Canada invests $24 million in cannabis and brain health research

Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel has announced a $24 million investment to establish the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium. Funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the initiative will unite 10 research teams from various Canadian universities to investigate the effects of cannabis on the brain across different life stages.

The consortium aims to build scientific evidence regarding both the potential benefits and harms of cannabis use. Research areas include its impact on epilepsy, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep, mental health, and brain development in youth and during pregnancy.

Dr. Patricia Conrod, scientific director at CIHR’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, stated that researchers plan to recruit over 3,000 participants to collect data on brain function and substance use. This data will be made available to other Canadian researchers to further study cannabis-related health effects.