Summary of Expertise, Experience, and Affiliations and Interests of Members of the Expert Advisory Committee on Information for Physicians on Marihuana for Medical Purposes (EAC-IPMM)

To be considered for appointment, all potential members of an advisory body must agree to the publication of a short biography and summary of their affiliations and interests on Health Canada's website and in print materials. Candidates use this template to prepare their biography and summary.

The secretariat prepares the summary and submits it to the advisory body member/candidate for approval.

Assessment of affiliations and interests prior to each meeting

Prior to each committee meeting, the advisory body Chair and executive secretary assess each member's affiliations and interests, including direct financial interests, as they may apply to agenda items. Based on this review, they will decide, if necessary, to limit a member's participation in all or part of the meeting agenda, and will inform the member of this decision. As well, on receipt of the meeting agenda, members are expected to review their own affiliations and interests against agenda items and advise the Chair and secretariat if they see a potential cause for concern regarding the integrity and objectivity of their participation.

Members are expected to report promptly any changes in their circumstances as reported on the Affiliations and Interests Declaration Form to the secretariat and the Chair of the advisory body. Health Canada also asks members to review their affiliations and interests declaration on an annual basis.

In accordance with sections 3.2 to 3.6 of the Health Canada Policy on External Advisory Bodies, a person with a direct financial interest in a matter on the advisory body agenda may not participate in discussions with respect to that item, but they may participate in discussions regarding policy, management, or program development as they relate to the mandate of the advisory body.

List of Relevant Sectors, Expertise and Interests for Expert Advisory Committee on Information for Physicians on Marihuana for Medical Purposes (EAC-IPMM)

Sector/perspective:

• Health professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Oncology
• Neuromuscular diseases
• Psychopathology/addiction
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Clinical or pharmacy practice

1. Direct financial interests

Current employment, investments in companies, partnerships, equity, royalties, joint ventures, trusts, real property, stocks, shares, or bonds that relate to the mandate of the advisory body.

2. Indirect financial interests

1. Within the past five years, payment from the regulated industry for work done or being done, including past employment, contracts, or consulting; or financial support, including research support, personal education grants, contributions, fellowships, sponsorships, and honoraria (other than from present employer).
2. Within the past five years, materials, discounted products, gifts, or other benefits, or attendance at meetings where all or part of the travel and accommodation costs were provided by a party with an interest in the mandate of the advisory body (other than from present employer, over $1,000).
3. Within the last three years, grants or other funding from a party with an interest in the mandate of the advisory body to any of the organizations where you are currently employed or participate in internal decision making ("participate in internal decision making" as a board member or executive or non-executive director).

3. Intellectual interests

1. Within the last five years, any formal advice or opinion to industry, a government organization, or a non-government organization.
2. Within the last five years, any published or publicly stated point of view.
3. Current professional or volunteer affiliations, such as membership of professional societies, lobbying, public interest, or advocacy groups.

4. Other

Any other affiliations and interests or potential circumstances that might give a well-informed member of the public reasonable grounds for concern regarding the integrity and objectivity of your participation.

Summary of Responses by Members

The information about expertise, experience, and affiliations and interestsrelevant to the Expert Advisory Committee on Information for Physicians on Marihuana for Medical Purposes' mandate declared by committee members is listed below. Health Canada considered these declarations as part of the appointment process.

This summary is available as part of Health Canada's commitment to be transparent about the membership of its advisory bodies.

Harold Kalant, MD, PhD, FRS(C) (Chair)

Sector/perspective:

• Health professional (non-practicing)
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Psycho-pathology/addiction
• Cannabinoid pharmacology

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. Yes
3b. Yes
3c. Yes
4a. No

Comments

Member of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the Canadian Society for Pharmacology and Therapeutics, the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism, and the Société de Biologie (France). Past chairman of Health Canada's Scientific Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana Research and former chairman of the World Health Organization's Committee on Cannabis and Health. Invited witness for the Cannabis and Health Committees of the Canadian Senate and House of Commons. Was an expert witness on behalf of the Government of Canada in litigation involving the constitutionality of Canada's drug control laws as applied to cannabis. Published several books and numerous journal articles on the physiological effects of cannabis and on the effects of cannabis on health, including the medical uses of cannabis or cannabinoids. Has also published several papers on drug policy.

