UCLA has secured $7.3 million in grants from the California Department of Cannabis Control to fund research into cannabis and its effects. The grants, awarded to faculty across the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA College of Letters and Science, and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, will support studies on a range of issues including therapeutic uses for cannabinoids, cardiovascular risks associated with cannabis use, and approaches to regulating California’s unregulated cannabis market.
According to Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids and professor at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA: "This achievement reflects UCLA's leadership in advancing cannabis science through innovative research. From the laboratory to real-world market dynamics, our faculty are generating findings that will shape evidence-based regulation that prioritizes public health."
The two-year awards represent one quarter of the total $30 million recently distributed by the state agency among nine academic institutions. These funds aim to expand scientific knowledge about cannabis as well as guide future public policy regarding California’s legal cannabis sector.
The new studies at UCLA are scheduled to begin in early 2026.
