Tuesday, December 24, 2013

AHP Releases Cannabis Monograph


The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) has released the first installment of a two-part Cannabis monograph, in a historic move that classifies cannabis as a botanical medicine, alongside many other widely accepted alternative medicines.

The cannabis monograph details long-awaited standards about the plant’s botanical properties, including other scientific data, and provides a foundation for healthcare professionals to incorporate marijuana therapy into their practices.

The Executive Director for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), an organization, which supported the development of the monograph, applauds the AHP’s monograph, which is the first of its kind in over seventy years.

Partly because of a need for validated standards to guide laboratory analysis, the AHP began development of the cannabis monograph in 2011. The monograph was reviewed by the world’s leading researchers and represents one of the most comprehensive documents on cannabis in a long time.

The second installation of the monograph, the Therapeutic Compendium, is due out in the spring. Among other topics, it will encompass historical data, pre-clinical and clinical pharmacology and interactions with conventional medicines.

AHP is a worldwide network of experts in medicinal plants formed in 1995 to promote the responsible use of herbal products and medicines. The group expects to eventually publish over 300 monographs covering the most widely used Western, Ayurvedic and Chinese botanicals.


Later this week, ASA will launch a third-party certification program for the medical cannabis industry called Patient Focused Certification (PFC), based on the AHP monograph. PFC and professional training will be available in all twenty medical marijuana states and the District of Columbia.

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