General Events

Medical Cannabis: Perspectives from a Clinician and an Educator 
Monday, February 2, 2026 | 12:00 PM CT | Free | Virtual Eventt

This session explores medical cannabis through two complementary perspectives: clinical practice and medical education. Drawing on peer-reviewed research, clinical experience, and educational leadership, the discussion will examine why defined competencies in medical cannabis have emerged and how they can be translated into health professions training. 

What to Expect 
The session will begin with a clinician’s perspective, focusing on how medical cannabis is encountered in patient care, the pressures clinicians face from patients and the public, and why there is a growing imperative to clarify what future health professionals should know. From there, the conversation will shift to an educator’s lens, examining the challenges of incorporating new areas of knowledge into the medical curriculum. 

Drawing on examples from integrative medicine, nutrition, and other fields, the session will highlight how public demand, governmental action, and faculty leadership have historically influenced what is taught in medical school. 

Presenters 
Leslie Mendoza Temple, MD, ABOIM, is the Owen L. Coon Endowed Chair of Integrative Medicine and Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Endeavor Health. She is also a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. 

Aviad “Adi” Haramati, PhD, is an award-winning Professor of Physiology, Founding Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE) at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, and co-director of the graduate program in Integrative Medicine and Health Science 

Who Should Attend 
This event is intended for: 

• Faculty, curriculum planners, and educational leaders involved in medical and health professions training. 
  Medical students and trainees interested in how emerging areas of clinical knowledge, including medical cannabis, are addressed in medical education. 
  Researchers and administrators examining how evidence, competencies, and institutional priorities shape medical curricula. 
  Policymakers and institutional stakeholders interested in how public demand, governmental action, and professional standards influence what is taught in medical school. 
  Members of the public interested in how medical schools prepare clinicians to counsel patients on medical cannabis and how public priorities can influence medical education.