This year, the Brno Planetarium once again hosted leading Czech and foreign experts on cannabis and research. They discussed cannabis legislation and the use of cannabis in medical practice.
The conference, organized by the International Centre for Clinical Research, a joint workplace of St. Anne's University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, offered a comprehensive and, above all, scientific perspective on this issue. "During the conference, we not only presented the development of research on medical cannabis, but we also wanted to contribute to the demythologization of cannabis as such," said Václav Trojan, the organizer of the event and head of the Cannabis Facility at the International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC).
"Thanks to our participation, we had the opportunity to promote and share knowledge in the field of medical and pharmaceutical innovation. We were able to network with key experts in the field and share our perspectives on medical cannabis innovation," commented Aleš Hrabák, one of the founders of Zenplanto, the general partner of the 9th annual conference.
Accredited course, a novelty of Brno experts
A busy programme with top experts from all over the world was prepared for the participants. The prestigious conference was held under the auspices of Ing. Vlastimil Vajdák, Director of St. Anne's University Hospital in Brno, who gave the opening speech.
A novelty was the introduction of the newly opened accredited lifelong learning course at Masaryk University "Cannabis in Health and Disease". In cooperation with the ICRC and St. Anne's University Hospital, the first year of the course was successfully organized. It should promote interdisciplinary cooperation in particular.
Will legislation change in the Czech Republic?
Experts such as Lumír Hanuš, the chemist and scientist who isolated anandamide, and Richard Rokyta, a neurophysiologist, have contributed their findings. Alexandra Šulcová, a pharmacologist from Brno, discussed the therapeutic potential of CBD. Jindřich Vobořil, national drug coordinator, presented plans to change cannabis legislation. A strictly regulated cannabis market would, in his opinion, provide better control and reduce health risks. "The regulated market has not yet led to an increase in cannabis use in any state," He pointed out.
Jitka Götzová, Director of the Food Safety Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, led a discussion on CBD and HHC. A delegation from Israel was also present, including Ilya Reznik, President of the International Cannabinoid Therapy Association and Nirit Bernstein, an agricultural engineering expert.
International cooperation
The Cannabis Facility under the FNUSA-ICRC enables connections with foreign experts, for example, on topics of high school theses. One of them was shared by student Eva Matěnová from the Blansko Gymnasium, who collaborated with colleagues from the Medical University of Gdansk.
Research and education are examples of an advanced and developed society. Supporting them also makes sense in terms of investment in the future. That is why Zenplanto supports the scientific and research exchange of the Cannabis Facility, currently with Gdansk for example.
Our experts managed to establish a unique cooperation with the Polish university. The cannabis market there is in its infancy, so the experts are both helping with its development and, for example, jointly developing procedures on how and when to determine the optimal maturity of plants grown for the production of medicinal cannabis.
"We would like to thank all participants, organizers and partners for their great cooperation and we look forward to meeting again next year, during the 10th anniversary," commented Aleš Hrabák from Zenplanto.
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