Weekly speakers round out a symposium exploring every aspect of cannabis science.
This February, the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley is hosting a series of five speakers on various topics with a scientific perspective. The Science of Cannabis Symposium will cover the entire scope of the plant from ethnobotany to the environmental impact of large-scale cultivation. Each speaker will focus on emerging research and will be delivered in a way that will inform even a non-technical audience. This symposium is planned with the goal of helping anyone understand the cannabis plant, its place in history, and how it can be used therapeutically in today’s society.
Each speaker is a nationally recognized expert in their field, from cannabis genetics to neuroscience. Amanda Reiman, Ph.D. will be the first speaker on February 1st in a symposium on the environmental impact of large-scale cannabis cultivation. She will speak to how current environmental issues (clear-cutting, heavy water use, etc.) can be addressed as the ‘green rush’ hits California. Reiman currently serves as Vice President of Communications for Flow Kana and Secretary of the International Cannabis Farmers Association.
The following Thursday co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phylos Bioscience Mowgli Holmes, PhD. will inform attendees on the confusing world of cannabis taxonomy. Recently, Holmes received press for his mission to organize the genetic relationships among different strains. Joining these two on the schedule is neurobiologist David Presti, Ph.D. to discuss how cannabis affects our mind, brain, and behavior. He has taught at UC Berkeley since 1991 where he serves as a neurobiologist, psychologist, and cognitive scientist.
Thomas J. Carlson, MD/MS will follow with a discussion on the ethnobotany of cannabis. This lost piece of history will call on past uses for cannabis and how understanding them will help us push forward with cannabis science in the future. After Carlson, the month-long, weekly symposium will end on the first of March with Donald I. Abrams, MD. The UCSF Chief of Hematology-Oncology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital & Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF will address the potential of cannabis as medicine.
This event will take place weekly on Thursdays from February 1 to March 1. Tickets are available online both for the Full Series and a Single Class. Members and students can receive discounts, learn more about the ‘Science of Cannabis Symposium’ and get tickets at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden website.
