Science & Research

Researchers at Duke University are exploring how psychedelics function in the brain by dosing larval zebrafish with a compound similar to LSD, and investigating how the substance affects movement and perception.

In a move that highlights the controversy around potency obsession and lab-shopping, Washington state regulators have issued an emergency suspension of a cannabis testing lab’s license alleging the lab had submitted “incorrect and/or false” test results to its clients and the government.

A University at Buffalo (UB) researcher was awarded $3.2 million from the National Cancer Institute to study how cannabis affects patients who receive immunotherapy.

A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that individuals who used psychedelics were more likely to experience better mental health outcomes during the pandemic.

Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) in Texas has received a nearly $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the use of hemp as animal feed.

Harvard University is creating a Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture that aims to “transform the psychedelics research landscape.”

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed CHEST Journal found that cannabis consumers who contracted COVID-19 had reduced mortality and better outcomes compared to non-consumers.

A recent study by New Zealand researchers found that planting hemp as a cover crop in vineyards could be beneficial, increasing organic matter and total carbon in the soil.

Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has received a $600,000 USDA grant to study industrial hemp and investigate the regulation of biosynthetic pathways for cannabinoid production.

A coalition of CBD companies has submitted a study to U.S. officials showing that upper intake levels of 70 milligrams of CBD per day are safe for healthy adults and that up to 160 milligrams per day are safe for healthy adults who are not trying to conceive, are pregnant, or lactating.

Harvest New York recently released a hemp growing manual assembled by researchers from Cornell Cooperative Extension and Alabama A&M University, a USDA research geneticist, and other industry experts.

A recent study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that the majority of hemp-derived THC products carry mislabeled dosages on their packaging and that most companies do not actually check their products for impurities.

Past-year and daily cannabis use among adults aged 19-30 are at the highest levels ever recorded by the National Institutes of Health, according to the 2022 Monitoring the Future survey.

Penn State researchers received $1 million from the National Science Foundation to help fund the development of the Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine, an effort to support the manufacture and deployment of bio-based products for greener construction, packaging, renewable energy, and more.

The University of California, San Diego Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative has received a $1.5 million philanthropic gift funding an investigation into the effects of DMT on the brain.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that teenagers living in ZIP codes with operating medical cannabis dispensaries are less likely to consume cannabis than teenagers who live in areas without them.

New York regulators on Thursday shut down multiple unlicensed cannabis shops in Ithaca, Binghamton, and New York City. The companies face fines of up to $10,000 per day of operating without a license.

A federal House proposal introduced on Tuesday would promote cannabis research at U.S. universities and eliminate federal barriers to cannabis research.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have received a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the effects of cannabis on the brains of people who are living with HIV.

A recent study by Quest Diagnostics found that post-accident workforce drug tests returned more positive tests for cannabis in 2022 than at any point in the previous 25 years.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) last week signed into law the state’s budget bill which includes $5 million to investigate the medicinal efficacy of whole-mushroom psilocybin.

The California Department of Cannabis Control this week announced the awarding of $20 million in cannabis research grants. The grants will fund studies investigating medical cannabis, cannabis cultivation, cannabis industry regulations, and more.

A recent study found that nematode worms prefer high-calorie foods while under the influence of cannabis, similar to how humans can get the munchies from consuming cannabis.

Professor Raphael Mechoulam, the “Father of Cannabis Research” who discovered THC in the 1960s, passed away on Friday at the age of 92.