Colorado awards $8 million for medical marijuana studies

Colorado health officials this week awarded $8 million in research grants to study the use of medical marijuana to treat symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease, childhood epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. The funding comes from taxes imposed on the state-regulated sale of medical marijuana.

Colorado was one of the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational pot use, and it is among 23 states and the District of Columbia that permit use of the drug for medicinal purposes.

But the use of weed for any reason remains illegal under federal law, a situation that has long meant a dearth of funding for medical marijuana research. Results have been limited and largely anecdotal.

Sue Sisley is a doctor who received $2 million in grant money from the Colorado awards. She'll be researching the effects of medical marijuana on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. She says she hopes these first peer-reviewed studies will lead to more medical marijuana research. 

"We're arming the public with real data," Sisley said. "What’s happening is, as laws are changing in various states, even elected officials, even the most conservative, are acknowledging the needs of rigorous science to understand how this plant works. Most of the research money now is only looking at harmful side effects."

In awarding eight grants for landmark peer-reviewed studies into various maladies, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said on Wednesday that it hopes to provide objective scientific research on the efficacy of medical marijuana.

"The grant program ... should not be construed as encouraging or sanctioning the social or recreational use of marijuana," the department said in a statement.

Colorado lawmakers set up a Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council last year and allocated $10 million to administer a program to conduct the studies. The council received about three dozen applications, from which it chose the eight approved on Wednesday by the department.

Six of the grants will go to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said university spokesman Mark Couch.

Researchers there will study whether marijuana can alleviate tremors associated with Parkinson's, and whether it can provide relief for children with brain tumors or pediatric epilepsy.

Other projects will conduct research on using marijuana to treat irritable bowel syndrome in adolescents and young adults, and how cannabis compares with the pain medication Oxycodone.

Teams at the University of Pennsylvania will conduct two separate studies on whether cannabis is effective in treating patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, including combat veterans.

"It's true that little research has been done due to federal restrictions. I think that will change as more states are legalizing," said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Control Board, which oversees legalized recreational cannabis there.

Voters in Oregon and Alaska cast ballots in November to join Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational pot use.

Al Jazeera and Reuters. Hilary Brueck contributed reporting.