For now, Julie Johnson is a one-woman research team at the Cannabis Control Commission. But in the long term, she has an ambitious agenda that includes creating a national database where researchers and the public could share marijuana data.
"We love the idea of people being able to do research to add to our very nascent research agenda," Johnson said, speaking at a Cannabis Control Commission meeting Thursday.
For now, there are numerous challenges to researching marijuana. The drug remains illegal federally, so the process of obtaining marijuana for research is highly regulated. There is little funding available for marijuana research.
Some Massachusetts researchers say they hope the Bay State can become a hub for marijuana research in the U.S., due to the area's existing talent in academia, science and related industries, like pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
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