Research About Medical Marijuana

Recent stories about children who have had positive outcomes from the marijuana derivative cannabidiol (CBD) give reason for hope and should encourage further studies. Children’s Hospital Colorado supports strong clinical trials and rigorous scientific research, based here and elsewhere, to determine the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana.

Children’s Colorado is committed to participating in high-quality research. We are working with the state and federal government to initiate trials related to marijuana, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has awarded us funds to study marijuana in epilepsy, neuro-oncology and inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, we are in the process of working to participate in a FDA-approved double-blind placebo controlled trial of cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of epilepsy.

Funding challenges for marijuana research

The research needed cannot occur without funding, and at the present time it is very difficult to obtain federal funding to complete research on medical marijuana due to the designation of marijuana as a DEA Schedule 1 drug. The state of Colorado has recently announced funding to support research on medical marijuana that we hope will enable at least some initial studies on this important topic.

What does Schedule 1 mean?

Marijuana is listed by the Food and Drug Administration under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) – the most restrictive category. The White House states that “the raw marijuana plant, which contains nearly 500 different chemical compounds, has not met the [FDA’s] safety and efficacy standards” to be deemed an FDA-approved drug for medicinal treatment.