Medicinal Cannabis - How to integrate this Old Drug into modern evidence-based clinical practice

Leon holds qualifications and expertise across a diverse range of fields including biological, veterinary, and medical sciences, higher education, pain research, anaesthesia, pharmaceutical research and development. He graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Murdoch University (Western Australia) in 2009. Following graduation, he undertook an internship in anaesthesia, emergency, and critical care medicine. Leon joined the Melbourne Veterinary School’s anaesthesia and analgesia section at the University of Melbourne in 2010 where he completed a specialty training program in anaesthesia and pain management, a clinical master’s degree in anaesthesia as well as a PhD in pain-management and assessment. In 2015 he completed an externship in anaesthesia and trauma management at The Austin and Royal Melbourne Hospitals. Leon is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists anaesthesia chapter, and an Australasian Veterinary Boards Council registered specialist in anaesthesia. Leon is a director of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Pain Management Australia, an adjunct senior lecturer at Murdoch University and senior research fellow at Curtin University. Recently Leon founded The Vet Pharmacist, a trusted supplier of quality medicinal cannabis pharmaceuticals to the veterinary industry. 

Leon’s current clinical research focuses on examining the efficacy of medicinal cannabis across multiple species; the use of Quality of Life as a primary outcome measure for chronic disease; and the development of assessment and management strategies for complex pain disorders. His passion for the veterinary profession has led him to join the Executive Committee of the Australian Small Animal Veterinarians (ASAV), AVA SIG.