It was only seven years ago that the largest scientific organization in the world, the American Chemical Society (ACS), founded in 1876, approved the formation of a Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision (CANN) and admitted the group into its larger body.
Ezra Pryor, a founding member CANN, started out in the cannabis industry as a consultant, or “rent-a-scientist” as he called himself, for a variety of companies that had no one to advise them.
“I realized that chemists in the cannabis industry were completely isolated from each other and that most cannabis companies starting up didn't have any scientists or chemists,” Pryor said at a pre-pandemic ACS meeting in Florida. “I wanted to connect all of us and make chemistry more visible. The ACS was the perfect place to do that.”
Pryor's colleagues were pessimistic. “When I told people they said 'great idea but it'll never happen' or 'terrible idea, but it'll never happen,'” Pryor said. “Some thought the ACS was too conservative, that they'd never accept us.”
But ACS did accept the cannabis chemists and CANN is still going strong.
Cannabis Science Conference
Another organization, the Cannabis Science Conference (CSC) founded in 2016 is a technical scientific and medical cannabis event, which twice yearly pulls together cannabis industry chemists, experts, instrument manufacturers, testing labs, research scientists, medical practitioners, policy makers and interested novices.
Upcoming Event: CSC West 2022
The CSC is holding its seventh conference from May 18-20 in Long Beach, California. Organized by CSC's parent organization MJH Life Sciences, the conference will feature TV icon and cannabis advocate, Montel Williams, who will deliver a celebrity plenary address titled “Let’s Be Blunt.”
"Montel Williams has been an incredible advocate, activist and ambassador to the cannabis community for decades,” said Josh Crossney, CEO and founder of CSC. “It has been an honor to work alongside Montel, a true pioneer and trailblazer over the past years.”
CSC will also feature a celebrity keynote in the Psychedelic Science track from former NFL offensive tackle, Eben Britton.
The conference will focus on five tracks: Analytical Science, Medical Cannabis, Cultivation, Hemp/CBD and the newly added Psychedelic Science track.
Photo from CDC via Unsplash
