Cannabis advocates are waiting with bated breath for rescheduling news from the DEA. The move from Schedule I to III would not be completely transformative. However, it may open more doors for medical research. For generations, traditional research funding and laboratories were barred from engaging with the cannabis plant due to its federal illegality.
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Privately-operating scientists in legal states have taken research into their own hands to some extent. The Science of Smokeability is a great example, with the Cannabis Research Coalition (CRC), The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP), and Controlled Chemistry working together to understand how cultivation and processing methods impact consumer experience.
In the last year, prestigious private research university Johns Hopkins dove into cannabis research. The most recent advertisement seeking research participants offers over $3000 to eat edibles.
Get paid to eat edibles for science
The facility called for volunteers to undergo research investigating cannabinoid absorption and short-term effects of infused chocolate, gummies, and drinks. They are not conducting therapeutic research into the medical applications of the edibles. Instead, scientists seek to quantify and understand how impactful these products are on the human body.
To figure it out, they have put out a call to action for healthy volunteers aged 21 to 55. What the authors mean by healthy is not defined but will most likely be addressed in the screening process. People will first fill out a survey, and those who pass will attend a three-hour evaluation screening.
Once deemed eligible, volunteers will visit the Maryland Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center for nine nine-hour administration sessions. Each session will be spaced out one week at a time and must be attended in person on weekdays. Those who complete every portion can receive over $3000.
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More Johns Hopkins cannabis research underway
Johns Hopkins has two other cannabis-centric studies in the works, and one centers on cannabis and e-cigs or cigarettes together. Researchers are seeking 18 to 55-year-old tobacco users who smoke weed sometimes. This study includes vaping cannabis and tobacco simultaneously in seven experimental sessions. Volunteers could make almost $2000 upon completion of this study.
There is less to know about the final Johns Hopkins study seeking volunteers to eat weed. This research appears to explore the impact of individual cannabinoids, though it could also look into a specific ratio. The advertisement for participants informs people they will be given a “liquid that contains the substances found in cannabis, including CBD and THC.”
The first session will take place in the lab over seven hours. Then, volunteers will take that same compound at home every other day. There will also be one-hour check-in meetings four times throughout the process. No pay is listed for this one.
Cannabis research is becoming more abundant by the day as states and international countries continue freeing the plant of prohibition. These studies from one of the most prestigious medical universities in the country indicate researchers may be ready to get weed in their labs.
