Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has named Mohamad Mokadem, MD, associate professor in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) Medical Cannabidiol Board (MCB). The nine-member advisory body is composed of eight physicians of different specialties and one law enforcement agent. Among a number of responsibilities, the board reviews petitions to expand the medical use of cannabidiol and make recommendations for the list of allowable conditions as well as the form and quantities its administration should take. Mokadem will serve a two-year term on the board.

Although Iowa has not expanded the use of cannabis and cannabinoid products as widely as other states in the country, it has legalized the use of medical cannabidiol products since 2014, with revisions in 2017 and 2019 expanding allowable conditions. That same original legislation also created the MCB, empowering its members to review at least twice a year the conditions for which cannabidiol can be prescribed. Those conditions currently include chronic pain, HIV or AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, cachexia, certain symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and with cancer, among some others.

Mokadem said the committee will also “advise IDPH regarding the location of medical cannabidiol manufacturers and dispensaries throughout the state.” He said he is “honored” to have been selected from a pool of invited applicants, “physicians and scientists who are involved in cannabinoid management or research.” Mokadem joins two other faculty members from the Carver College of Medicine who were appointed earlier this year to the MCB: Andrea Weber, MD, clinical assistant professor of Psychiatry and of Internal Medicine, represents psychiatrists on the board and Michael Colburn, MD, MEd, clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics, represents pediatricians.