Pro-Pot Docs Organize

In a move designed to lend another layer of legitimacy to the emerging national medical marijuana movement, the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (AACM) announced its formal formation this week. Organized in part by Goleta-based physician David Bearman, the academy will, among other things, work to inform the professional medical community about the clinical utility of cannabis-based medicine, offer board certification-via written and oral tests-for physicians, and, as a result, work to curb the quasi-unethical practice of doctors giving recommendations to hopeful pot patients without adequate exams or appropriate medical conditions. “We want to ensure that there is only the highest quality of medicine being done by doctors,” explained Bearman, who will serve as the vice president of credentialing and quality.

Including California, there are currently 14 states that legally recognize medicinal use of cannabis. The AACM, however, is the first attempt to bring a set of standards and practices and assorted other professional gravitas to the doctors across the country who treat conditions like AIDS, chronic pain, and symptoms from cancer treatment with a plant that is illegal in the eyes of the federal government. The first round of testing for board certification will take place in Seattle in August, according to Bearman.