Sports Cannabis is pushing for education, awareness and an opportunity to destigmatize the plant. Today we have the unique privilege of introducing our new Medical Ambassador, Dr. Elisabeth Philipps.
Medical professionals around the world are using their platforms to spread education, push for clinical research and break the stigma of Cannabis. Dr. Elisabeth Philipps leads the Medical Cannabis charge in the UK as a clinical neuroscientist specialising in the endocannabinoid system. In recent years, Dr. Philipps has shifted her attention to the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in an effort to investigate the effects of Cannabis as a treatment method for a diverse range of conditions.
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps will be integral to the development of Sports Cannabis Education as well as participate in upcoming events and discussions.
Sports Cannabis & Dr. Elisabeth Philipps
Sports Cannabis :
We are joined by our Sports Cannabis Medical Ambassador, Dr. Elisabeth Phillips! How are you doing and where are you connecting with us from?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I’m really good, thanks, Jay, and thanks ever so much for having me on your program, and with your group, it’s really great to connect with everyone. I am joining you today from Northamptonshire in England. So, that’s kind of right in the centre of the country about as far away from the sea as you can get in the UK, and yet about sort of 60 miles north of London, so sweet spots, and we’ve got the sun shining.”
Sports Cannabis :
You recently completed a three peaks challenge climbing the highest mountain in Wales, England and Scotland. That sounds like an amazing feat and opportunity. How was that epic adventure, and what pushed you to take it on?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“It was an absolutely amazing adventure; it’s been on my bucket list for some time. Not only was it the three highest peaks in the UK, as you said, but it was all done in under 24 hours! I managed to do it in just under 23 hours, which is around 13h walking and 8h of driving between mountains in the back of a van – so not much turnaround time and lots of eating on the run with not much sleep – in fact 2h total in 48h!
We had dry warm weather and stunning views, though it was grueling, I’m not going to deny that. The first mountain (Snowdon) was fun – we were all chatting and excited. The second mountain (Scafell Pike) was done in the dark at one o’clock in the morning. The ascent was full on climbing and then came the third mountain (Ben Nevis), which was a six hour ascent and descent and it was very full on – that hurt! But, cannabinoid medicine works! I was using CBD muscle rub and taking CBD oil during, and cannabinoids after, really my physical recovery was about two to three days. Yes, I had DOMS from hell in my legs, but that all pretty much went away fairly quickly, and I was back walking my dog and on the yoga mat within 2 days.”
Sports Cannabis :
What type of training did you have to take on?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I generally keep myself fit by doing lots of yoga, paddleboarding, gym, running, and kayaking. I only decided about three months before this challenge was advertised that I was going to do it. My training was ramping up the hiking – certainly hill walking and mountain walking as much as I could, which isn’t great for where I live, because it’s a pretty flat county! But, I had some nice holidays and weekend breaks around the UK to get the miles in.”
Sports Cannabis :
Outside of climbing mountains, you are also making waves in the cannabis industry, providing timely insight and a push for education. Before we take a deep dive into everything you’ve accomplished and continue to take on, can you give us a quick introduction and what you’re pushing for?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I’m a Clinical Neuroscientist with functional (or integrative) medicine qualifications, which means that I’m not a general medical practitioner, but I have a clinical practice where I use diet and lifestyle medicine to holistically and specifically support Brain Health.
My approach to health is very much a holistic and inclusive process of looking at what’s happening throughout the body, regardless of what condition you’re coming to see me with. I focus on how lifestyle impacts health, such as stress, and how you can then improve your health and performance around that. Health and performance has always been a passion of mine. I’ve enjoyed tweaking aspects of my own health and optimizing my own performance, hence doing events like the national three peaks.
My interest in cannabis medicine is all part of this and really took off three to four years ago. I’ve always been aware of medicinal cannabis and then 3-4 years ago CBD in the UK was becoming really big as a food supplement. I had a lot of patients talking about it, trying it and it was improving so many different health areas, that the scientist in me and the researcher in me had to know more. There just wasn’t the information out there so I decided to become a clinical spokesperson / educator for the industry. I started studying and collecting research from my own clinic, looking at what was being produced and noticed a real gap in both practitioner and clinical understanding of this medicine. Today I’m focused in that space, and am fully in the cannabis arena! Overall, I really see my role as bridging that gap to raise the awareness of cannabis medicine, how it works in the body, the benefits from a clinical standpoint, and then how we can get these products out into the wider community to see those benefits firsthand.”