Mary Lynch, MD, LMCC, RCPC

Sector/perspective:

• Health Professional

Expertise/experience:

• Pain

Summary of Responses
1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. No
3b. No
3c. No
4a. Yes

Comments

Board member and founding executive director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC). Past President of the Canadian Pain Society. Member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and the International Association for the Study of Pain. Member of a number of medical associations including the Canadian Medical Association, the Nova Scotia Medical Association, and the Canadian and the Nova Scotia Psychiatric Associations. Member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons' Working Group on Pain Medicine. Has published numerous medical research articles and given many invited lectures and presentations on the use of cannabinoids and cannabis for medical purposes. Reviewer for several medical journals including the Journal of Pain Research and Management, Pain, the Clinical Journal of Pain, the European Journal of Pain, and the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

Paul Daeninck, MD, MSc, DABIM, FRCPC

Sector/perspective:

• Health professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Oncology
• Palliative Care

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. Yes
2b. No
2c. Yes
3a. No
3b. Yes
3c. Yes
4a. No

Comments

Board member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC). Received payment for CCIC-sponsored accredited continuing medical education sessions. Has also received a grant from the CCIC and from the pharmaceutical industry for other work. Has given a number of invited lectures/presentations on the uses of cannabis/cannabinoids for symptom control and in palliative care. Has published several papers and abstracts on the uses of cannabinoids in the clinic. Member of several medical associations and societies including the Canadian Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists, the Canadian Hospice and Palliative Care Association, the Canadian Pain Society, and the International Association for the Study of Pain among others. Reviewer for several medical journals including the Journal of Palliative Medicine, Supportive Care in Cancer, and the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialities. Has given media interviews on the medical uses of cannabis/cannabinoids.

Keith Sharkey, PhD

Sector/perspective:

• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Gastro-intestinal pharmacology
• Nausea and emesis

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. No
3b. Yes
3c. No
4a. No

Comments

Member of a number of scientific associations and societies including the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS), the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada, and the American Physiological Society among others. Editor/reviewer for numerous scientific and medical journals including Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Frontiers in Enteric Neuroscience, Gut, Gastroenterology, the British Journal of Pharmacology, and the Journal of Comparative Neurology. Co-organizer and co-chair of various symposia on the functions of the endocannabinoid system in gastrointestinal diseases and cardiometabolic risk. Received federal, NGO and industry funding for various studies on the role of the endocannabinoid system and/or cannabinoids in gastrointestinal function and dysfunction. Received provincial and industry grants for a cannabinoid conference. Has given numerous invited lectures and presentations on the functions of the endocannabinoid system in gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. Has given media interviews on the role of cannabinoids in managing nausea/emesis and has published abstracts and peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic as well as on the role of the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids in gastrointestinal function/dysfunction and on metabolism.

Boris Gorzalka, PhD

Sector/perspective:

• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Psycho-pathology/addiction

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. No
3b. No
3c. Yes
4a. No

Comments

Member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, the Society for Neuroscience, and the International Academy of Sex Research. Published numerous peer-reviewed papers and has given numerous invited presentations/lectures on the relationship between the endocannabinoid system/cannabinoids and stress, mood, memory and reproductive behaviour. Received federal funding for studies on the functions of the endocannabinoid system in stress states, in mood and reproductive behaviour and for the development of a study on the relationship between adolescent cannabinoid exposure and drug addiction and mood disorders. Reviewer for various funding agencies and scientific journals including the British Columbia Health Care Research Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Brain Research, Behavioral Pharmacology, Neuropsychopharmacology, Pharmacology, Psychopharmacology, Journal of Sexual Medicine and others.

Tony George, MD, FRCPC, DABPN

Sector/perspective:

• Health professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Psycho-pathology/addiction
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Clinical or pharmacy practice

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. Yes
3b. No
3c. Yes
4a. No

Comments

Consulted for a pharmaceutical company on an endocannabinoid system-based smoking cessation medication and received payment for his services. Member of the scientific advisory committee of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA). Member/fellow of several medical associations and societies including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and others. Was a member of a NIDA-sponsored medication development review group to treat cannabis dependency. Reviewer for numerous medical journals including Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, the New England Journal of Medicine, Psychopharmacology, Addiction, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Journal of Neuroscience, and the Journal of the American Medical Association among others. Holds Canadian and American federal funding for research on the treatment of cannabis dependence and for studies on the neurocognitive effects of cannabis. Has published papers on the neurocognitive effects associated with cannabis consumption. Has given media interviews on the topic of cannabis and psychosis.

