WSU establishes center to monitor a wide range of cannabis research

The Washington State University Faculty Senate and Board of Regents have created a Center for Cannabis Policy, Research and Outreach (CCRPO) with the idea of ​​overseeing the school’s extensive cannabis research, Hemp Today reported.

“The status of the center recognizes the outstanding, multidisciplinary fellowships of our researchers on cannabis. It also brings together work on everything from research on the effects of cannabis on development, to research on cannabis and public safety, to our growing hemp research, ”said Michael McDonell, CCPRO director.

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WSU began cannabis research back in 2011, before Washington became the first state, along with Colorado, to legalize adult cannabis in 2012. Now the university is ready to take its research to the next level as it will employ around 100 scientists to oversee many ongoing cannabis-related studies.

One of them is headed by Professor David Gang, whose WSU research team is in the second year of hemp cultivation trials.

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The university also worked with researchers from Oregon and California studying hemp germplasm for CBD and industrial use, analyzing plant chemistry, and looking for strains that would bloom in certain parts of the state.

In the past six years, WSU has carried out around 50 projects, including studies on behavioral and biological predictors of cannabis abuse using a novel animal model for the administration of cannabis vapor. This research was recently approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse for $ 400,000.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.