Cannabis is a Schedule I drug, which means there are strict rules for studying it in the United States. As a result, we do not know as much as we would like about cannabis’s effects on the body.
Some of the revenue collected from cannabis taxes funds grants. This helps expand our knowledge about cannabis.
Research funded by California
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) funds scientific research to study the effects of adult-use cannabis legalization. This includes research about:
- Public health
- Criminal justice and public safety
- Economic impacts
- Environmental impacts
- Cannabis industry
Find out how to apply for cannabis research grants.
What we’re studying
If you require an ADA compliant version of any of the reports, please send a request to outreach@cannabis.ca.gov.
| Year | Status | University Name | Funding Awarded | Topics: | Summary: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | In progress | Cal Poly, Humboldt | $2,699,178 | Cannabis Genetics, Preservation, Policy, Policy Evaluation | Identifying, documenting, and preserving California’s rural legacy cannabis genetics, exploring the impacts of criminalization and policies on legacy genetics while providing policy recommendations for preserving the culture and genetic diversity of legacy cannabis. |
| 2023 | In progress | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo | $444,643 | Regulation, Supply Chain | Analyzing local cannabis regulations in California, including investigating potential unfair competition, estimating market power through industry interviews and data, and exploring state policies to address non-competitive effects of market concentration. |
| 2020 | In progress | CSU Dominguez Hills | $1,866,311 | Impacts of Legalization, Equity, Policy Evaluation, Economic Analysis, Criminal Justice | Assessing the impact of Proposition 64 on the South Bay region of Los Angeles, including economic and criminal justice factors. |
| 2020 | Complete | CSU Humboldt | $183,015 | Supply Chain, Workplace Safety, Economic Analysis, Taxes, Impacts of Legalization, Policy Evaluation, Local Control | Examining the economic impact of the cannabis industry in Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties. Economic Impacts of the Cannabis Industry Northern California Counties |
| 2020 | Complete | CSU Humboldt | $464,997 | Entrepreneur, Equity | Identifying success factors for cannabis entrepreneurs in California, including tools for evaluating and promoting legal, safe, and equitable innovation. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC Berkeley | $630,130 | Cultivation, Medicinal Cannabis, Criminal Justice | Investigating Hmong cannabis farmers in California, including exploring their medicinal cannabis uses, cultivation practices, migrations, interactions with the criminal justice system, and capital and labor dynamics on cannabis farms. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC Berkeley | $1,042,321 | Unlicensed Cultivation, Cultivation, Policy Evaluation, Environmental Impact, Local Control | Assessing the dynamics of unlicensed cannabis production, the size of the unlicensed market and identifying correlated policies, and evaluating the effectiveness of cultivation bans or permits in preventing environmental harm. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC Berkeley | $855,434 | Anticompetitive Practices, Ethnography, Economic Analysis | Examining unfair practices in California’s cannabis industry, looking at how investors impact small and equity businesses, studying investment patterns, and suggesting policies to prevent unfair behaviors. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $314,417 | Environmental Impact, Water Management, Sustainability, Aquatic Species, Water Use | Assessing cannabis water-use impacts to streamflow, water temperature, and habitat quality for aquatic species like salmon. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $328,916 | Impacts of Legalization, Environmental Impact, Cannabis Bans, Policy Development, Local Control, Economic Analysis, Law Enforcement, Public Health | Understand the reasons and effects of local cannabis bans, including their impact on law enforcement, local economies, resources, environmental health, and resident well-being. Cannabis Bans, Local Control, and the Effects and Efficacy of Proposition 64 A theory of geo-social marginalization: A case study of the licensed cannabis industry in California |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $270,269 | Impacts of Legalization, Property Prices, Economic Analysis, Policy Evaluation, Local Control | Assessing the impact of local cannabis regulations on property prices, tax revenue, and economic fairness across different types of communities in the state. Green Acres? Cannabis agriculture, formalization, and rural land values in Northern California |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $319,091 | Wildfires, Climate, Cultivation | Assessing how wildfires impact California’s cannabis farms, associated risks, and ways to make cannabis farming more resilient to wildfires. Wildfire impacts and mitigation strategies among California cannabis producers Wildfire smoke exposure has significant economic impacts on California’s licensed cannabis industry |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Berkeley | $465,902 | Tribal Communities, Tribal Sovereignty, Impacts of Legalization | Understanding the impact of cannabis production legalization on Tribal communities and their sovereignty over ancestral lands. Cannabis Impacts on Native Lands: On the Need for Inclusion of Native Perspectives in Extension Work |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $658,306 | Impact of Legalization, Ethnographics, Unregulated Market | Studying the impact of cannabis legalization on California’s unregulated cannabis market. in the Emerald Triangle, Sierra Foothills, and Inland Empire. