With the aid of federal funding, a university which held a monopoly for decades as the sole institution authorized by the federal government to grow marijuana in order to study it, has announced the creation of a cannabis research centre.
In late 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal agency that announced the first announcement of the R3CR Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research at the University of Mississippi.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, under the NIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) will provide a grant to the College.
WSU is responsible for the research assistance, and USP is responsible for standards of research.
In a release, it was announced that the National Center for Natural Products Research at Ole Miss will be home to NIH’s resource center. The center “will provide cannabis research information via an interactive website and webinars as well as seed funding, conferences, and conference grants” in order to help researchers “generate science-based evidence”.
Donald Stanford said R3CR is a way to bring awareness of “significant shifts in the landscape of marijuana research.”
The development of cannabis technology, stronger regulations and compliance with them, as well, as other changes, such as improvements in regulation, are also expected. [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] “Receiving relevant safety information to make decisions about cannabinoids found in food and dietary supplement can contribute to the health of people.”
This center’s main purpose is to provide “guidance on standards of quality, regulation and regulations”
Stanford said, “The mission of the participating NIH institutions reflects why I’m so excited about what long-term effects are possible.” Stanford said, “We have all got family members and friends with diseases or illnesses for which alternate treatments could be beneficial.”
Mahmoud ElSohly—who has long helmed the university’s cannabis cultivation and research division, contracted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)—will be leading the cannabis regulatory guidance effort.
Researchers and administrators alike must understand all the regulations and requirements of federal and state agencies in order to be able to adhere. The resource center will try to give guidance in such situations.
Robert Welch will join ElSohly, the director of the National Center for Cannabis Research and Education at the University, to help in this effort.
Welch stated that some researchers may not be aware of the requirements to conduct cannabis research with human subjects. The FDA and administrators of state-approved medical cannabis programs are interested in seeing these studies progress so researchers can explore safety and efficacy concerns.
The NCCIH, a leading agency within the NIH, acknowledged that scientists were concerned about “barriers that have hampered [their] research” on marijuana, due to federal prohibition. These barriers included “complex federal regulations” and insufficient supplies of cannabis.
Multiple federal agencies have made removing marijuana research obstacles a priority. Scientists continue to be faced with an expensive and onerous registration process to gain access to cannabis, due to the current Schedule I status of this drug under Controlled Substances Act.
R3CR can’t change the policy on its own. It is being reviewed by the Drug Enforcement Administration after a Biden Administration-led study that prompted agencies to suggest moving cannabis from Schedule II to III. But NIH had previously given some examples as to how they plan on having the center reduce burdens.
DEA Schedule I Research Registration Costs and Other Relevant Federal Regulations. The program could address the equipment and materials needed for monitoring and storage.
It was announced that the new center would be opening months after a National Advisory Council for Complementary and Integrative Health meeting (NACCIH), where the NACCIH members approved of the proposed concept for the institute.
Meanwhile, DEA recently notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before the acting administrator, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis.
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