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
2020
DCC awarded nearly $30 million in research grants in 2020.
| Public university | Funding awarded | Research focus |
| UC San Francisco | $2,000,000 | Comprehensive analysis of developmental cannabis exposure on brain, immune, and sensory systems |
| UC Santa Barbara | $1,999,191 | Surface water emissions from cannabis cultivation sites: quantity, quality, toxicity and relationships to farmers’ practices |
| CSU Dominguez Hills | $1,866,311 | Cannabis industry in South Bay Los Angeles |
| UC Berkeley | $1,827,596 | Local regulation of cannabis in California |
| UC Los Angeles | $1,429,001 | Impact of cannabis potency on the properties, composition and toxicity of inhaled and second-hand smoke |
| UC San Francisco | $1,384,466 | Effects of chronic cannabis use on endothelial function |
| UC Irvine | $1,351,556 | Exploring cannabis policies and practices that influence adolescent use: evolution of local cannabis law, products, sales, and marketing |
| UC San Diego | $1,321,833 | The public health impact of cannabis legalization in California: a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis by age, gender, race/ethnicity and regions |
| UC Los Angeles | $1,082,815 | Assessing the feasibility and consequences of implementing a cannabis potency tax in California |
| UC San Francisco | $1,067,483 | The LEAF Study: lung effects and function associated with cannabis use |
| UC Los Angeles | $1,048,857 | Study of employment conditions and equity in California’s cannabis industry |
| UC San Francisco | $1,038,782 | Public health impacts of state policies mandating point-of-sale warning signs regarding cannabis use during pregnancy |
| UC Davis | $1,034,730 | Understanding the impact of cannabis use in early psychosis |
| UC San Diego | $987,738 | Evaluating the impacts of packaging and labeling on cannabis edible use among youth |
| UC San Francisco | $952,540 | California cannabis poisonings under Proposition 64 |
| UC Los Angeles | $896,794 | Assessing the impact of Proposition 64 on cannabis use, maladaptive cannabis use, cannabis use disorder treatment and public health |
| UC San Diego | $887,101 | The role of cannabidiol in anandamide-related improvement in alexithymia and health outcomes |
| UC Los Angeles | $781,707 | A demographic analysis of the California licensed cannabis industry and consumer market |
| UC Los Angeles | $758,517 | The impact of cannabis marketing on California’s youth: neuro-behavioral studies for informing policy |
| UC Davis | $726,816 | Cannabis industry: assessment of the location, structure, function and demographics of licensed cannabis, focusing on geographical price differences and differential impacts of local Proposition 64 related regulations on the competitiveness of licensed businesses |
| UC Berkeley | $658,306 | Transformation of unregulated cannabis cultivation under Proposition 64 |
| UC Davis | $655,564 | Economic impacts: market prices for licensed and unlicensed cannabis and the effects of the current and alternate cannabis tax structures and tax rates on the private and public sectors in California, including government administrative costs and revenues |
| UC Davis | $562,240 | Environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation in California as affected by the farm economics of licensed and unlicensed cannabis production, including effects of testing regulations and compliance with the criminal prohibition of unlicensed cannabis |
| UC Berkeley | $489,762 | Assessing environmental impacts of cannabis-related noise and light disturbance to inform management of California wildlife |
| UC Berkeley | $465,902 | Examining tribal sovereignty over cannabis permitting on native ancestral lands |
| CSU Humboldt | $464,997 | Cannabis business entrepreneurs and jobs |
| UC Los Angeles | $414,183 | Understanding the impact of cannabis marketing on cannabis use disparities among sexual and gender minority youth |
| UC Berkeley | $328,916 | Cultivation bans, local control and the effects and efficacy of Proposition 64 |
| UC Berkeley | $319,091 | Cannabis and wildfire: current conditions, future threats and solutions for farmers |
| UC Berkeley | $314,417 | Cannabis water-use impacts to streamflow and temperature in salmon-bearing streams |
| UC Berkeley | $270,269 | The effect of local cannabis regulation on property prices |
| UC San Diego | $235,039 | Evaluating risks and benefits of cannabis use by older adults: a pilot study |
| CSU Humboldt | $183,015 | The economic impact of cannabis legalization in rural northern California |
| UC Davis | $144,949 | California cannabis workers: perceptions, beliefs and knowledge of occupational health and industry hazards |
