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NIDA is pushing for more cannabis research.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has been ramping up its work on cannabis research in recent years.
As Cannabis Wire reported in September, NIDA announced unprecedented funding for this area of research. Subsequently, the agency has been working to get the word out about its priorities when it comes to cannabis research.
Now, on Friday, NIDA issued a Notice of Special Interest for Public Health Research on Cannabis. (It issued a similar notice in late 2019.)
The purpose of the notices are simply to “encourage grant applications on the effects of changing cannabis laws and policies in the US and globally on public health.”
There are a couple of noteworthy differences in the language between the 2019 version and the new version, though. See the bolded areas below.
2019: “Policies around cannabis use in the United States (and globally) are changing rapidly, and far outpacing the knowledge needed to determine and minimize the public health impacts of these changes. A growing number of states have loosened restrictions on cannabis, including those on sales and use, by passing medical marijuana laws or by making cannabis legal for adult recreational use, and in some cases, states have done both. Recognizing this widening research gap, NIDA solicited input from an Advisory Council Workgroup to identify cannabis policy research areas with the greatest urgency and potential for impact.”
2022: “Policies around of cannabis products (including whole plant cannabis and cannabis constituent compounds) in the United States (and globally) continue to evolve, and far outpace the knowledge needed to determine the public health impacts of these changes. Growing numbers of states have loosened restrictions on cannabis, including those on sales and use, by passing medical marijuana laws or by making cannabis legal for adult recreational use, and in increasing numbers, states have done both. Recognizing this widening research gap, in 2018 NIDA sought input from a National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA) Workgroup to identify cannabis policy research areas with the greatest urgency and potential for impact, and many of these questions and concerns remain.”
A solution for cannabis-induced vomiting?
As cannabis consumption becomes more widely accepted, reports of adverse effects will increase as well.
One of the most commonly known is Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, or when a consumer vomits uncontrollably. Now, Mercy Health Ohio is recruiting for a clinical trial to determine whether a Benadryl injection could treat the syndrome.
Cyprus and Spain issue tenders seeking cannabidiol.
Countries around the world are increasingly utilizing cannabidiol (CBD) as medicine.
In Spain, Niño Jesús University Children’s Hospital is seeking roughly $500,000 of, specifically, Epidyolex (which is what GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, as it is known in the US, is called in other countries).
In Cyprus, the Ministry of Health is seeking a supplier who can provide roughly $1 million worth of cannabidiol, and it did not specify Epidyolex.
+ More: Read Cannabis Wire’s coverage of Epidiolex, the first FDA-approved medicine extracted directly from cannabis plants
