Press Releases

(Prague, 16th October 2017) International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) welcomes Ethan Russo, MD as the new Director of Research and Development. ICCI is the first-ever international Center of Excellence for the advancement of cannabis and cannabinoid treatments located in the Czech Republic. ICCI identifies, coordinates, and supports global research priorities for the advancement of cannabis and cannabinoid treatments through a multidiscipline evidence-based approach that incorporates innovative tools and approaches.

Ethan Russo, MD, is a board-certified pediatric and adult neurologist, psychopharmacology researcher, former Senior Medical Advisor to GW Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Director of PHYTECS. He served as study physician to GW Pharmaceuticals for numerous Phase I-III clinical trials of Sativex®, and early stage investigations of Epidiolex®. He has held faculty appointments in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Montana, in Medicine at the University of Washington, and as visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a Past-President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, and former Chairman of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines.

“I am honored to have Ethan Russo join the team at ICCI” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access.” His expertise is a welcome addition and will be key to advancing many of the important projects including our Global Scientific-Based Biomedical, Life Science, and Policy Research Priority Mapping Project, International Call for Standardization of Data in Cannabis Research and Adverse Event Reporting and clinical trials such as our Opioids and Cannabinoids in the treatment of pain study.”

“I am delighted to join the ICCI team and collaborate on bringing cannabis-based medicines and industrial hemp products back into the mainstream for the patients and public that will benefit from their use,” Russo remarked. “The research capabilities of ICCI personnel and its development partners internationally will synergize advancements in healthcare that portend to improve quality of life for people across the world.”

As an international collaborative project of nonprofit, for-profit, and government institutions, ICCI has developed strategic project partnership alliances with participation from Universities, Hi-Tech Companies, and Institutions from around the globe and is an international research and educational hub designed to meet the needs of patients globally. ICCI is connecting a cross-disciplinary approach that captures the current knowledge base across the fields of biomedical research, social science, life sciences, and policy research with the sole purpose of identifying and resolving barriers to advancements. The results are to be shared across academia, research institutes, private endowments, governments, medical professional, patient advocacy organizations, health service providers, and product manufacturers.

“It’s a great honor to welcome leading expert and medical cannabis professional Ethan Russo to ICCI,” says Pavel Kubu, ICCI CEO and continues “ICCI’s research and development activities are rapidly growing. Dr. Russo’s experience is an exciting addition to our team.”

Americans for Safe Access co-founded ICCI in 2016 to help remove barriers to access for patients globally by bringing together the current knowledge base for cannabis research as it relates to biomedicine, life sciences, and policy sciences to create a platform for sharing, exploration, and education

For more information: www.ICCI.science