IACM-Bulletin of March 11, 2020

IACM — 20th Anniversary

20 years ago, a small circle of people founded the IACM as the Association for Cannabis as Medicine, later renamed the Association for Cannabinoid Medicines.

The 1st International IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine, which was held in Berlin in 2001 together with the Charité Hospital and the Berlin Medical Association, was attended by 80 participants (scientists and doctors).

Today the IACM counts the most important researchers and physicians involved in the medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids among its members. While the first conferences at universities or in smaller hotels were attended by no more than 150 participants and had a family character, the number of participants has increased dramatically in recent years, most recently to about 450. For the first time, the duration of the congress was extended from 2 to 3 days.

IACM — Conferences

The IACM Board wants to make the IACM Conferences the most important conference on cannabis and cannabinoids in medicine. An important means is to switch to annual conferences and work with a professional conference organiser, Congrex.

The IACM will hold its 11th Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine in Mexico City from 7 to 9 November 2020. Our congress partner is the Asociacion Mexicana de Medicina Cannabinoide (Mexican Association for Cannabinoid Drugs). This association has already held an excellently organized and well attended congress in Mexico in 2019. It will be the first congress of the IACM outside Europe

The 12th IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine will be held in Basel, Switzerland, from 14 to 16 October 2021. Our cooperation partner is the Swiss Working Group on Cannabinoids in Medicine (SACM). The SACM has been successfully organizing scientific congresses in Switzerland for several years.

IACM — Webinars

In addition, webinars are to begin this year. The speakers will include Ethan Russo, Donald Abrams, Manuel Guzman, Kirsten Müller-Vahl, Franjo Grotenhermen, Raphael Mechoulam and Daniele Piomelli. They will allow you to hear from leading experts on important topics from the comfort of your own home.

IACM — Bulletin

For 20 years, the free IACM newsletter, the IACM-Bulletin, has been published biweekly, currently in 6 languages. During this time, a comprehensive database of all relevant scientific findings, clinical studies and political developments in various countries has been created. The website also provides further information on the topic of cannabis and cannabinoids in medicine.

http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/iacm.php

IACM — Journals

There have been attempts to establish a journal of the IACM. In 2016 Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (CCR), an open access journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and edited by Daniele Piomelli, partnered with the IACM. In 2018, the IACM entered into a partnership with another journal, Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, published by Karger Publishers Basel. The editor-in-chief is Rudolf Brenneisen.

In 2019, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research became the official journal of the IACM.

https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/cannabis-and-cannabinoid-research/633/overview

IACM — Board of Directors

Kirsten Müller-Vahl, Germany, 1st Chairwoman

Manuel Guzman, Spain, 2nd Chairman

Franjo Grotenhermen, Germany

Roger Pertwee, UK

Ilya Reznik, Israel

Raquel Peyraube, Uruguay

Bonni Goldstein, USA

Debra Kimless, USA

Francisco Guimaraes, Brazil

Daniele Piomelli, USA

Former Chairpersons of the IACM

Franjo Grotenhermen (2000-2003)

Raphael Mechoulam (2003-2005)

Roger Pertwee (2005-2007)

Kirsten Müller-Vahl (2007-2009)

Ethan Russo (2009-2011)

William Notcutt (2011-2013)

Daniela Parolaro (2013-2015)

Mark Ware (2015-2017)

Manuel Guzman (2017-2019)

World — Congratulations

Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Research Professor and Professor of Pharmaceutical and Drug Delivery, National Centre of Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, School of Mississippi, USA

(…) In the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM), I want to take the opportunity to congratulate you and all members of the IACM for 20 years of inspiring and world-class work aimed at advancing the field of cannabis and cannabinoids research. I joined the IACM in 2003 to explore this new organisation in the field that I chose to explore in my career. What a wise and rewarding choice it was. I have attended just about every meeting of the Association and in 2015, I had the honor of being presented the Special Award for Major Contributions to the Re-introduction of Cannabis as a medicine by Dr Grotenhermen himself. What a honour. I now always look forward to the next meeting and the opportunity to learn and to meet so many leaders in the field of cannabinoids research that I so much respect and admire. (…)

Roger Pertwee, Emeritus Professor, School of Medical Sciences Institute of Medical Sciences University of Aberdeen Foresterhill, Scotland, UK

