Medical cannabis research just got a big boost as UC San Diego accepts $4.7 million donation to study CBD and autism. The donation represents the largest of its kind in U.S. history. More importantly, it could help shed light on how cannabis can be used to treat autism.
Biggest Medical Marijuana Donation in the United States
The University of California-San Diego (UCSD) announced the $4.7 million donation yesterday in a press release. According to the university, it is the biggest single donation toward medical marijuana research ever made in the United States.
The multi-million dollar gift came from the Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation, in partnership with the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation. The funds went to UCSD’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR).
In particular, the money will fund research into how cannabis can be used to treat autism. The university said that researchers plan to use the funds to conduct broad multidisciplinary research. This will include “clinical, basic science, advanced mathematics and genetic techniques” aimed at better understanding the effects of medical cannabis on autism.
Autism affects somewhere around 1 in 68 children in the United States. But there are currently not very many treatment options. Many researchers are hopeful that cannabis could provide new forms of treatment. In particular, many think that CBD could help. And researchers at UCSD plan to use their new funds to study this further.
“UC San Diego is pleased to partner with the Noorda and Wholistic foundations to advance understanding of when and how medicinal cannabis works,” said vice chancellor of UCSD Health Sciences David A. Brenner.
He added that this new research could help “transform the lives of the many people for whom medicinal cannabis may make