A press release dateline Prague October 16, 2017:
International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) welcomes Ethan Russo, MD as new Director of Research and Development. ICCI is the first-ever international Center of Excellence for the advancement of cannabis and cannabinoid treatments located in the Czech Republic. ICCI identifies, coordinates and supports global research priorities for the advancement of cannabis and cannabinoid treatments through a multidiscipline evidence-based approach that incorporates innovative tools and approaches.
Ethan Russo, MD, is a board-certified pediatric and adult neurologist, psychopharmacology researcher, former Senior Medical Advisor to GW Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Director of PHYTECS. He served as study physician to GW Pharmaceuticals for numerous Phase I-III clinical trials of Sativex®, and early stage investigations of Epidiolex®. He has held faculty appointments in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Montana, in Medicine at the University of Washington, and as visiting professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a Past-President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, and former Chairman of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
“It’s a great honor to welcome leading expert and medical cannabis professional Ethan Russo to ICCI,” says Pavel Kubu, ICCI CEO and continues: “ICCI’s research and development activities are rapidly growing. Dr. Russo’s experience is an exciting addition to our team.”
“I am delighted to join the ICCI team and collaborate on bringing cannabis-based medicines and industrial hemp products back into the mainstream for the patients and public that will benefit from their use,” Russo remarked. “The research capabilities of ICCI personnel and its development partners internationally will synergize advancements in healthcare that portend to improve quality of life for people across the world.” ICCI was established as a joint venture project of patient organizations, scientific societies and investment company Dioscorides Global Holdings. Its headquarter is based in Prague. As a centre of excellence, ICCI cooperates with the Charles University in Prague, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Masaryk University in Brno, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and and many other public and private scientific institutions.
Russo is also a novelist and as clear an explainer of matters neurological and botanical as a layman could ever hope to hear or read. We trust that he’ll explain to us what ICCI is doing in the nitty-gritty. “Back into the mainstream” is a phrase Tod Mikuriya might have used. After California doctors were authorized to recommend Cannabis in 1996, Mikuriya hired attorney Robert Raich to create a company called “Classic Pharmaceuticals” to bring out a line of extracts; and with Paul Klopper he petitioned the FDA to reschedule or deschedule Cannabis based on its documented pre-prohibition use.
