Emma Gometz captured a photograph of professional research assistants Devon Rapken and Paige Xiaoying Phillips standing inside one of CU Boulder’s mobile laboratories. Cannabis is legal in over half of the states in the US, but it remains illegal at the federal level with no recognized medical use. However, the Biden administration is taking steps to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
Studying controlled substances like cannabis poses a major challenge for scientists due to strict registration and sourcing requirements. Researchers are unable to provide commercially available cannabis from dispensaries to study participants or bring it onto campus. Despite this, concerns around the health impacts of these widely available products are growing.
At the University of Colorado Boulder, a team of scientists has found a way around these obstacles by using a mobile lab known as the CannaVan. This allows them to bring research directly to individuals, allowing them to consume cannabis in their own homes before stepping outside for routine tests. The CannaVan provides researchers with access to high-quality cannabis samples that are carefully controlled for potency and purity.
SciFri producers Emma Gometz and Rasha Aridi visited the CannaVan last year and join Ira Flatowich to discuss how this research is conducted, what we have learned from the CannaVan about cannabis, and how reclassifying cannabis could impact future research. They also discuss some of the challenges faced by researchers working with cannabis in terms of funding, regulation, and public perception.
