Title: Do Cannabinoids have a Therapeutic Role in Medicine? Evidence from Preclinical Models of Pain and Addiction.
Dr. Sufka is a professor of psychology and pharmacology at the University of Mississippi. He is also a former graduate of Iowa State University where he completed undergraduate and doctoral degrees in psychology. Dr. Sufka’s colloquium will discuss cannabis and cannabinoids, which are increasingly used for a wide variety of medical conditions. Cancer patients report cannabis to be effective against nausea, vomiting and pain associated with chemotherapy. This colloquia presents a series of studies that examined the analgesic activity of isolated D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in a pre-clinical murine model of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Experiments indicate CBD in combination with low dose opioids and a novel CBD analog as a stand-alone therapeutic are potent analgesics that, unlike opioids, are void of abuse liabilities. Collectively, this research suggests a therapeutic role of these cannabinoids for pain associated with chemotherapy in oncology centers. The psychology department also wishes to acknowledge Dr. Sufka’s generosity for having established an undergraduate scholarship in the department in recognition of his mentors, Professors Richard A. Hughes and Ronald H. Peters. The Kenneth Sufka scholarship is a need-based scholarship open to juniors and seniors majoring in psychology. The award is typically $1000.