Practitioner Course

Cannabinoids Masterclass

Understand the therapeutic possibilities of cannabinoids and how they provide important regulatory mechanisms in our body.
Format

Online Course
9 lessons

Availability

12 Months OR Subscriber Pass

Duration

90 min/lesson
13.5 Hours total

Presenters

Donald Abrams
Daniele Piomelli
Kevin Spelman
Janet Schloss
Justin Sinclair
Peter Bongiorno

About this course

The medical use of cannabis and its constituents is ancient, but to us it is a new generation of medicine. Unfortunately, the use of this plant as a medicine has been restricted and now that we have much better access, it’s time to become familiar with its spectacular properties.

This is one of the most surprisingly useful herbs we know. Very few, if any, plants have such a wide array of effects and also such potent effects. Our endocannabinoid system is an essential part of our physiology and provides an important regulatory mechanism. Interestingly, this system is comprised of receptors that interact only with cannabinoids from cannabis.

The course delivers a deep understanding of the compounds found in cannabis, including cannabinoids, terpenes, and several other phytocompounds. You will learn how they work, what you can use them for and also how to use them appropriately. This knowledge will teach you how cannabinoids interact with the nervous, the immune system, the endocrine system, the reproductive system. 

We have a terrific team of presenters who are all highly experienced and enthusiastic about the use of cannabinoids. They will give you a clear understanding of how and when you can use medical cannabis. This is an important topic that all clinicians should have under their belt. You will discover a whole new world of therapeutic possibility.
What you receive:
  • Clear protocol explanations from some of the world's top practitioners
  • Clinical pearls for improved practice results
  • Access to your audio and video recordings via the App Store
  • A downloadable PDF of the presenter’s slides
  • Links to all referenced research papers and useful clinical handouts
  • Access to the community hub where you can get answers to your questions
  • A 30-day money back guarantee

From this course you will

  • Learn what the endocannabinoid system is
  • Discover how the endocannabinoid system functions as a regulator of many body functions
  • Know how cannabinoids and other chemicals from medical cannabis can be used in a very wide range conditions
  • Learn how to most effectively administer medical cannabis
  • Understand how to use medical cannabis safely
  • Know the difference between the components of cannabis
  • Discuss several case studies to get a clear insight into how to use it and what to expect from use

What's in this course

Your Presenters

Daniele Piomelli

Daniele studied pharmacology and neuroscience with James H. Schwartz and Eric Kandel at Columbia University (1983-1988), and with Paul Greengard at the Rockefeller University (1988-1990). In 2000, two of his mentors (Kandel and Greengard) were awarded the Nobel Prize for their contributions to physiology and medicine. After working at the INSERM in Paris (France) and at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, with Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman, Daniele joined the University of California, Irvine, where he is now Louise Turner Arnold Chair in Neurosciences and Distinguished Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry.

Daniele has authored over 400 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Medicine, PNAS and Nature Neuroscience, three full-length books, and 34 patents. He founded the department of drug discovery and development (D3) at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa (Italy), which he directed from 2007 to 2016, and three biopharmaceutical start-ups based on discoveries made in his lab.

He is director of the UCI’s Center for the Study of Cannabis and Editor-in-Chief of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the only peer-reviewed journal entirely dedicated to the study of cannabis, its derivatives, and their endogenous counterparts in the human body. 

Dr Peter Bongiorno PhD, ND

Dr Peter Bongiorno graduated from Bastyr University. He completed five years of training in naturopathic medicine and acupuncture and was honoured to be his class speaker. Before medical school, he researched as a pre-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut, and co-authored numerous medical journal articles in the field of neuroendocrinology. He completed his premedical studies and received a Bachelors degree in Biology and English Literature from Fairfield University.

Dr Bongiorno authored Healing Depression: Integrated Naturopathic and Conventional Treatments (CCNM Press, 2010), the first comprehensive textbook designed to teach physicians how to use the science and art of natural medicine to heal depression. His latest book for the public, How Come They’re Happy and I’m Not was released in November of 2012. He regularly writes articles for the Dr Oz and Sharecare websites and is an invited expert blogger at Psychology Today. Dr Bongiorno is also a major contributor to the 3rd and 4th editions of the Textbook of Natural Medicine.

