PI: Christian Hopfer, MD

Emerging adults have the highest prevalence of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) of any age group. Despite high rates of use and CUD, treatment seeking is relatively uncommon among emerging adults. Those who use cannabis are less confident in their ability to abstain and show higher rates of ambivalence regarding the goal of abstinence than those who use other drugs. Thus, emerging adult cannabis users may be more receptive to non-abstinence or harm reduction approaches. The overarching aim of this proposal is to assess the effects of hemp-derived CBD in emerging adults on harms associated with cannabis use including subjective intoxication, affect and mood, psychotic experiences, and cognitive functioning, as well as to examine whether CBD supplementation reduces self-administration of THC and symptoms of CUD.  

PIs: Joseph Shacht, PhD & Cinnamon Bidwell, PhD

As cannabis legalization continues to spread across the United States, average Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations in recreational products have significantly increased, with levels as high as 90-95% in concentrated preparations. Our preliminary data suggest that concentrate use elicits blood THC levels more than twice as high as cannabis flower use, and that concentrate use is associated with greater tolerance and loss of control over cannabis use, prompting concern about the risks of these products. Pilot data from our lab suggest that CBD reduces THC effects, drug reward, anxiety, and overall THC use, suggesting that CBD may mitigate the harms of high-THC products. However, the therapeutic dose of CBD necessary to achieve these effects is unknown. The overarching aim of this proposal is to combine our naturalistic cannabis administration paradigm with a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging RCT of plant-derived CBD to evaluate CBD effects on cannabis concentrate use, subjective effects, and cannabis cue reactivity.  

PI: Angela Bryan, PhD

Recent epidemiological data indicates a 10-fold increase in cannabis use among older adults (65+ years). Given this rise in use, an important public health question is how cannabis use might impact physical and cognitive health in older individuals, especially since they are at increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). Key biological mechanisms that may help explain how cannabinoids differentially affect outcomes are age associated changes in inflammation and in the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The overarching aim of this proposal is to determine 1) impacts of THC and CBD on inflammatory and endocannabinoid biomarkers and 2) if these mechanistic changes are associated with the impact of cannabis on anxiety, sleep, and pain, and 3) the harm to benefit ratio in terms of acute (impaired balance, impaired cognition) and longer term (polypharmacy, sleep, pain) outcomes. 

PPC Lead: Paula Riggs, MD 

The Pilot Project Core (PPC) of the RMCRC will function as an incubator of research innovation for the RM-CRC and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (UC-AMC) by establishing a rigorous and efficient process for competitive review, selection, and funding of innovative pilot cannabis research projects that are foundational to informing directions for future research in the form of new R01 grant submissions (Aims 1 & 3). 

A goal of the RM-CRC Pilot Project Core is to establish an efficient transparent process for pilot grant solicitation, scientific review, funding, project management support and progress tracking. Pilot research proposals will be reviewed and scored using NIH-style procedures by qualified, unbiased internal and external reviewers with expertise in cannabis/addiction research. The RM-CRC seeks to fund innovative pilot research projects that will be foundational and inform the direction of further cannabis research in the form of R01 grant submissions including 1) early-phase mechanistic, behavioral, physiological, or biomedical endpoints of cannabis research; 2) feasibility studies or “research and development” studies that explore new areas or directions or take advantage of special opportunities. Pilot grant awardees will also present their research at the annual RM-CRC-sponsored Cannabis Research Day held at UC-AMC. 

Learn about our 2023 Award Recipients here

More information regarding the application process for Pilot Grants will be posted Spring 2024 at the link below. Stay tuned! 

DHAC Lead: Vince Calhoun, PhD 

CRAC Lead: Jost Klawitter, PhD 

The Cannabis Research Analytics Core (CRAC) seeks to centralize functions that are common to all projects, with a specific focus in the systematic evaluation of cannabinoid exposure and associated changes in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and connected pathways. The data collected by the CRAC will give insights regarding cannabinoid and terpene exposure and drug-drug interactions (Aim 1), as well as insights into the cannabinoid associated pharmacodynamic changes in the endocannabinoid system, energy metabolism (metabolomics) and the inflammatory status (lipidomics) (Aim 2). The CRAC will also address critical important gaps in clinical and scientific knowledge of cannabinoid exposures by developing and validating methods to estimate an individual’s exposure to cannabinoids, using the sparse sampling data from the proposed research projects in combination with published population pharmacokinetics (PK)/ pharmacodynamics (PD) modeling (Aim 3). Through these aims, the CRAC will not only estimate cannabinoid exposure, but also identify changes in metabolic, physiological, and mental functions in cannabis users over their lifetime.