The third in a joint series of three virtual roundtable cannabis education events. The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, MedCann Support & the Neurology Centre of Toronto have brought together medical global experts for an exploration of medical cannabis in the UK.

A-Z of Medical Cannabis in the UK

This event is for all medical cannabis patients, families and those interested in learning about cannabis as a medical treatment to explore the medical cannabis plant, the law and the patient experience.

The roundtable discussion, moderated by Hannah Deacon, Executive Director of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, will include conversations with leading clinicians and a 45 minute Q&A session with attendees.

Medical cannabis explained

Professor Mike Barnes, Neurologist & medical cannabis expert

Exploring the medical cannabis plant, the Endocannabinoid System and what’s legal in the UK.

From Plant to Product: Extraction, Quality Control and Reproducibility

Kelly Narine, Global BioMedical Research & Medical Affairs

Exploring cannabis in detail from THC to CBD, full spectrum, isolate and synthetic – the differences, its usage and what you need to know.

Attendee Q&A

The spirt of this series is education and awareness offering a forum for all to participate in the discussion alongside the experts.

Throughout the roundtable, attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions via the Q&A text facility on Zoom. In addition, there will be 45 minutes available for questions following the discussions.

Attendees may wish to ask questions about dosing, drug interactions, tolerance, quality and safeguarding.

To ask a question in advance, please email the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society.

Meet your speakers

Professor Mike Barnes

Medical cannabis expert and neurologist Professor Mike Barnes has dedicated the latter part of his career to medical cannabis excellence, education and clinical leadership. Chair of The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, Prof. Barnes co-authored the All-Party Parliamentary Group report on the evidence for medical cannabis as part of its Drug Policy Reform. As the first adopter of medical cannabis as a treatment option in the UK, Prof. Barnes shares his expertise and passion for the medical cannabis industry with international Governments, global cannabis organisations and specialist clinicians.

Kelly Narine

Kelly received her PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Alberta, where she studied molecular and cellular changes in pathways of carcinogenesis. Subsequently, she worked in the life sciences industry in Edmonton, Canada in the areas of clinical affairs and quality assurance, ultimately as Director of Clinical Affairs at Afexa Life Sciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. In 2012, she returned to academia and managed two province-wide interdisciplinary research and education programs at the University of Alberta, the first in Cardiology and a subsequent program in Oncology. After this, she became the Director of Operations for two Translational Science Institutes at the University of Alberta: the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute and the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta. In January of 2018, Kelly joined Aurora Cannabis Inc. as Vice president of Global Research and Medical Affairs. There she led the medical affairs portfolio and the biomedical research innovation and research partnerships portfolios, which encompassed basic research and clinical programs, real world evidence studies, and product safety. A large focus of her work at Aurora was dissemination of scientific information and medical education to both internal and external audiences.

As of October 2020, Kelly is the Director of Medical Affairs with Cardiol Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for inflammatory heart disease.

Hannah Deacon, Moderator

Hannah Deacon’s successful campaign with End Our Pain led to son Alfie’s doctors receiving the first schedule one license to prescribe whole plant cannabis on the NHS. Hannah then became the first person to legally enter the UK with medical cannabis containing THC. Alfie received the first NHS prescription for medical cannabis through a shared care agreement, agreed by the Home Office.

With an international reputation for achieving change in the sector, Hannah’s dedication to campaigning and advocating for the rights of patients succeeded when the law changed on 1 November 2018.

A dedicated patient advocate, Hannah fights to overcome barriers to medical cannabis in the UK, supporting better education to ensure patients right across the country get the access they need and the help they deserve.

The virtual roundtable series

The Virtual Roundtable Series is an interactive and engaging opportunity for medical cannabis prescribers, patients, family members and interested parties to learn from the experts and apply global medical cannabis experiences to the UK. The series is taking place in January and February 2021 with dedicated sessions for clinicians and health care professionals and patients and their families.

Upcoming events

• Wednesday 3 February – Real world evidence for medical cannabis – too strong to ignore? (Doctors and healthcare professionals only)
• Wednesday 10 February – Access and ethics – Medical cannabis perspectives (All audiences)
• Wednesday 17 February – A-Z of Medical Cannabis in the UK (Patients & families)

The Virtual Roundtable Series is kindly supported by the Jamaican Medical Cannabis Corporation (JMCC).