Dr Bongiorno is Vice-President of the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians and is active in gaining legislation to license naturopathic doctors in New York State. He is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Physicians for Social Responsibility and is a Diplomat in Acupuncture. Dr Bongiorno is licensed as an acupuncturist in the State of New York and is considered a naturopathic doctor in the State of Washington, where naturopathic doctors are licensed to practice medicine.

Dr Bongiorno helped create the first elective natural and integrative medicine class at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and he regularly guest lectures to medical students about natural medicine and acupuncture. Dr Bongiorno is an adjunct faculty member at New York University and at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health. He has lectured at the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians conference, CAM Expo in New York City, and numerous other conferences to both physician and public audiences.

Dr Bongiorno has been regularly interviewed on national television as a natural medicine expert and local television, radio, and writes for national media (Psychology Today, MSN.com, Energy Times).

Donald I. Abrams, MD

Dr Abrams is a Professor Emeritus of 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 at San Francisco General Hospital where he also served as chief of Hematology-Oncology for 14 years.

He has long been interested in clinical trials of complementary and alternative medicine interventions for HIV/AIDS and cancer, including evaluations of medicinal cannabis. In 1997 he received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct a clinical trial on 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 cannabis. He conducted a NIDA-funded trial investigating the pharmacokinetic interaction between vaporized cannabis and opioid analgesics in patients with chronic pain. His last study was an NIH-funded trial evaluating vaporized cannabis in patients with sickle cell disease.

He co-authored the chapter on “Cannabinoids and Cancer” in the Oxford University Press Integrative Oncology text that he co-edited with Andrew Weil. He co-edits the NCI PDQ CAM Cannabinoids and Cancer website. He was a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s committee that published The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research in January 2017.

Justin Sinclair (BHSc Naturopathy)

Justin has spent decades exploring the diverse field of herbal medicine, both from a scientific and traditional perspective. In his early formative years he had the privilege of living in outback Jabiru in the Northern Territory for 12 months and started to develop an interest in herbal medicine from observing Australia's indigenous Aboriginals and their deep rooted knowledge of the land. It was something that stayed with him for a long time, and at 18, he started studying a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) at the Australian National University, but soon realised this was not the career he was after.

This started a journey that took him to the United States, with many years spent wandering mountain trails, camping in alpine meadows, trekking in deserts, speaking with Elders, quietly observing nature and finally culminating in time spent with Native American Indians which cemented his desire to learn more about the therapeutic applications of plants and traditional systems of medicine.

He journeyed back to Australia to commence his 'formal' studies in 1997 with the University of New England (BHSc Naturopathy) and then completed the Master of Herbal Medicines degree with the University of Sydney's Faculty of Pharmacy in 2004. Since those early years, Justin has been practicing at various clinics in NSW and Queensland and has been a sessional lecturer at both Endeavour College of Natural Health and the Australasian College of Natural Therapies. Over the last decade he has been an active member  of numerous college committees and advisory groups, won two educational awards for teaching excellence and was awarded practitioner of the year in the inaugural Nature and Health awards in 2015.

He has served on the Board of Directors for the Naturopaths & Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) as both an Executive Director and Examiner and served for 3 years on the Board Member Advisory Committee for the NHAA since its inception in April, 2014. In 2015, he was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of United in Compassion (UIC) which supports the use of Medicinal Cannabis in Australia and acts as a hub to support, disseminate and promote safe, equitable and compassionate access to medicinal Cannabis at every stage from cultivation through to finished product.

In January 2017, he was appointed as the Head Scientist for the Scientific Advisory Board for UIC. This aligned well with his study and research into the botany, ethnopharmacology, cultivation, phytochemistry and therapeutic applications of the Cannabis plant which has been undertaken both in Australia and overseas since 1994. Justin was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for BioCeuticals, one of Australia's leading practitioner only nutritional and therapeutic supplement companies (Resigned April 2019). In August 2020, Justin was appointed as a board member to the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association and has also been recruited to the Advisory Group for the newly formed Psychae Institute in Melbourne (July 2021).

