Toronto-based Canntab Therapeutics Limited (CSE: PILL) is currently seeking approval from the University of British Columbia (UBC) for a clinical trial on the effects of marijuana in potentially reducing opioid use after surgery.
Canntab just announced the company has signed a term sheet with Dr. Don Garbuz to handle the proposed double-blind clinical trial, pending University approval.
Dr. Garbuz, an orthopedic surgeon, currently serves as a faculty member in the Division of Lower Limb Reconstruction and Oncology of the Department of Orthopaedics at UBC.
This news comes just slightly over a week after Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) also teamed up with the University of British Columbia to establish the new Professor of Cannabis Science position.
That position is also focused on utilizing cannabis as a means of battling the North American opioid epidemic.
Dr. Don Garbuz had this to say about signing the term sheet and his upcoming duties running the clinical trial:
“I am excited to be partnering with Canntab to look at conducting a trial that will analyze the efficacy of cannabis as a replacement for opioids, in postoperative care of orthopedic surgical patients undergoing hip/knee replacements at the UBC Hospital.”
Dr. Garbuz went on to say, “This study will help advance our understanding of the potential effects of cannabis as a treatment for pain and will become the basis for conducting future cannabinoid and pain management clinical trials.”
Canntab recently filed a patent for a new addiction treatment method, which will be tested in the trial.
The trial will specifically look at how Canntab tablet products manufactured in Coburg, Ontario through FSD Pharma (CSE: HUGE) control pain compared to opioid-based medication after knee surgery.
FSD Pharma founder Zeeshan Saeed commented on the partnership: “We are pleased that Canntab will be producing its tablets for this important study at our facility in Cobourg. The aim of this work is clearly in line with FSD Pharma’s direction and plans to develop pharmaceutical cannabinoid-based treatments for pain to counter the opioid crisis, including opioid abuse, dependence and overdose.”
UBC isn’t the only university to announce changes in the wake of marijuana legalization. Various institutes of higher learning across the nation have taken radically different approaches to marijuana since the Cannabis Act was passed.
For instance, while the University of Ottawa offers a course on cannabis law, growing or consuming marijuana in dorm rooms is currently prohibited.
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