Jul 25, 2024 Health Science faculty member specializes in medical cannabis research

July 25, 2024 - Cannabis has been at the hub of CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Health Science Thomas A. Clobes' body of work for years. Cannabis use and the pandemic. Cannabis use and quality of life. Cannabis and public policy. Cannabis and patient access.

These are just some of the research topics Clobes has either conducted himself during his 20+ year career in health care or with students since he joined the campus faculty two years ago.

"I have five publications on cannabis," Clobes said. "I started focusing on health policy and medical cannabis in 2022 and, since then, I've also given quite a few presentations and have multiple projects underway. It is a growing and evolving area of healthcare."

His interest in cannabis and its therapeutic uses evolved out of a childhood diagnosis that would set the trajectory for his professional life.

"I was diagnosed with cancer when I was three," Clobes said. "I was not expected to live. I was raised in hospitals and clinics. I knew literally from when I was five years old that I would work in health care."

It's been 43 years since Clobes was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a form of pediatric kidney cancer that has much better survival rates now than it did when Clobes was a child. He is still in touch with his childhood oncologist, and the two of them do charity work together.

"I spent the majority of my time at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Ventura County Medical Center," Clobes said. "I remember all the follow-up care with radiation and chemotherapy. I've had only one kidney since I was three."

Clobes was using anti-inflammatories to control chronic pain until a primary health care provider suggested he try cannabis due to the potential damage to his sole remaining kidney from the prescription medications.

"I won't say it was a miracle worker, but it helped, and I did go on to get a master's degree in Medical Cannabis Science and Medical Therapeutics."

Clobes, who was born and raised in Ventura with his parents and two older brothers, counts himself among the first generation college-goers. His childhood battle with cancer gave his family a real appreciation for what the health care system had to offer, so when he pursued his higher education, he wanted to do research in the field.

After earning a Bachelor of Science (BS) in both Psychology and Biology and a master's in Administration from CSU Bakersfield, Clobes earned a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from Rutgers University. It was after his doctoral work that he started to explore medical cannabis and finished his MS in Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

When he joined CSUCI, he brought his real-world experience with health care and medical devices into the classroom, serving as faculty advisor for numerous student-led research projects.

One of the most recent student research studies examined the relationships between a sense of mental well-being and cannabis use during the pandemic. Class of 2024 Organizational Communication major, Sean Himebaugh, recently published this research with Clobes.

"We looked at the impact forced isolation had on college students during the lockdown," Himebaugh explained. "Medical offices were overwhelmed because of the COVID pandemic and there was a loss of access to students' usual social networks. We looked at the impact it had on students' overall sense of well-being. And at that point we looked at how many people turned to cannabis to treat themselves."

The research found that students' perceived sense of well-being and mental health was stable before the pandemic, then dipped during the pandemic and after the pandemic, improved, independent of whether or not they used cannabis, however:

"Those who stopped using cannabis during the pandemic had a higher sense of mental well-being than those who started using it during the pandemic," Clobes said.

Currently, Clobes and Cottage Health clinical neuropsychologist Matthew Kraybill are conducting a project called: "Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Opioid Prescribing Among Patients with Chronic Pain" with a $9,000 research grant awarded by Cottage Health Research Institute.

Clobes and Kraybill are looking into whether opioids are prescribed less often to patients who report they are using cannabis. At CSUCI, Clobes is working with students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program to research whether people do better working with a cannabis clinician or medicating themselves. (So far, subjects are doing much better with a clinician.)

Each research project raises more questions even as it provides another piece to therapeutic cannabis puzzle. Clobes continues on his quest to find answers to this often-controversial subject with anywhere from 10 to 20 students signing on for one of his research projects each semester.

Check out some of Clobes' research at: Clobes Cannabis Research.

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