Vasco Bettencourt, Director of the Infarmed Licensing Unit, presides over the opening session of PTMC – Portugal Medical Cannabis

The Director of the INFARMED Licensing Unit, Vasco Bettencourt, will preside over the opening session of the PTMC – Portugal Medical Cannabis conference, which will take place tomorrow, the 16th, and Friday, the 17th, at the Auditorium of the Order of Certified Accountants, in Lisbon. The 3rd edition of PTMC has several international speakers, from doctors and researchers to lawyers and investors, who will address the topic of medical cannabis.

The growing trend towards the legalization of cannabis worldwide leaves no room for doubt: cannabis does indeed have the potential to treat various pathologies and more and more countries are opting for its regulation. Portugal has established itself in recent years as the center of excellence for medical cannabis in Europe, with 18 companies already licensed and more than 80 with a pre-license granted by Infarmed, having exported more than 30 tons of cannabis flowers in 2021To 566% growth compared to the previous year.

However, information in general and on cannabis clinical practice in particular is still very limited. In this sense, PTMC – Portugal Medical Cannabis, organized by CannaReporter, a non-profit association dedicated to disseminating more and better information on cannabis, has brought to Portugal, since 2018, the most important doctors, scientists and researchers, who come demonstrate the latest advances in science regarding medical cannabis. 

This year, the 3rd International Conference on Medicinal Cannabis takes place in Lisbon, on the 16th and 17th of June, and will address from the myths and facts associated with cannabis and psychosis, to the therapeutic potential in Pediatrics, especially in childhood diseases such as Autism, Cancer or Epilepsy.

Bonni Goldstein, Pediatrician in Los Angeles, Dani Gordon, Physician in London or Carl Hart, Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, are just some of the more than 20 speakers who will be in Lisbon to talk about their experience and show success stories in cannabinoid treatment.

Raphael Mechoulam, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and considered the “father” of cannabis, for having synthesized the THC molecule in 1964 and discovered the Endocannabinoid System in the 90s, will participate via telematics. At the age of 92, Mechoulam has received numerous international awards and is still working, but for medical reasons he is no longer able to travel.

Since the cannabis industry will generate the most jobs worldwide in the coming years, having already generated billions of euros of revenue in other countries, PTMC will also include the economic potential of cannabis, bringing managers, analysts and consultants to talk about the businesses and investments associated with this millenary plant.

One of the Roundtable dedicated to the future of substance regulation in the XNUMXst century will bring a broad discussion to scientific advances in research with psychedelics in the treatment of various pathologies, such as autism or depression. Miguel Costa Matos, deputy and Secretary General of the Socialist Youth, João Taborda da Gama, Lawyer and Teresa Summavielle, Researcher at the University of Porto, addiction specialist, join Carl Hart, for a conversation that will address how substance use reforms can no longer be limited to cannabis alone.

PTMC in Lisbon ends on the afternoon of the 17th of June, with a event of networking aboard a catamaran on the Tagus River, where there will be no shortage of music and hemp-infused gin.