As part of Proposition 64 funding to the CMCR, the Center is pleased to announce two new studies for funding this year. These proposals were submitted in response to the Spring call, which was open to all California higher education and nonprofit research institutions. The final selection was based on external peer review, advice of the CMCR’s National Advisory Council, and attentiveness to CMCR priorities.

One study is a clinical trial (Cooper) examining the effects of combining THC and cannabigerol on pain and other outcomes while the second project (Ortiz) is a preclinical study regarding the effects of CBD on blood pressure and factors related to metabolic syndrome.

Principal Investigator: Ziva D. Cooper, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Interim Director and Research Director, UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Institution: UC Los Angeles
Title: Analgesic, appetite-stimulating, and subjective effects of cannabigerol administered alone and in combination with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Full funding amount – Primary study: $825,000

Dr. Cooper’s current research involves understanding the neurobiological, pharmacological, and behavioral variables that influence both the therapeutic potential and adverse effects of cannabis and cannabinoids.

Principal Investigator: Rudy M. Ortiz, PhD, Professor of Physiology & Endocrinology
Institution: UC Merced
Title: Effects of CBD on blood pressure and substrate metabolism during metabolic syndrome
Full funding amount – Pilot study: $300,000

Dr. Ortiz’s proposed work focuses on the potential of plant-derived and synthetic CBD to ameliorate the hypertension and/or the hyperglycemia associated with the model of Metabolic Syndrome.

 Congratulations to the new CMCR Investigators!

- Igor Grant, MD, Director

Click here for more information about the CMCR Grants Program.