Mark Ware, MBBS, MRCP (UK), MSc

Sector/perspective:

• Health Professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Clinical or pharmacy practice

Summary of Responses

1a. Yes
2a. Yes
2b. No
2c. Yes
3a. Yes
3b. Yes
3c. No
4a. No

Comments

Executive Director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC). Receives salary from the CCIC. CCIC has received funds from industry. He has consulted for and received research grants from pharmaceutical cannabinoid manufacturers. Received federal and private funding for studies on the use of smoked cannabis for the management of pain. Was an expert witness at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in the case of Ivancicevic v. Ontario (2011). Has submitted a statement on the proposed reforms to the Marihuana Medical Access Program and has given numerous media interviews advocating for research and education on cannabis and cannabinoids. Has published a number of research articles on the uses of cannabis or cannabinoids for medical purposes. Organized symposia on the role of cannabinoids in the clinic. Has given numerous invited talks, lectures and presentations on the medical uses of cannabis and cannabinoids. Reviewer for several medical journals and editorial board member of the journal "Cannabinoids". Member of a number of medical associations and societies including the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Quebec and Canadian Pain Societies. Member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and member of the board of directors of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM).

Cory Toth, MD, FRCPC

Sector/perspective:

• Health professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Neuro-muscular disease
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Diabetic complications

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. No
3b. No
3c. No
4a. No

Comments

Has received funding from a pharmaceutical company for research on the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Has published abstracts and research papers/reviews on the use of cannabinoids in the management of neuropathic pain and has given invited lectures/presentations on this topic. Member of several medical associations and societies including the Canadian Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Saskatchewan and Alberta Medical Associations, and the American Academy of Neurology among others. Member of the National Fibromyalgia Guidelines Advisory Panel and the Calgary Health Region Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Reviewer for several medical journals including Lancet Neurology, Journal of Neuroscience Research, Clinical Journal of Pain, Pharmacology, the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, among many others. Editorial board member for Neuroscience and Medicine and the World Journal of Diabetes and associate editor for Pain Medicine (neuropathic pain section). External reviewer for several medical societies, associations or foundations including the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, the Canadian Pain Society, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Jason McDougall, PhD

Sector/perspective:

• Research/ academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Cannabinoid pharmacology

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. No
2b. No
2c. No
3a. No
3b. No
3c. No
4a. No

Comments

Has published numerous papers and abstracts on the role of the endocannabinoid system in arthritis pain and inflammation and on the use of cannabinoids to alleviate these conditions. Has given several invited presentations/talks on these subjects. Has received funding from the pharmaceutical industry to study the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in the control of osteoarthritis-associated pain. Has received funding from the Arthritis Society of Canada to study the interactions between the cannabinoid and opioid systems in joint pain and inflammation. Member of several scientific research societies including the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), the International Association for the Study of Pain, the Canadian Pain Society, and the Canadian Arthritis Network among others. Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Canadian Pain Society. Reviewer for several scientific and medical journals including the British Journal of Pharmacology, the American Journal of Physiology, Arthritis Research and Therapy, and the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology among many others. Editorial board member for The Open Rheumatology Journal.

Pierre Beaulieu, MD, PhD, FRCA

Sector/perspective:

• Health Professional
• Research/academia

Expertise/experience:

• Pain
• Cannabinoid pharmacology
• Clinical or pharmacy practice

Summary of Responses

1a. No
2a. Yes
2b. Yes
2c. No
3a. Yes
3b. Yes
3c. Yes
4a. No

Comments

Has received federal, provincial and university funding for various studies on the uses of cannabis or cannabinoids in the management of pain as well as for studies on the interactions between the cannabinoid and opioid systems. Has received a one time travel grant from the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) and from a pharmaceutical company to attend a conference. Has provided scientific advice to a provincial Health Ministry on the use of cannabinoids to treat pain and has received honorarium for services rendered. Has published numerous scientific journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters on the medical uses of cannabis and cannabinoids, and has given numerous invited presentations/lectures and several media interviews on this subject. Editor-in-chief of the book "Pharmacology of Pain" published by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Member of several scientific and medical associations and societies including the Société Française d'Anesthésie et de Réanimation (France), the Royal College of Anesthetists (UK), the International Association for the Study of Pain, the Canadian Society of Anesthesiologists, the International Cannabinoid Research Society and the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), and the Canadian Pain Society, among others. Reviewer for several scientific and medical journals including Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, the Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Clinical Journal of Pain, Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, the European Journal of Pain and the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia among others.