Saturday, February 2 in Athens, in the suggestive location of the Niarchos Foundation, more than 170 between anesthesiologists and other health professionals, participated in the seminar “The role of the anesthesiologist in cannabinoid therapy” promoted by the Hellenic Society of Anesthesiology and the Hellenic Society of Algology , with the support of Enecta, as part of the Cannabeta project – an initiative launched last year by the company to promote knowledge and training on the therapeutic opportunities of cannabis and cannabinoids.
The workshop was greeted by a message from the Greek Health Minister Andreas Xanthos: “The Ministry, in collaboration with the other relevant ministries, has taken all the necessary measures to guarantee citizens easy access to formulations containing cannabis for those indications there is scientific evidence. (…) The effort of the state is strengthened by initiatives and events such as today, which inform, update and remove prejudices against substances that have internationally accepted pharmacological properties and documented clinical benefits “
Making a broad examination of the endocannabinoid system and the main active ingredients, Gioacchino Calapai, professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Messina, stressed that “the medical history of cannabis is influenced by an extra-scientific view, but today an in-depth examination of the pharmacological applications offers new opportunities for its therapeutic use “.
In fact, several speakers have emphasized and illustrated the unconventional path, unique in the history of medicine, with which the experience of the therapeutic use of cannabis has developed, we patients have played a fundamental role.
Professor of pharmacology Katerina Antoniou, a member of the Greek medical cannabis working group, and former president of the Greek Medicines Authority (EOF), made it clear that “the legislation necessary to allow access for Greek patients has been achieved. A special committee of the EOF has developed a core of product characteristics to facilitate the approval of pharmaceutical cannabis formulations”
EOF also identified the first medical indications for the administration of these formulations in Greece: 1. Prevention and treatment of nausea and / or vomiting, resulting from the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs, 2. Neuropathic pain, oncological pain, 3. Spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis.
Among Italian guests, the experience in the use of cannabinoids in cancer patients at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan was presented by Vittorio Guardamagna, director of the palliative care and pain therapy department. The use for the treatment of chronic pain was addressed by Domenico Quattrone, of the Pain Therapy Unit of the Great Metropolitan Hospital “Bianchi – Melacrino – Morelli”, Reggio Calabria, Italy
The seminar was the first scientific training initiative on the subject in Greece.
For Jacopo Paolini, CEO of Enecta, “Greece will be the main focus of our commitment in the coming years. We will continue to work with national partners and support doctors and scientific societies in developing the knowledge necessary for the therapeutic use of cannabis. Medical cannabis production is a unique opportunity for economic development for Greece. But from our point of view, not just economic: Enecta will reinvest part of its profits in favor of social projects for local communities. “