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $489,762 | Cultivation, Environmental Impact, Wildlife | Assessing the environmental impact of noise and light disturbances from legal cannabis cultivation on fish, wildlife, and their habitats in California. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Berkeley | $1,827,596 | Impacts of Legalization, Environmental Impact, Cultivation, Policy Evaluation, Unlicensed Market, Local Control | Assessing whether local government regulations on cannabis cultivation align with the objectives of Proposition 64. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC Davis | $856,881 | Vaping, Public Health, Health Impacts, Cannabinoids, Cognitive Function | Studying the chemistry, toxicology, and health impacts of cannabinoids produced by cannabis vaping devices. Chemical composition of aerosols from the e-cigarette vaping of natural and synthetic cannabinoids |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Davis | $144,949 | Occupational Health, Cannabis Workers, Immigrant Workers, Public Health | Investigating the occupational health hazards faced by cannabis workers, particularly immigrants, including worker perceptions, beliefs, and knowledge of health and industry hazards. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Davis | $1,034,730 | Public Health, Therapeutic Effects, Metabolic Health, Cognitive Function, Youth Impacts, Health Impacts | Exploring the public health impact of legal cannabis use in California, including the impact of cannabis use in early psychosis. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Davis | $562,240 | Cultivation, Environmental Impact, Testing, Policy Analysis | Evaluating the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation in California between licensed and unlicensed production, including the effects of testing regulations and compliance with criminal prohibition on unlicensed cannabis. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Davis | $726,816 | Economic Analysis, Retail Prices, Impacts of Legalization, Policy Evaluation, Local Control | Examining various economic impacts of cannabis in California, including the competitiveness of licensed businesses, regional differences in retail prices, and the effects of local regulatory and demographic factors on the cannabis market. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Davis | $655,564 | Taxes, Potency, Retail Prices, Economic Analysis, Policy Evaluation | Analyzing retail market prices for licensed and unlicensed cannabis in California, including the effects of current and alternative tax structures, on administrative costs, revenues, retail prices, and the overall viability of the legal cannabis market in California. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC Irvine | $2,000,000 | Potency, THC, Health Effects | Analyzing the effects of high-potency cannabis, focusing on THC, in both humans and laboratory rodents, and addressing absorption, distribution, metabolism, mood, cognition, and potential long-term health effects. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Irvine | $1,351,556 | Adolescent Use, Economic Analysis, Youth Impacts, Impacts of Legalization, Public Health, Policy Evaluation | Investigating how local cannabis policies impact adolescent cannabis use across California and assessing the effectiveness of current laws in preventing underage access to cannabis marketing. Age-Gating and Marketing Differences Between Storefront and Non-Storefront Cannabis Retailers Cannabis Vape Product Sales in California Following CDC’s Initial Advisory About Lung Injuries |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Los Angeles | $1,429,001 | Impacts of Legalization, Cannabinoids, Potency, Smoking Effects, Public Health | Exploring the impact of high-potency cannabis on human and animal health |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Los Angeles | $781,707 | Impacts of Legalization, Public Health, Policy Evaluation, Socioeconomics | Assessing the impact of the Proposition 64 on racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities related to cannabis policies, licensing, and consumption. |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Los Angeles | $758,517 | Youth Impacts, Policy Evaluation, Impacts of Legalization, Public Health, Advertising | Assessing the impact of cannabis marketing on California’s youth. Characteristics and effects of cannabis advertisements with appeal to youth in California |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Los Angeles | $414,183 | Advertising, Youth Impacts, Impacts of Legalization | Assessing cannabis use rates among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth, and whether said youth are differently exposed to pro-cannabis marketing. Changes in sexual identity and substance use during young adulthood |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Los Angeles | $1,082,815 | Potency, Taxes, Policy Evaluation | Accessing the feasibility and consequences of implementing a cannabis potency tax in California. High-Potency Cannabis Use and Health: A Systematic Review of Observational and Experimental Studies |
