Saturday, November 17, 4:30PM
Krotona Hall
Acupuncturists, please note: We have been approved as Continuing Education Provider #1526 by the California Acupuncture Board. This lecture is one of 12 approved for 1 hour of Category 1 credit.
“The Terpenes of Cannabis”
Kevin Spelman, PhD
While much of the medical community is learning about the cannabinoids, the Cannabis industry itself has been enamored by the terpenes, specifically the mono and sesquiterpenes, with good reason. Many of the terpenes are known to be psychotropic, alter pharmacokinetics, and potentially enhance the pharmacodynamics of the cannabinoids. The current understanding of chemovars is arguably about terpene profiles rather than cannabinoid profiles, and the terpenes offer a better understanding of Cannabis indica vs. C. sativa differences than supposed speciation.
Dr. Kevin Spelman is an internationally recognized expert on the molecular biology and clinical therapeutics of botanical medicines and new product development. 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 6 chapters. Dr. Spelman has also practiced clinical phytotherapy for 20 years in various medical centers as well as advised the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and most recently was invited to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy conference on the microbiome. Dr. Spelman has also consulted for the Department of Defense on specific therapeutic outcomes using natural products.
Dr. Spelman’s research includes brain and ovarian cancer and clinical investigations, immunological studies, and chemical analysis on numerous medicinal plants. He is known for his expertise on the molecular biology of medical Cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD). Past research projects have included the molecular biology of cannabinoid receptors, where he was the first researcher to demonstrate cannabinoid ligands in Zanthoxylum spp. Dr. Spelman is an adjunct assistant professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, an adjunct professor of botanical medicine at National College of Natural Medicine and a distinguished lecturer at Maryland University of Integrative Health. Dr. Spelman is also a member of the prestigious College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy in the UK.