Cannabis Medicine
The Institute of Emerging Health Professions
The graduate certificate in Cannabis Medicine is designed to equip health professionals with the understanding of current cannabinoid therapies and their health effects.
Application Deadline
April 1, 2021
Program start date
May 10, 2021
The legal cannabis industry is projected to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy over the next decade. There are, however, few educational programs that prepare scientists, researchers, and clinicians to join this burgeoning field.
Cannabis – as marijuana – has traditionally been included in the educational curricula of health care professionals only as a drug of abuse. In recent years, much has been learned about the endocannabinoid system and the physiological impacts of both endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids. In this certificate program, gaining an understanding of the science underlying endocannabinoids, phytocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids as well as their clinical applications will help to close the educational gap. Expert faculty will provide a didactic and interactive experience for health care professionals who choose to obtain the fully accredited Certificate in Cannabis Medicine from Thomas Jefferson University, one of the most highly respected health sciences universities in the United States.
This certificate is offered in partnership with the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education. For over twenty years the Center has been at the forefront of the forensic community, providing novel developments in research, training and education in the forensic sciences. Their internationally recognized staff have partnered with the Institute of Emerging Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University to provide an unparalleled learning experience in this emerging field.
Learning Outcomes
Through participation of this course students will:
- Apply clinical and basic sciences knowledge to identify appropriate cannabis therapies for specific medical conditions.
- Explain mechanisms of action, functional roles, and absorption/distribution/metabolism/excretion of cannabinoids in humans.
- Determine medical cannabis/cannabinoids proper administration and safe dosing, and identify its physical, psychiatric and psychological effects.
Curriculum
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Course Number |
Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Pathology Potentially Responsive to Cannabis | 3 | CMD 503 | Online |
| *Conventional & Cannabinoid Therapy of Disease | 3 | CMD 504 | Online |
| *Health Implications of Medicinal Cannabis | 3 | CMD 505 | Online |
*If you would like to take one course as non-matriculated student view more information here.
Program Information
2020-2021 Academic Year
Summer 2021 Start Date: May 10, 2021
To view the academic calendar, please visit our Academic Calendar page.
Tuition and fees vary by program and term. For more information, please review our Tuition Information page and select 'Graduate and Institute of Emerging Health Professions tuition and fees' link.
Faculty
Sara Jane Ward, PhD
Instructor, Cannabis Medicine Graduate Certificate
Dr. Sara Jane Ward is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Substance Abuse Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University.
She earned her PhD in neuroscience at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem NC. Dr. Ward is currently working on several projects to elucidate the therapeutic potential of non-psychoactive cannabinoids, including studies supported by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense investigating the efficacy of cannabidiol for the treatment of peripheral and central neuropathic pain. Other projects include investigating the efficacy of cannabidiol and synthetic cannabinoids on a range of nervous system targets including stroke, traumatic brain injury, and addiction.
Program Director
Brooke Worster, MD
Associate Professor
Dr. Brooke Worster completed her internal medicine and chief residency at Temple University and her pain and palliative care fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer center.
She is an associate professor of medicine in the Thomas Jefferson University and Sidney Kimmel Medical College and practices full time Supportive Medicine and cancer pain management as the Medical Director of the Neu Center for Supportive Medicine and Cancer Survivorship. She is active teaching faculty for the medical students, residents and fellows. Her research interests, for which she has earned grant support involve pain management in cancer patients as well as the effects of medical marijuana on quality of life, polypharmacy as well as clinician perceptions and knowledge around medical cannabis.
Contact Us
Program Contact
IEHP-info@jefferson.edu
215-503-1111
Admissions Contact
Marc Stearns
Senior Associate Director of Admissions
Office of Admissions
(215) 503-0155
Marc.Stearns@jefferson.edu
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