Pioneering Past and Bright of Impactful Research and Scholarly Achievements

“EXCELLENCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE” P A G E 68 2015) based on the numbers of young persons seeking psychiatric care based on their ganja use. However, there is a plethora of scientific papers attesting to the medicinal potential of Cannabis The work of Raphael Mechoulam in the 1970’s identified the endogenous endocannabinoid system (ecs) and identified associated neurotransmitters and mechanisms of action. This pioneering work established the scientific basis on which Cannabis woks in the body. More recently there are randomized control studies that have investigated Cannabis for the treatment of neuropathic pain (Andreae, 2015), headache disorders (Lochte, 2016) and diabetic neuropathy (Wallace, 2015), among others. In the Jamaican context, Cannabis has been described as endemic (Rubin & Comitas,1975). Its use is traced back to the arrival of the Indians in 1845. The first clinical investigations began with the work of Professor Manley West in the 1960s. Professor West along with Dr. Lockart developed and manufactured Canasol drops (for glaucoma in the 1980s’) and Asmasol (for Asthma in the 1990s). Dr. West used plants seized from police raids of illegal farms with special permission from the Ministry of National Security to do his research and product development. Criticism is made of this source for the raw material used in his products and the challenges posed to standardization. However, these products have been sold on the Jamaican market for over 2 decades. Current research and technological advancement have allowed deeper investigation into the Cannabis plant and greater understanding of its many and varied cultivars and chemovars. An important question that remains to be answered is which of the many varieties of Cannabis should be made available for medicinal use. Unravelling the many cultivars and chemovars will go a far way in providing fundamental solutions to standardization of Cannabis varieties for medicinal purposes. This is one of the aims of research on Cannabis at the University of Technology, Jamaica.