Science & Research

Massachusetts cannabis regulators last week issued the state’s first cannabis research license to a facility operated by Curaleaf Processing, a subsidiary of Curaleaf Holdings.

Nearly one-third (32%) of medical cannabis patients cite chronic pain as their primary condition for medical cannabis use, with anxiety the second most common (26.8%) followed by insomnia (18.5%).

The Cannabis Research Institute, a collaboration between the University of Illinois and Discovery Partners Institute backed by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago, officially launched last week.

The majority of women surveyed by YouGov indicated they would try cannabis products if there were perceived health benefits, with most (16%) saying they were interested in sleep quality improvements.

A study published this month in the American Journal of Public Health found that U.S. food service and accommodation industry workers have the highest rates of cannabis consumption.

The hemp technology firm Hempitecture recently received $8.42 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to support creating an industrial hemp processing and manufacturing facility in Tennessee.

The National Hemp Association was awarded $19.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to monitor the impact of hemp cultivation in the Chesapeake Bay. The grant was awarded as part of the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

A recent study published in the journal Insects found that hemp-derived CBD kills yellow fever mosquitoes in their larval phase within 48 hours of application.

A new study found that cannabis use is “significantly associated with higher prevalence of physical activity” and that physical exercise in general was more common in states and territories with legal cannabis access.

A recent report sponsored by the CDC says the federal government should be more involved with cannabis policy as more and more states enact reforms to end prohibition.

The Global Hemp Innovation Center at Oregon State University recently received $5.5 million from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to fund research into hemp-based foods, beverages, and other industrial uses for the plant.

Having access to legal medical cannabis in all 50 U.S. states could save Americans up to $29 billion per year in reduced healthcare expenditures, according to a recent study.

The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging released last week found that 21% of respondents aged 50 and older used THC-rich cannabis products at least once in the past year.

Past 30-day use of cannabis and hallucinogenic drugs among adults aged 19-50 have remained at “historically high levels” in the U.S. while past-month and daily alcohol use continued a decade-long decline among adults aged 19-30, with binge drinking reaching all-time lows.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill establishing a cannabis research program at the University of Mississippi to investigate the safety, efficacy, and therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis.

The number of Americans who use both cannabis and tobacco products is increasing, particularly among older adults, according to Duke University School of Medicine researchers.

The head of UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is aiming to convert the institute’s top floor into a rooftop garden, or “living laboratory,” designed to study and facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapy.

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology is selling reference materials to help testing labs and law enforcement agencies accurately measure key components in cannabis products and better distinguish between hemp and THC-rich cannabis products.

British researchers investigating the efficacy of medical cannabis for older patients said that people aged 65+ who are prescribed medical cannabis report experiencing “significant improvements across all measures of well-being.”

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently reported findings that link cannabis use to an increased risk of severe illness related to COVID-19.

Researchers analyzing data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study recently found that older adults who have used psychedelics tend to exhibit better cognitive function and fewer depressive symptoms.

In a review of the hallucinogen MDMA posted last week, the FDA highlighted concerns about the initial investigations into the drug as a potential new therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A recent study found that terpenes could be an effective and side-effect-free treatment for chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain.