University of Los Angeles receives $6.4 million for cannabis research
Seven scholarships from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control will support research on the effects of cannabis on health and aspects of the industry
UCLA (University of Los Angeles) has received seven grants from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control totaling $6.4 million. The awards will fund studies on topics ranging from the toxicity of inhaled and secondhand smoke from the plant to working conditions in California's cannabis industry.
The grants were awarded to faculty from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and several research centers.
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“The grants exemplify the breadth of cannabis research being conducted at UCLA,” said Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative and associate professor at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "The awards provide UCLA with the opportunity to showcase its interdisciplinary research on cannabis."
A study led by Saba Waheed and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, for example, will focus on documenting work experiences, safety conditions, and career trajectories in the cannabis retail and cultivation sectors.
“We will produce comprehensive and actionable research to inform policymakers, educators, employers, and labor organizations to ensure that cannabis contributes to the well-being and economic prospects of new generations of workers in a challenging economy and in ways that mitigate the effects of past cannabis criminalization,” said Smallwood-Cuevas.
The seven studies funded by the new awards are:
- The impact of cannabis potency on the properties, composition, and toxicity of inhaled and passive smoke
- Assessment of the feasibility and consequences of implementing a cannabis potency tax in California
- Study of employment conditions and equity in California's cannabis industry
- Evaluating the impact of Proposition 64 on cannabis use, maladaptive cannabis use, treatment of cannabis use disorder, and public health
- A demographic analysis of California's licensed cannabis industry and consumer market
- The impact of cannabis marketing on California youth
- Understanding the impact of cannabis marketing on cannabis use disparities among LGBTQ youth
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The awards for UCLA were part of nearly $30 million in new grants from the Bureau of Cannabis Control for California public universities to study the impact of Proposition 64, which legalized adult use of cannabis for individuals aged 21 and over.
Source: Newswise