Harvard Medical School and MIT have provided $9 million in grants to support cannabis research. MIT Alumnus Charles R. Broderick has provided the largest gift ever for cannabis research, enabling Mclean Hospital researcher, Staci Gruber, Ph.D., and 3 other awardees at Harvard Medical School to advance their research efforts.
Staci Gruber, Ph.D., will use her funding to compare a whole-plant, full-spectrum cannabis product with a product made from a single extracted compound. This research will help guide consumers, clinicians, and regulators on the effectiveness and risks associated with increasingly popular CBD products. Additionally, the funding will support investigations into a range of issues related to cannabis, including neurological effects, its use in treating medical and psychiatric conditions, and future regulation considerations.
"Everybody who is interested in using any cannabis-based product wants to understand potential differences between single extracted compounds and whole-plant, full-spectrum compounds," Gruber said. "The grant money will help allow us to identify differences in these two different approaches, which are very common across the nation."
Gruber continued, "A single extracted, purified form of cannabidiol--a primary, nonintoxicating constituent of the plant--might be different from a full-spectrum product that contains high levels of cannabidiol and also has other cannabinoids and other compounds," Gruber explained. "Our research could clarify the potential for synergistic effects that many believe occur when using full-spectrum products versus single extracted compounds."
"Increasing numbers of people in the world are exploring the use of cannabis and cannabinoid-based medications or products for many different reasons, but at the moment, we don't have a ton of data about the impact of individual cannabinoids compared to cannabinoids in the presence of other compounds," Gruber stated. "This is important for identifying which approach yields increased efficacy and has implications for harm reduction. We don't want to expose individuals to compounds they don't need to be exposed to if we can get the same 'bang for the buck' with a single compound. Conversely, some have reported increased efficacy at lower doses with full-spectrum compared to single-compound products."