Colorado Health Officials Recommend Grants for 8 Cannabis Studies

Health officials in Colorado have recommended funding for eight studies on the safety and health effects of cannabis.

Officials have recommended over 7 million dollars in grants for the studies, as part of the largest state research program of cannabis ever. Under a bill signed earlier this year by Gov. John Hickenlooper, the state health department will give out approximately nine million dollars in grants in the next five years for clinical studies of cannabis.

“Our intent is to be rigorous scientifically, but to also act with some expediency because these are products that a large percentage of our population is using today,” said Dr. Larry Wolk, the executive director and chief medical officer of the health department. “We want to make sure that what’s happening out there in everyday practice isn’t harming people. The studies will be payed for using money brought in from the registration fees of medical cannabis patients.”

Of the eight proposed studies, two will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on childhood epilepsy. Specifically, the two studies will examine the effects of a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, CBD, and whether it can control the seizures of epileptic children. Indeed, many families have moved to Colorado to acquire CBD for their epileptic children because of the purported benefit of CBD in alleviating seizures.

The two studies which will receive the largest grants will be conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. These studies will investigate the potential of cannabis in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some clinical trials conducted with rats found that administering cannabinoids to rats after traumatic experience can prevent PTSD like symptoms.

Veteran Roger Martin is already convinced of cannabis’ medical benefits in treating individuals with PTSD. He founded the Denver group Operation Grow4Vets in an attempt to supply veterans with cannabis to treat their PTSD. The studies on cannabis and PTSD likely received the most funding because of the precedent to test the non-empirical anecdotal claims that cannabis may help veterans.

The other proposed studies will look at using cannabis as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease among young patients, cannabis as a treatment for pediatric brain tumors, a comparative study of the analgesic efficacy of cannabis and Oxycodone, and a study of the efficacy of CBD on tremor in Parkinson’s Disease.

The grant funding for the proposed studies requires final approval by the state Board of Health in December. After approval for funding the studies has been granted, researchers will then need to acquire federal approval to gain access to research-grade cannabis.