STCM Conference “Cannabinoids in Medicine – New Trends” hosted in Bern

The Swiss Task Force for Cannabinoids in Medicine (STCM) Conference 2016 is taking place tomorrow in Auditorium E. Rossi, Inselspital-University Hospital Bern (Switzerland).

STCM was founded in 2009 by clinicians, pharmacists, lawyers and other professionals with a common objective: to deal with the problems of the insufficiently regulated medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids in Switzerland.

After the successful Conference 2013, this edition hopes to begin a discussion about the re-medicinalisation of cannabinoids and cannabis products, presenting current basic scientific, clinical, legal and regulatory facts and trends.

Medical professionals, scientists, caregivers, patients, patient organisations, politicians, regulatory authorities, media people and broad public interested in medical cannabis will attend the event.

The conferences will take place from 8:45 am to 6 pm on Saturday November 12. The speakers –Jürg Gertsch (CH), Cathrin Rohleder (D), Arno Hazekamp (NL), Ethan Russo (USA), Joachim Nadstawek (D), Guillermo Velasco (E), Eva Milz (D), Daniel Büche (CH), Markus Weber (CH), Carlos Vila Silván (E), Timna Naftali (IL), Kurt Blaas (A), Ilya Reznik (IL), Peter Albrecht (CH), Uwe Koetter (CH), Mahmoud ElSohly (USA)- will lead conferences about basic sciences and pharmaceutical perspectives, areas of medical use, dispensation models and international experiences, and legal and regulatory aspects. Finally, a roundtable titled “From the plant to the patient” will be hold.

Cannabis in Switzerland

The medical use of cannabis is legal and accepted in several European countries, such as Germany, Italy and Spain, Portugal.

However, Swiss legislation bans the cultivation, consumption and trade of cannabis with a higher level of THC than 1%. Otherwise, it is considered a narcotic drug and people need special authorization for its eventual employment.

In 2008 the citizens rejected by 63%  the initiative that proposed the decriminalization of cannabis, but passed a new regulation, which introduces controlled and limited use of marijuana for medical purposes.