Working in education since 2003, Justin has taught a wide variety of subjects over the years including medical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, clinical examination, integrated pharmacology, clinical pathology and biochemistry whilst also delivering modality specific subjects such as botany, Materia Medica, manufacturing, herbal therapeutics, clinical prescription and his beloved phytochemistry / pharmacognosy. The majority of this time has been as a sessional lecturer, but he has also held the position of senior lecturer within the Naturopathic department of Endeavour College between 2009 and 2010, overseeing the development and implementation of botany, herbal manufacturing and pharmacognosy subjects.

When time allows, he also enjoys academic writing and has several peer-reviewed publications in evidence-based textbooks and journals to his name. He has also peer-reviewed manuscripts for the Australian Journal of Herbal and Naturopathic Medicine, Advances in Integrative Medicine, and the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. Justin was invited to the editorial board of the Australian Journal of Herbal and Naturopathic Medicine in October, 2020.
Justin is currently a Research Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute, an international leader in integrative medicine research based at Western Sydney University where he also heads up the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Research and Education Collaboration. He is a Fellow of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia and maintains full membership with both the National Herbalists Association of Australia and the Australian Traditional Medicine Society.

Kevin Spelman

Kevin Spelman, PhD, MCPP, is an internationally recognised expert on the molecular biology and clinical therapeutics of botanical medicines. A past National Institutes of Health postdoctoral Fellow and Marie Curie research Fellow in the European Union, Dr. Spelman has published 27 scientific papers and six chapters and been involved in clinical work for two decades. Past research has included the molecular biology of cannabinoid receptors, brain and ovarian cancer, as well as clinical investigations, immunological studies and chemical analysis on various medicinal plants. International research has included the analysis of nutrient levels in teenage women in West Africa, working with children with neurological disorders in Central America, and researching medicinal plants active against malaria in Paris.

Dr. Spelman has been an academic pioneer in professional and competent clinical herbal medicine, co-founding the first master of science degree in clinical phytotherapy and a founding faculty member of the first bachelor degree in herbal medicine. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, an adjunct professor of botanical medicine at National University of Natural Medicine, and a distinguished lecturer at Maryland University of Integrative Health. Dr. Spelman has advised the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and provided expert testimony to the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate, as well as advised multiple companies on new product development, as well as the Jamaican government’s Scientific Research Council. Dr. Spelman is currently a natural products industry consultant specializing in pharmacology, new product development, laboratory and cGMP issues, and research initiatives.

Janet Schloss PhD, PG cert Clin Nut, AdDip HS, Dip Nut, Dip HM, BARM

Janet Schloss is a naturopath and nutritionist in Brisbane, Australia who has been in private practice for over 15 years. Janet completed her doctorate at the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland through the Princess Alexandra Hospital. She has also lectured in naturopathy at the Endeavour College and has recently returned there.
Janet’s main specialty is with naturopathy and people who have cancer and chronic diseases, especially those going through traditional treatment. As such, she works with a number of oncologists and surgeons as the Nutritionist for their cancer patients.

Janet has long been involved in research of cancer and nutrition, particularly for individuals going through chemotherapy and radiation. She has also worked extensively with clients after their cancer treatment to help with means of reducing the likelihood of metastasis and tumour growth.

As a naturopath, Janet assisted Henry Osiecki in the writing of the book “Cancer a biochemical and nutritional approach”- Edition 1 & 2 (2002 and 2003). She has also written the cancer chapter of “Clinical Naturopathy” by Sarris and Wardle, in addition to numerous other publications. Janet also works with such organisations as the Kim Walters Choice program and the Queensland Cancer Council to give nutritional seminars and advice.

In addition to her naturopathy and nutrition work with cancer patients, Janet has extensive experience in working with people dealing with stress and anxiety-related problems such as insomnia, tiredness and digestive disorders. She also has extensive naturopathy and nutrition experience with people who have autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses.