Colorado State University’s Pueblo campus has secured $1.2 million to establish a research institute focused on medical marijuana, the latest venture to study the health and economic impacts of cannabis.
The money also will be used to establish a peer-reviewed journal, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
The string of new research establishments are aimed at filling a void: There’s a dearth of formal research involving marijuana, and additional studies could lead to more doctors prescribing MMJ – a move that could boost sales.
The Pueblo County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously this week to provide CSU-Pueblo with $270,000 of marijuana excise tax revenue. About $220,000 will be used on medical cannabis research, while $50,000 will be used to study legalization’s social impact, a school officials told the Gazette.
Four to five CSU-Pueblo faculty members initially will staff the institute.
Prospective research topics include the economic impact of recreational marijuana as well as the growing and breeding of hemp plants, the Gazette reported.
The news follows last month’s launch of a medical cannabis research institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, as well as the recent launch of the nonprofit Institute for Research on Cannabinoids.