| 2020 | Complete | UC Los Angeles | $896,794 | Public Health, Health Impacts, Impacts of Legalization, Youth Impacts, Substance Abuse | Studying the affect of legalization on cannabis use rates, maladaptive use rates for adults and youth, and the rate of diagnosis of cannabis-related substance abuse disorders. Adult use cannabis legalization and cannabis use disorder treatment in California, 2010-2021 |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Los Angeles | $1,048,857 | Occupational Health, Cannabis Workers, Public Health, Equity | Assessing employment conditions and equity in California’s cannabis industry, including worker safety, career trajectory, and economic outcomes. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC San Diego | $676,735 | Cannabinoid Effects, Young Adults, THC, CBD, Potency | Measuring cannabis potency and its impoacts on cognitive, brain, and psychiatric functioning in young adult cannabis users. |
| 2023 | In progress | UC San Diego | $240,417 | Adolescent Use, Long Term Effects, THC, CBD, Mental Health, Physical Health | Investigating the lifelong impact of adolescent cannabis use on mental and physical health, including the adolescent brain and cognitive development. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Diego | $987,738 | Labeling, Edibles, Packaging, Youth Impacts, Policy Evaluation, Public Health | Investigating the impact of packaging and labeling on cannabis edible use among youth in California. The impacts of packaging on preferences for cannabis edibles: A discrete choice experiment |
| 2020 | In progress | UC San Diego | $887,101 | Public Health, Health Impacts, Medicinal Cannabis | Assessing the role of CBD in improvement of alexithymia and health outcomes. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Diego | $235,039 | Medicinal Cannabis, Health Impacts, Public Health | Investigating the risks and benefits of cannabis use in older adults. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Diego | $1,321,833 | Public Health, Survey Study, Behavioral Changes, Policy Evaluation, Impact of Legalization | Assessing the public health impact of cannabis legalization in California, including usage patterns, reasons for use, behavioral changes, dependency, and information sources. Cannabis Use in California Following Legalization of Recreational Use |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Francisco | $2,000,000 | THC, CBD, CBG, Physiology, Cognitive Function, Brain Development, Public Health, Potency | Exploring the long-term effects of early-life exposure to cannabinoids, including THC, CBD, and CBG, on various health outcomes like brain development, behavior, physiology, cognition, and immune function. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Francisco | $1,067,483 | Lung Function, Public Health, Health Impacts | Investigating the impact of cannabis use on lung function and health by measuring cannabis metabolites in urine. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Francisco | $1,038,782 | Pregnancy, Public Health, Policy Evaluation, Labeling | Investigating the public health impacts of mandatory warning signs for cannabis use during pregnancy. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Francisco | $1,384,466 | Cardiovascular Health, Secondhand Exposure, Public Health | Assessing the impact of cannabis use and secondhand exposure on cardiovascular health. |
| 2020 | Complete | UC San Francisco | $962,540 | Impacts of Legalization, Cannabis Poisoning, Public Health, THC, Potency, Poison Control Data | Investigating the impact of acute cannabis poisonings and overdoses in California, both before and after the implementation of Proposition 64. |
| 2020 | In progress | UC Santa Barbara | $1,999,191 | Environmental Impact, Sustainability, Water Quality, Pesticides, Cultivation | Assessing the environmental impact of cannabis farms in Santa Barbara County, including pesticide residues and downstream water quality. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $2,000,000 | Synthetic Cannabinoids, Legislation, Potency | Assessing synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, including potency, psychoactive effects, and therapeutic potential. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $1,849,962 | Medicinal Cannabis, Health Systems, Public Health | Examining how medicinal cannabis is used among clinical populations by analyzing data from health systems in Los Angeles County, focusing on prevalence, patterns, dosing, types of products, modes of use, perceived impacts on symptoms, and self-reported adverse effects. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $1,679,972 | Unlicensed Cultivation, Impacts of Legalization, Economic Analysis, Policy Evaluation, Taxes | Assessing changes in the CA cannabis market from 2019 through June 2024, including projecting the viability of general and equity cannabis businesses, the impact of the suspension of the cultivation tax, and how to define and mesure success in the CA cannabis market. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $437,465 | Medicinal Cannabis, Healthcare | Assessing the state of medicinal cannabis in California, including medicinal cannabis patient diagnoses, cannabis preferences, and sources. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $1,662,744 | THC, CBD, Health Effects, Therapeutic Outcomes, Regulation | Evaluating the interactions between THC and CBD ratios, specifically assessing their impact on adverse effects and therapeutic outcomes to inform cannabis regulation and safety measures. |
| 2023 | In progress | UCLA | $1,832,997 | THC, Health Effects, Potency, Regulations | Evaluating the immediate, short-term health effects of high concentrations of delta-9 THC in smoked cannabis and inhaled cannabis concentrates (‘dabs’). |
| 2023 | In progress | UCSF | $904,052 | THC, Potency, Cognitive Impairment, Young Adults | Investigating the effects of cannabis concentrate THC potency and metabolism on cognitive impairment in young adults, including examining correlations between THC potency, urine THC levels, and cognitive performance. |