Sports Cannabis :
What ultimately made you pivot into the medical cannabis industry?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I would like it to be a fond memory, but it was actually quite a harsh memory, in that it was family members that were very ill. In particular, my husband became very, very ill, and all of the research I did was pointing towards cannabinoid medicine. That’s when I pivoted my clinical neuroscience practice into fully immersing myself in plant based medicine. It was then that I really started researching it. We were under no illusions, it was not going to be a cure, in this instance, but we were looking for optimising palliative care, and what cannabis provided was absolutely immense not only on the physical health side, but the psychological and the emotional side, as well.
The sort of psychotherapeutic properties of cannabis medicine was profound – not just for reducing pain but also how we sense and feel pain, as the ECS is rich in the limbic system and the emotional centres of the brain.
Unfortunately, there was no fairytale ending. My husband passed away last year so this is why I’m now passionate about being able to push out quality cannabis medicines and quality research, to help others.”
Sports Cannabis :
Which areas/segments of Cannabis are you interested in studying, sharing or exploring?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“Today, I’ve dedicated my attention to brain health and sports. I work with athletes including professional rugby players to better understand neuroinflammation as well as Traumatic Brain Injuries from concussions. Now, we have this natural plant medicine that is showing really promising signs in the area of TBIs and concussion.
Cannabinoids modulate the ECS and other areas in the brain (as well as throughout the CNS and body) reducing inflammation, and this in turn can reduce the incidence of brain cell death. Successive and regular TBIs and concussions can lead to neurodegeneration and ultimately named diseases such as dementia. Of course reducing inflammation also reduces pain response.
There is also the psychological support after trauma with conditions such as anxiety and including sports performance. Our brains are packed full of cannabinoid receptors so we should be making more use of cannabis products for health and wellness!”
Sports Cannabis :
What major obstacles are preventing research from being accomplished, and with advancements, is the road clearing or are there still restrictive limitations?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“In the UK, in particular, though I appreciate it’s slightly different in different countries around the world, we have really strict cannabis licensing. In the UK cannabis medicine is still regulated by the Home Office which means it’s lumped together with recreational cannabis. The issue with licenses for us medics to carry out the research with cannabinoid medicine in the UK ends up being with the understanding at the government level and by people who signed off that don’t have a firm understanding of the product.
We are up against these major hurdles that have really slowed down clinical research into cannabinoid medicine in the UK. Recently cannabinoid medicine licensing has moved away from the government Home Office into the Department of Health. This means, you don’t need to know anything about the Department of Health, but just the name suggests that we’re now dealing with government officials that are more in the medical realm. These are very exciting times in the UK, and this should open up the ability to gain licenses so that cannabis can be studied in the clinical arena much more easily.
This will only break the sigma further in the general population. It’s key that we can begin to get these studies running because there are very few to date. We are finding medics, especially in the UK, saying; “because there’s not enough research they are not prepared to consider cannabinoid medicine right now”. However, if we can show them the clinical studies and evidence they will believe as well!
Sports Cannabis :
What kind of impact could a comprehensive scientific understanding of cannabis have on its use as medicine?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I think doing what we’re doing now is so important, and creating these solid professional platforms like Sports Cannabis will only help amplify and connect voices around the world. When we go from the medics, to researchers, to sports professionals, to creating this community, it’s in itself really, really powerful.
As medics we need to get used to using real world data/evidence (RWD/RWE), as well as the gold-standard RCT (randomised clinical trials). I firmly believe creating databases from RWE is only going to drive cannabis medicines more into the mainstream. We’ve got some great private medicinal cannabis clinics in the UK that are creating important databases from RWE that we hope will be integral to the medical cannabis community, such as the Sapphire Medical Clinic. Sapphire has just released data showing a reduction in different types of pain and we believe this evidence will drive the positive conversation as well.
I think it’s a multi level approach, we need to get Cannabis Research and Education started at Med Schools and educate doctors early on. Equally, we need to get RWE and even anecdotal evidence, to demonstrate the positivity and the benefits of cannabinoid medicine.”
