whole plant medicine. And this is where the revolution begins. The entourage effect (active plant molecules or compounds together in a natural mixture), make the safest and most efficacious cannabis medicine. This concept has the power to revolutionize modern medicine, as we know it.  

In the seminar we will discuss the efficacy of cannabis extracts compared to synthetic cannabinoids and drugs and, more importantly their safety. We will also review recent scientific literature demonstrating the difference in effectiveness of natural vs. synthetics and how the entourage effect has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine.

The power of the cannabis!

A. Paul Hornby Ph.D.

December 2016.

Legal cannabis is now a reality in Canada as it soon will be for many other countries around the world. But what does this mean for the medical user, through the transition to legality and beyond?

There was a time in Canada that people would go to jail for possession of cannabis, but it was only through precedent setting court cases, persons with AIDS or epilepsy, for example, standing up for their rights, that cannabis is now legal. And, of course, this was backed by the mushrooming scientific evidence that had been accumulating since the discovery of the receptor that binds thc and the subsequent endocannabinoid system.

This major medical find (as big as DNA and insulin), has received much attention in the past two decades and there is still much more to learn. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada we have an opportunity to study its effects, with groups of people that did not present with prohibition.

We are currently beginning project with the Mohawk Nation in Ontario, Canada. The organization is called the National Indigenous Medical Cannabis Association, that has been distributing cannabis to a membership for a number of years.

Nimca, has full laboratory capabilities (HPLC, GC/MS) to quality control and standardize its cannabis. The purpose is to use the Nimca dispensary (Legacy 420) as a hub for a harm reduction study using cannabis to curb the number of opiate related deaths, that is currently epidemic in Canada, particularly among the indigenous.

In this presentation we will outline our reasons for using cannabis as a harm reduction agent, its relationship to opiate use, pain and opiate withdrawal. And how we are putting cannabis medicine to work in the legal environment.