Colorado Will Pay You to Prove Medical Cannabis Works

The state of Colorado recently accepted applications for those interested in receiving grants to prove the effectiveness of medical cannabis. Basically, the state has agreed to fund studies that look at the effects of cannabis on various medical disorders, with emphasis on studies that involve human subjects. Studies can also include animal test subjects or other tests without live subjects, and individual projects may receive thousands of dollars with which to carry out their research. 

This idea was initially proposed in response to complaints that there is not enough hard evidence to support the claims that cannabis is useful to treat certain diseases and conditions. Therefore, SB-155 was passed, which is a bill that grants ten million in funding to these special projects. 

According to this new Medical Marijuana Research Grant Program, “The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) considers proposals to add additional debilitating medical conditions to the list of conditions for which a person may use medical marijuana through the medical marijuana program. CDPHE needs additional medical research on the potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana and its component parts to add new debilitating medical conditions to Colorado’s medical marijuana program, and help physicians better understand the effects of medical marijuana.” The study is looking at a variety of, from those most commonly associated with medicinal cannabis benefits, to new uses on the recently discovered medical horizon. 

Currently, all applications for projects have been accepted and are being screened for approval. In the future, Coloradoans can expect to see the same types of ads as seen for studies on pharmaceutical drugs or medical schools testing a new type of medication. Hopefully, cannabis enthusiasts will soon be able to turn their passion into profit while simultaneously advancing scientific knowledge.