California marijuana regulators announced Tuesday that they have awarded nearly $20 Million in research grants to sixteen academic institutions for the purpose of carrying out studies on cannabis, including novel compounds like delta-8 THC as well as the genetics and “legacy strains” from the state.
California Department of Cannabis Control’s (DCC) research projects are funded with marijuana tax revenues. They fall into six categories: marijuana potency, medical use, marijuana industry health and monopolies, unfair competition and California legacy genetics.
In a recent press release, Rasha Salama said, “It’s the Department’s hope that these studies advance scientific research, improve our understanding of marijuana, and help refine the legal framework.”
She said that the Department is looking forward to sharing these studies once they have been completed.
California Department of Cannabis Control has awarded research grants totaling $20 million to 16 academic institutions. Read more here: https://t.co/jWjRVuVoOI pic.twitter.com/7RWWAxC2wo
CA Department of Cannabis Control April 25, 2019
The DCC has distributed the second batch of academic marijuana grants. In 2020, regulators distributed $30 million to universities in California for research.
Here is a list of research projects that California funds:
UC Irvine :A translational study on the short- and long-term effects of high-dose THC. Summary This study will collect detailed data in order to determine the acute effect of high-dose THC, on mood, cognition and abuse potential. It will also characterize absorption, metabolism and distribution of high dose THC.
UCLA : State of Medical Cannabis California. Summary The project will collect data on the use of medical cannabis. This includes the diagnoses that are associated with the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, the locations where cannabis is accessed by medicinal cannabis users, the preferred formulations of cannabis products and methods of administration and the cannabinoid contents of the products used by medicinal cannabis patients. ($437,465)
UCLA Assessing California’s Cannabis Industry. Summary The project will provide a rigorous and objectiv assessment of California’s Cannabis market in order to meet the statutory requirement of Revenue and Taxation Code SS34020.1 and make recommendations on how future assessments should be defined and measured. ($1,679,972)
UC Berkeley Understanding Operating Pressures and Anti-Competitive Features in the Cannabis Industry. Summary This study will investigate whether and how anti-competitive and monopolistic tendencies are developing in the California cannabis industry. It will also examine the patterns of ownership and investment that threatens the competitive landscape. ($855,434)
UC Berkeley Licensed Cultivation Across Permitted and Banned Jurisdictions. Summary This research will provide the first empirical assessment of unlicensed production and geographic distribution over time. It will also identify policies that are associated with the growth or decrease of unlicensed agriculture. ($1,042,321)
Cal Poly Humboldt, Legacy Cannabis Genetics, People and Their Plants: A Community-Driven study. Summary The project will be a community-based, multi-disciplinary participatory research that will document and preserve the history, values, and diversity in California’s rural heritage cannabis genetics, as well as the communities who care for them. ($2,699,178)
The regulators awarded a total amount of $19,942,918 in 16 grants for research, selected from 98 submissions.
Genine Coleman is the executive director of Origins Council. The council, in partnership with Humboldt researchers, is working to “empower and protect California’s heritage cultivation communities, who have overcame great adversity and innovated to steward and manage one of the world’s most important collections cannabis genetic resources.”
DCC announced in February that they would launch a grant program for cities and counties to help them establish local cannabis licensing programs in order to meet unmet consumer demands and curb the illegal market.
In the same month, California officials announced they had awarded $15 million to local efforts in order to promote equity in marijuana industry.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, (GO-Biz), distributed the money to 16 cities and Counties across the state via the Cannabis Equity Grants Program. The program opened applications late last year.
GO-Biz distributed a series of grants for community reinvestment totaling $35.5 millions last year with tax revenues generated by recreational marijuana sales.
California is also taking steps to extend its marijuana market outside the state’s boundaries. Regulators recently requested a formal opinion by the state attorney general’s office about whether allowing the interstate commerce of marijuana would place the state at a “significant risk” for federal enforcement actions.
The governor’s signed law last year empowered him to sign agreements with other states that allow the importation and exportation of marijuana products.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat from California, said last year that he wanted to see marijuana legalized federally in part so his state’s cannabis growers could “legally provide the rest of the country.”
A California Senate Committee approved last month a bill to legalize the possession of certain psychedelics as well as facilitate their use.
Bipartisan U.S. House And Senate Lawmakers Reintroduce Marijuana Banking Bill
Photo by California State Fair.
The post California officials award $20 million in marijuana research grants to study ‘legacy’ genetics, preventing monopsony and more first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
