Demystifying Cannabis and Hemp

Dr. Jahan Marcu has over 15 years of experience in cannabinoid research, policy, and operations. He has been a passionate advocate focused on consumer safety and the medical benefits of cannabis. He is also among a select group of professionals globally that has earned a PhD focused on the endocannabinoid system (with research on the structure and function of cannabinoid receptors, molecular pharmacology of the endocannabinoid system, and the role of the ECS in bone). Dr. Marcu’s work has been instrumental to facilitating and supporting fact-based, scientific approaches vital to industry and patients. This has included research focused on solving the structure and function of cannabinoid receptors, the anti-cancer properties of cannabis compounds, as well as method development and validation for analyzing complex formulations. Furthermore, his efforts include the development of international certification and training programs, co-authoring American Herbal Pharmacopeia’s Cannabis Quality Control and Therapeutic Monographs, and assisting in the creation of the first standards for industry as chairman of the cannabis committee for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). His dedication to consumer safety is further evident in his work to co-develop a biotech application to predict drug-drug interactions between cannabis and commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs. Additionally, Dr. Marcu published one of the first product safety study on CBD products. He is presently the Editor-In-Chief of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine. He is the co-founder and former Chief Science Officer for the International Research Center on Cannabis and Health (aka the Cannabis Research Institute). He is also founder and past-chair of the Cannabis Chemistry Sub-division of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest and oldest professional scientific society. Further illustrating the recognition earned through his efforts, he has been asked to serve on multiple expert government advisory and trade association committees, as well as scientific organizations including ASTM (D37 Subcommittee chair), AHPA Cannabis committee (past-chair), ACS Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision (CANN), AOCS, AOAC, IACM(past BOD), and IMCPC (co-founder). Reflecting his dedication to the field, Dr. Marcu has received numerous awards including the Mahmoud Elsohly award for excellence in cannabis chemistry and the Billy Martin research achievement award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society for his work on THC and CBD synergy in aggressive brain cancers. He is also a court-qualified synthetic cannabinoid and cannabis expert. His work has been published and covered in publications such as Science, Nature, JAMA, the Washington Post, CNN, and many other media outlets. Dr. Andrew Peterson is the Executive Director of the Substance Use Disorders Institute (SUDI) and John Wyeth Dean Emeritus at University of the Science in Philadelphia. He is also Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Professor of Health Policy and previously served as Dean of the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy.Highly regarded in the fields of Pharmacy Management and Health Policy, Dr. Peterson has more than 30 years research experience in medication compliance, health outcomes research, health and drug use policy, and substance use disorders. As Executive Director of SUDI, he led the development of the University’s Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) approved medical cannabis training program for physicians, pharmacists, NPs and PAs to become recommenders or dispensers in the commonwealth. Further, he led the SUDI’s efforts to develop new and improved medical cannabis labeling recommendations submitted to the DOH for their consideration. As a health policy researcher, he is overseeing two PhD students’ dissertation work examining the impact of medical marijuana laws on opioid related deaths and Hispanic high-schooler use of cannabis, as well as studying the outcomes of patients using high and low THC content cannabis. He has presented on the topic of medical cannabis at local, regional and national health care conferences. Dr. Peterson earned his BS in Pharmacy from Rutgers University, his PharmD from Virginia Commonwealth University and his PhD in health policy at USciences. He also completed an advanced residency in hospital pharmacy administration at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and a residency in hospital pharmacy practice from Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. He lives in Ventnor City, NJ.