Dr. Sherry Yafai

Sherry Yafai MD is a Cannabis and Board-Certified Emergency Medicine physician at Providence St. John’s Medical Center since 2009. Dr. Yafai started her medical career at UCSD Medical School graduating in 2005 and UCSD Emergency Medicine Residency in 2009. In 2017, after recreational marijuana laws had passed in California, Dr. Yafai opened her private Cannabis Clinic, the ReLeaf Institute, where she sees patients referred by physicians for cannabis education and treatment. She is the past Co-Vice President of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC) and a distinguished speaker for UCSD Center for Medical Cannabis Research, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, and multiple other medical programs. In 2019, Dr. Yafai worked with the Los Angeles community to put together the first CME approved Medical Cannabis Conference designed to educate the healthcare community on dosing, indications, and legal perspectives in the recreationally legal setting of California. The ReLeaf Institute Conference hosted the Medical Board of California, the LA County of Public Health, The Department of Cannabis Regulations for LA, Clinical and Cannabinoids Research Journal and SCC.
At the start of 2021, Dr. Yafai took on a new position as the SVP of Medical Affairs at People Science, with research on the current market as it’s focus. Currently, People Science’s first research project on sleep and THC is underway and accepting volunteers in the local Los Angeles area. A second research project is underway at Pacific Neuroscience in Santa Monica, focusing on Cannabis Education and Dementia patients. This group is also currently accepting volunteers.

Book Chapter: Understanding Medical Cannabis: Critical Issues and Perspectives for Human Service Professionals, Edited By Joanne Levine – Chapter Author: Yafai, S

Gottschling S, Ayonrinde O, Bhaskar A, Blockman M, D’Agnone O, Schecter D, Suárez Rodríguez LD, Yafai S, Cyr C. Safety Considerations in Cannabinoid-Based Medicine. Int J Gen Med. 2020 Dec 1;13:1317-1333. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S275049. PMID: 33299341; PMCID: PMC7720894. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33299341/

Ladha KS, McLaren-Blades A, Goel A, Buys MJ, Farquhar-Smith P, Haroutounian S, Kotteeswaran Y, Kwofie K, Le Foll B, Lightfoot NJ, Loiselle J, Mace H, Nicholls J, Regev A, Rosseland LA, Shanthanna H, Sinha A, Sutherland A, Tanguay R, Yafai S, Glenny M, Choi P, Ladak SSJ, Leroux TS, Kawpeng I, Samman B, Singh R, Clarke H. Perioperative Pain and Addiction Interdisciplinary Network (PAIN): consensus recommendations for perioperative management of cannabis and cannabinoid-based medicine users by a modified Delphi process. Br J Anaesth. 2020 Oct 28: S0007-0912(20)30783-2. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2020.09.026. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33129489.

July 2019 – Present: Emergency Medicine News monthly cannabis column (published)