Washington State University Partners with Pharmaceutical Firm for Cannabis Study
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]ashington State University and Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC) are partnering to further the understanding of cannabis and advance the pace of medical cannabis research in the state.
According to Washington State University, the partnership is beneficial because it gives researchers from the university the freedom to study cannabis in a way that doesn’t violate any laws, since the school receives federal funding.
The studies conducted will look at the impact of cannabis on physical and mental health, as well as how it affects public safety. “We know less about the health benefits and risks of cannabis than almost any other drug. Currently, cannabis researchers must jump over extensive barriers to obtain cannabis they need to conduct human and animal research on the effects on health,” said Dr. Michael McDonell, chair of the CCPRO. “Our partnership with BRC allows us to begin to work together to problem-solve innovatively through federally compliant strategies to obtain cannabis for research purposes.”
“Partnering with a research institution of Washington State University’s caliber ensures that we are working with premier investigators to uncover the promise of these products and, also, that we are meeting our responsibilities as far as public safety risks are concerned,” said George Hodgin, CEO of BRC. “We know these products have shown a great deal of promise in aiding patients suffering from a variety of health conditions including PTSD and chronic pain, yet federally-compliant research in the United States is sorely lacking. It is time to provide health care providers, regulators and law enforcement officials with a fuller story, so they can effectively do their jobs to get the most out of cannabis while protecting citizens from any potential harm.”
Washington has been making some major moves lately. Officials have recently helped the state became one of the first to ban flavored vaping devices and they’ve also been working on updating regulations for legal cannabis. This step will make it even easier for cannabis to be studied in Washington.