I was delighted and felt enormously honoured to receive the Special Award of the International Association of Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM) at its 2013 meeting “for major contributions to the re-introduction of cannabis as a medicine”. (…) In addition, its meetings, its website and the IACM bulletin that is produced two or three times a month, provide a very effective and much needed means of educating physicians, patients and carers of patients about the actual and potential therapeutic uses of cannabis and cannabinoids. I know all this not least because I have attended every meeting of the IACM, including its first meeting in 2001, have served as the 2005 to 2007 IACM Chairman, and have been a member of the IACM board of directors for several years. Very importantly, the success of the IACM is and always has been due largely to its founder and executive director, Dr Franjo Grotenherman, who is a world-renowned clinical expert on cannabis and cannabinoid-based medicines, and who devotes an enormous amount of time and effective effort to the running of the IACM, including the organization of its meetings and the production of its bulletins. In conclusion, I wish the IACM a very happy 20th Birthday and as well as all the very best for its upcoming years.

Donald Abrams, Professor, Department of Medicine, Integrative Oncologist, UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, San Francisco, USA

Happy 20th IACM. Thanks for two decades of being at the forefront of cannabinoid education, providing clinicians and investigators with a convivial forum for networking, sharing and moving our maturing field forward. May we continue to grow and thrive in the upcoming decade, learning more about the therapeutic potential of the plant and its constituents to benefit patients worldwide.

Ricardo Navarrete-Varo, medical specialist in Family and Community Medicine, Andalusian Health Service (S.A.S.), Spain

Happy 20th birthday! It has been a real pleasure and pride to belong during all these years to one of the organizations that has contributed most to the reintroduction of cannabis and its derivatives in medicine, of such a high human and professional level. Special thanks to the person in charge, Dr. Franjo Grotenhermen, and a loving memory to those who were left behind, especially Dr. Ester Fride and Dr. Richard Musty.

Vincenzo Di Marzo, PhD,Research Director at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB-CNR) in Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy

"For 20 years the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines, through its several conferences, publications and divulgation activities, has provided an indispensable forum for the critical discussion of the potential therapeutic applications of cannabis and cannabinoids, at the ideal cross-roads between basic and clinical research. Although I have not always been able to be active part of this organization, I immensely appreciate the role that IACM has played, and will continue to play, in the advancement of what is nowadays not only a field of research for me and many other colleagues, but also and foremost a real opportunity for the development of new medicines."

Ethan Russo, MD, Founder/CEO of CReDO Science cannabisresearch.org

The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines marks its 20th anniversary in 2020. For two decades, IACM has been at the forefront of medical education on the clinical applications for cannabis, the most useful of medicinal plants. I am proud to have been a member of the organization, an awardee and former chairman of this organization that has done so much to clarify the role of cannabis in therapeutics.

Mario van der Stelt, Professor and Chair of Molecular Physiology, Leiden Institute of Chemistry Gorlaeus Laboratory, Leiden, The Netherlands

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate you and the board on the 20th anniversary of the

Internati ist könnte man natürlich Pittsburgh machen hier onal Association for the Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM). Since its inception the IACM has

advocated a science-based approach to study the medicinal effects of cannabinoids and the

endocannabinoid system. Providing reliable, evidence-based information to patients and the general

public about the potential therapeutic and adverse effects of (medicinal) cannabis was and will remain an important goal of the association. I wish you and the IACM success in this endeavor and many more successful meetings.

Mauro Maccarrone, Professor and Chair Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Medicine - Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Italy

In one week we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM), and I like to congratulate very much indeed with you on this major achievement. To all those involved (or simply interested) in cannabinoid and endocannabinoid research IACM has represented from the very beginning a reliable source of information, and a reference where to look for contacts and cross-fertilizations with colleagues from all over Europe, and beyond. Since my first participation in IACM conferences, I’ve admired your energy in pursuing initiatives such as publishing the IACM Bulletin (also translated in 7 different languages), organizing a yearly international meeting (always well-attended by professionals and lay people), awarding distinguished scientists for their contributions to basic and clinical science, as well as recognizing young researchers and outstanding leaders who advanced our knowledge in the field of cannabinoid medicines.

In 2007, I had myself the great pleasure and honour of receiving the IACM Award for Basic Research, with a laudatio by Ester Fride that I shall never forget. Few years later Ester sorrowly passed away, and the Award was named after her since then.

Franjo, let me take the liberty, also on behalf of our community, to thank you and the IACM Board for the impressive work that you have done for the field, and for establishing IACM as a compass to navigate the stormy sea of (endo)cannabinoid research.

Happy birthday, IACM, and good luck for the 20 years to come!

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