Sports Cannabis :
Can cannabis be seen as an opportunity for scientists to explore original research?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“We are seeing individual universities and campuses that are really beginning to drive this globally. Within the UK, we have some centers of real excellence such as Aberdeen University in Scotland and Imperial College in London that are driving some excellent cannabis based research.
We have to remember that the endocannabinoid system was only discovered in the 1990s. That means the understanding of how cannabis works in the body is really in it’s clinical infancy compared to many other medicines. Whilst there are some great centers of excellence around the world, what I would like to see more of is, and today what I’m driving towards is; creating a cohesive approach and providing data sharing opportunities between groups nationally and internationally.
I think, here in the UK, we have so much to learn from Canada and the US, the movement and access of products as well as ECS research. The real power in pushing cannabis medicine more into the mainstream lies behind a global collaboration.”
Sports Cannabis :
Where would you like to see cannabis and medicine in the next 2-3 years?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I would like to see the two areas more connected, and I’m pushing for a cohesive and de-stigmatised understanding throughout the clinical community. Currently for cannabis medicines within the UK, you need to be a specialist prescriber. So even if you’re not a specialist or a prescriber, my goal is to ensure that doctors and medics of all backgrounds are still aware enough of CBMPs to then refer their patients out to the clinics or to the doctors that are prescribing and truly understand the product. There is real world evidence showing cannabis medicine reduces chronic pain. We should make more use of these products rather than overprescribing drugs that are highly addictive and with really bad side effects. This may not happen fully in the next two to three years, but certainly within the next ten years the evidence will be as such that we cannot ignore cannabis medicine.
Within the sports world, I would really like to see greater movements and understanding so that cannabis medicines are not on the banned substance list. I hope to see cannabis medicines used in the areas of contact sport where traumatic brain injuries and concussion are a worryingly common occurrence. I know in the US there are lawsuits pending and in the UK retired professional rugby players diagnosed with early onset dementia are proposing to bring legal proceedings against World Rugby – the game’s governing body – the Rugby Football Union in England and the Welsh Rugby Union over what they claim is their failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussions and head injuries.
I would really like to see cannabis and medicine, and the young athletic population coming through in whatever their chosen sport of understanding and being able to access these products, if they need them.”
Sports Cannabis :
Please share any information regarding current or upcoming initiatives?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I’m launching The Bliss Program, which I’m really passionate about in terms of what I want to do to progress what I call Endocannabinoid Medicine. It’s the understanding of how cannabis related products and CBD food supplements work in the body as well as how to best support the ECS through diet and lifestyle. Check it out on social media, there’s The Bliss Program or just hook up with myself, Dr. Elisabeth Philipps across social platforms. I run regular webinars and events around CBD and medical cannabis so check out where you can join me through www.drelisabethphilipps.com . Ultimately my aim is to raise awareness of the ECS – this amazing system that is integral to promoting balance and harmony in the body from the brain to gut to emotions – by clinically looking at how the ECS can be supported through diet, lifestyle and cannabinoid medicine. With this platform I’m able to help support individuals, collect invaluable data and translate this research into real world evidence around cannabinoid medicine.
I have some exciting projects that I’m working on to collaborate within that program, where we can actually begin to genetically test the endocannabinoid system as well. We can look at some direct correlations between how we use cannabinoid medicine and how the endocannabinoid system is working. More information on this coming soon!”
Sports Cannabis :
What advice would you be able to share for other entrepreneurs, other medical representatives that are following in your footsteps today?
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps :
“I would say stay curious, just stay curious as to what’s happening within the industry, what you see beginning to take off, really explore those options and keep in mind; what your philosophy, what your goal is, as I say, mine is helping people understand their health better, and as long as all of the strands of my business of my work of my collaborations ultimately fulfill that goal is this advancing people’s health is this removing the fear the stigma that people face in cannabinoid medicine, so as long as I can tick that box, then I will draw those collaborations closer, if they’re not ticking that box, then you know, I’ll set them aside or, you know, sort of place them elsewhere.
Stay true to your philosophy, to your integrity, and then those collaborations will fall into place and the magic will happen.“
SPORTS CANNABIS
TORONTO / ONTARIO
CANADA
info@sportscannabis.ca
BREAK THE STIGMA
Sports Cannabis 