SHARKS RX Spring 2016 Magazine

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY 18 Having now been clean for 18 years, Alfonso is frank about the dangers of drug use among pharmacists and is quick to share his experience with student pharmacists. In the spirit of paying it forward, Alfonso recently spoke to 250 pharmacy students about the danger of drug addiction in their profession, providing information on support systems that exist for students or practitioners who find themselves in trouble. Alfonso lost a considerable amount of money in a bad business deal several years ago. Anxious and unable to sleep one night, he turned on the television and saw a group of children with Down syndrome, which put his personal troubles in perspective. Two weeks later, he A wonderful role model for upcoming pharmacists interested in entrepreneurial opportunities, Alfonso moved from traditional pharmacy practice into nontraditional roles in manufacturing and nutritional supplements early in his career. His most recent interest has him researching the medicinal properties of cannabi- noids, the chemical components of marijuana. He became interested in medicinal cannabinoids several years ago, after his cousin’s son experienced relief from frequent daily seizures by using medicinal marijuana. Besides their well-known uses as pain relievers and appetite stimulants, cannabinoids are being investigated for a wide variety of treatments for inflammatory disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cancer treatment, among others. In addition, Alfonso is reading up on crossbreeding and cloning strains of cannabis to increase their medicinal strength while minimizing their psychoactive effects. If all goes as planned, he will be at the forefront of research and manufacturing of medicinal cannabinoids in Florida. “This is going to be one of the biggest things,” he predict- ed. “Pharmacists need to know about this.” That includes the NSU pharmacy students who visit his plant as part of their advanced pharmacy practice experiential rotation schedule to learn manufacturing and quality control of medicines and supplements. He also schools them in what he sees as the bright future of medicinal cannabinoids. “When they walk out of my rotation, they know,” said Alfonso. “We run them through a whole process on cannabis.” The son of Cuban parents who came to the United States in 1954, Alfonso has always been attracted to the business side of pharmacy. After graduation, he started his career working in retail pharmacies. Within 10 years, Alfonso rose to the rank of director of pharmacy at UnitedHealthcare, overseeing pharmacies and urgent care centers. After suffering drug and alcohol addiction, he took a nine-year leave from pharmacy to build a dietary supplement business. Anthony Alfonso, R.Ph., M.B.A. (’95), chair, Dean’s Advisory Board