A University of Kentucky (UK) professor reported to the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare, and Family Services this week and revealed plans for research and trials that will be conducted at the UK’s Cannabis Center.
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The research center was authorized under a bill that Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law in April. The legislation was backed by key lawmakers who were opposed to a medical cannabis legalization bill, which stalled earlier this year.
Dr. Shanna Babalonis, the director of the research center, presented a variety of planned, controlled studies to the committee Oct. 26, according to a local WKYT report.
One of the studies will involve collaboration with the Markey Cancer Center to evaluate providing edible doses of cannabis to cancer patients, the news outlet reported.
“This is going to be one of the first of its kind,” Babalonis said, according to WKYT. “You would think that cancer and cannabis have been really well-researched, but that isn’t the case.”
Other planned studies at the research center will analyze the effects of cannabis on driving, opioid use, pain, obesity and more, the news outlet reported.
The researchers also plan to apply for a cannabis cultivation license as part of a pilot program with UK’s College of Agriculture, according to WKYT.
The legislation that created the UK’s Cannabis Center provided researchers with $2 million for the studies and set out a two-year window for the research to be completed, the news outlet reported.
