Chicago, IL: The University of Illinois has opened the state’s first-ever Cannabis Research Institute. The purpose of the Institute is to provide an “unbiased, rigorous, equity-centric research center advancing public knowledge about all aspects of cannabis and hemp.” Key research priorities for the Institute include “agricultural crop management, health and medicinal effects, and social equity impacts.”
The Institute is funded by a three-year, $7 million grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Several states – including California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Utah – have similarly established (or are in the process of establishing) state-sponsored institutions to study the safety and efficacy of cannabis. Some of these programs have conducted FDA-approved clinical trials documenting cannabis’ efficacy in various patient populations.
Illinois lawmakers legalized the adult-use marijuana market in 2019.
Additional information is available from the Cannabis Research Institute.