On 8 April 2020, in light of the postponed launch of the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University in Lismore, NSW, the Deputy Director of Education, Associate Professor Matthew Leach, was interviewed by Dr Susan Arentz. The following transcribed interview is a taste of what’s coming at the centre – it describes the vision, its relevance to naturopaths as practitioners, and the changes it could bring to the naturopathic medicine profession.

The use of medicinal cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) oil internationally is continuing to propagate, with the CBD market blazing a path to an estimated value of US$23.7 billion by 2023. This, coupled with the promises of its therapeutic potential regularly doing the rounds on social media, it is not surprising that there are increasing numbers of Australian patients and practitioners that are wanting to learn more and obtain access. This commentary shares a brief overview of CBD’s chemistry, pharmacology, therapeutic uses, workplace health and safety implications, potential side effects, drug driving laws and drug interactions, along with the current regulatory and legal framework for its therapeutic use in Australia.

Australians have been facing many psychological and behavioural challenges since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the number of studies are limited, some research suggests that the psychological effects of quarantine are long-lasting and can still be detected months or years later. The following article presents the latest research about prosocial behaviour and meditation to assist health practitioners in clinical practice navigate the uncertainty of the coming ‘post-quarantine’ period.

These abstracts are brief summaries of articles in recent issues of medical journals. Articles selected are of a general nature for the information of practitioners of naturopathy and herbal medicine. A dominant theme is often present throughout the journals, which will be reflected in the reviews.

These abstracts are brief summaries of articles which have appeared in recent issues of herbal medicine journals, some of which may be held in the NHAA library.

The AJHNM-based CPE questionnaire system is a voluntary system designed to assist members in the accumulation of NHAA CPE points. Questions are divided into the appropriate subject categories (herbal medicine and medical science) and each question refers to an article in this issue of the Australian Journal of Herbal and Naturopathic Medicine. Points accumulated through completion of these questions should be recorded in the NHAA CPE diary. Each completed question is worth one mark in the relevant category. Your completed CPE diary should be returned with your membership renewal at the end of the calendar year. For further information, please see the NHAA CPE Members’ Manual on the NHAA website www.nhaa.org.au.