OTTAWA, July 6, 2017 /CNW/ - The Canadian AIDS
Society announced today a first of its kind research program funded
by Canopy Growth Corporation. The program is designed to provide
up-to-date information on the current state of evidence and
research pertaining to the use of cannabis for medical purposes and
to build tools for healthcare professionals to allow them to
confidently assess and prescribe cannabis to appropriate
patients.
Funded over two years at $100,000
per year by Canopy Growth Corporation — and guided by a newly
created Cannabis Research Task Force of experts in the field of
cannabinoid medicine — the project aims to develop guidelines and
recommendations regarding the medical use of cannabis for optimal
wellness, quality of life and pain management.
"Our goal is to leverage our existing knowledge and expertise in
both HIV and the use of cannabis for medical purposes to create a
better quality of life for many Canadians facing debilitating
health conditions — particularly in the area of chronic pain
management," said Gary Lacasse,
Executive Director of the Canadian AIDS Society. "This project
builds on a body of existing knowledge and research developed by
CAS over several years."
The Task Force will be addressing issues surrounding the current
lack of information — for Canadian health care practitioners and
ultimately for patients — regarding guidance on the use of cannabis
for medical or therapeutic purposes. It is estimated that 10% of
Canadian physicians have written an authorization for medical
cannabis.
"We are confident that this partnership with the Canadian AIDS
Society and the broad medical and social expertise of the Task
Force will result in practical guidelines for the use of cannabis
that can be applied to many medical conditions," said Mark Zekulin, President, Canopy Growth
Corporation. "We have dedicated a great deal of effort toward
physician education over the last three years and I feel confident
that this work will create another valuable tool that Canadian
healthcare professionals and Canadians alike can use when
considering cannabis as a therapy.."
The Cannabis Research Task Force is expected to review the
current state of research for the use of medical cannabis and
develop a scope of work for evidence-based Canadian guidelines in
such areas as treatment, contraindications, dosing, chronic pain,
risk management and regulatory issues, among others.
Fact Sheet
Cannabis Research Program
Funded by Canopy Growth Corporation
In Canada, approximately 75,500
are living with HIV and about 250,000 are living with hepatitis C
(HCV).
Cannabis has been proven to be effective to relieve symptoms —
including chronic pain management — related to many medical
conditions.
The Cannabis Research Task Force brought together by the
Canadian AIDS Society is expected to review the current state of
research for the use of medical cannabis and develop a scope of
work for evidence-based Canadian guidelines in such areas as
treatment, contraindications, dosing, chronic pain, risk management
and regulatory issues, among others.
As of July 6, 2017, the members of
the Cannabis Research Task Force include:
Name
|
Organization/Population
|
Shari
Margolese
|
Community Research
Consultant
|
Danial
Schecter
|
MD and medical
director,
Canadian Cannabinoid
Medical Clinic
|
Janet Yale
|
CEO, The Arthritis
Society
|
Enrico
Mandarino
|
Community Research
Consultant and healthcare professional
|
Alan Bell
|
Family physician and
clinical researcher
|
Caroline
MacCallum
|
Internist / Clinical
Instructor and Medical Director of
Greenleaf Medical
Clinic
|
Paul
Daeninck
|
Medical
oncologist
|
Jonathan
Zaid
|
Executive
Director,
Canadians for Fair
Access to Medical Marijuana
|
Lynne
Belle-Isle
|
National Program
Manager, CAS
|
Liz
Christie
|
National Program
Manager, CAS
|
Gary
Lacasse
|
Executive Director,
CAS
|
Hilary
Black
|
Canopy Growth
Corporation **Ex officio**
|
About the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS)
The Canadian
AIDS Society (CAS) is a national coalition of community-based AIDS
organizations across Canada. CAS
is dedicated to strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS across all
sectors of society, and to enriching the lives of people and
communities living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS. For more
information, please visit www.cdnaids.ca.
About Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC)
Canopy Growth is
a world-leading diversified cannabis company, offering distinct
brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and capsule
forms. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Canopy Growth
operates numerous state-of-the-art production facilities with over
half a million square feet of GMP-certified indoor and greenhouse
production capacity, all to an unparalleled level of quality
assurance procedures and testing. Canopy Growth has established
partnerships with leading sector names in Canada and abroad, with interests and
operations spanning four continents. The Company is proudly
dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, providing
consistent access to high-quality cannabis products, conducting
robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding
of cannabis. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com.
NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but
not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use
of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases
or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Canopy Growth Corporation, Tweed
Inc., Tweed Farms Inc., Mettrum Health Corp., or Bedrocan Canada
Inc. to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Examples of such statements include
future operational and production capacity, the impact of enhanced
infrastructure and production capabilities, and forecasted
available product selection. The forward-looking statements
included in this news release are made as of the date of this news
release and Canopy Growth Corp. does not undertake an obligation to
publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new
information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by
applicable securities legislation.
Neither the TSX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation