The purpose of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is to coordinate rigorous scientific studies to assess the safety and efficacy of cannabis and cannabis compounds for treating medical conditions.
2017 National Academies Report
CMCR Legislative Report
2000 IOM Report
1999 IOM Report
The Cannabis and Health symposium will be broadcast live from 8am - 5pm PDT on Friday October 18th.
On Friday, October 18, 2019 the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) is hosting a one-day symposium celebrating the pioneers and exploring the progress, promise, and challenges of medicinal cannabis research. Click here for the agenda and further details.
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Some seats may still be available, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.for more information.
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Breakfast at 7:30 AM, lunch included
Location: UC San Diego's Atkinson Hall, San Diego, California
Jared Aarons, ABC 10News San Diego, September 10, 2019
Starting this fall, the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine is offering the first-ever certificate program specializing in medical marijuana.
The three-semester class promises to teach health care professionals the basics of medical cannabis, so they can begin to use it in their practice.
"We thought it was important for health care professionals to have objective information about medical marijuana," says school President Jack Miller.
Miller says part of the program's purpose is to help dispel some of the myths surrounding medical marijuana.
Read the rest of the story here
The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at UC San Diego has been a leader in medical marijuana research since 2000. In the past CMCR has allocated funds to investigators in California to conduct some of the first proof of principle clinical trials of cannabis in neuropathic pain and multiple sclerosis.
With the recent allocation of new funding to CMCR as part of Proposition 64, the CMCR has launched a new wave of grant applications aimed at examining both the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabinoids. CMCR issued a call for applications to investigators in California in April 2019, received 66 letters of intent from 19 California institutions, and invited 26 applications for primary and pilot studies. Based on external peer review, advice of the CMCR’s National Advisory Council, and rating of attentiveness to CMCR priorities, the Center has selected 5 studies for funding this year. The studies to be funded are listed in the table below.
| Study title | Principal Investigator |
Full funding amount |
| Effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) versus Placebo as an Adjunct to Treatment in Early Psychosis: Understanding the Mechanism and Mediators of Action | Kristin Cadenhead, MD (UC San Diego) | $825,000 |
| Therapeutic Response of Cannabidiol in Rheumatoid Arthritis | Veena Ranganath, MD (UCLA) | $825,000 |
| Cannabidiol for Sedative/Hypnotic-sparing Management of Insomnia in Adults | Mariana Cherner, PhD (UC San Diego) | $825,000 |
| Cannabidiol as a Strategy to Treat Alcohol Dependence | Giordano de Guglielmo, PhD (UC San Diego) | $300,000 |
| The Role of Cannabidiol (CBD) in Regulating Meal Time Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa: Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics | Emily Gray, MD (UC San Diego) | $300,000 |
CMCR anticipates issuing a new call for applications in 2020.
Congratulations to the new CMCR Investigators!
- Igor Grant, MD, Director
Nick Musica, CBD Oil Review, August 21, 2019
Recently, Nick Musica of CBD Oil Review had the privilege of speaking with one of the most influential figures in cannabis research, Dr. Igor Grant. Dr. Grant is the Director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at the University of California, San Diego, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.
Current CMCR studies are examining the effects of cannabis, and cannabidiol (CBD) specifically, on conditions like autism, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and pain, to name a few.
There is, quite possibly, no one who understands the benefits and effects of CBD better than Dr. Grant. Meet the researcher behind the research.
Igor Grant, MD
Marijuana as Medicine: Can We See Past the Smoke?
North American Cannabis Summit presentation January 2019 (PDF)
Igor Grant, MD
Introduction/Overview
CMCR Symposium, June 2018
Daniele Piomelli, MD, PhD, PharmD
The health impact of cannabis
CMCR Symposium, June 2018
Ziva Cooper, PhD
Therapeutic potential of cannabis for pain alone and as an adjunct to opioids
CMCR Symposium, June 2018
Iain McGregor, PhD
Medicinal cannabis research down under: Introducing the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics
CMCR Symposium, June 2018