Grant funds will soon be available to researchers who are working to treat cannabis. 

A “Notice of Special Interest” (NOSI) (entitled “Basic Mechanisms of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Action in Cancer”) was posted on May 5 by NIH’s National Cancer Institute, with the intent “to promote research in understanding the mechanisms by which cannabis and cannabinoids affect cancer biology, cancer interception, cancer treatment and resistance, and management of cancer symptoms.”

In the notice, NIH explains that the reasoning behind this effort is due to the growing number of cancer patients seeking relief with medical cannabis, but that there are not enough studies to verify its effectiveness. “Cancer patients use cannabis and cannabinoids to manage symptoms of cancer and cancer treatment including anorexia, nausea, and pain,” the NOSI states. “Recent survey evidence suggests that a quarter of cancer patients have used cannabis for symptom management. Despite the increase in cannabis and cannabinoid use, research about their health effects, including potential harms and benefits, remain limited.” 

The notice summarizes what is currently known about cannabis cancer treatment by explaining that data regarding risk for cancer patients is not widely available. “Epidemiological studies of cannabis use and cancer risk have yielded limited and inconsistent results,” the notice explains. “While cannabis smoke generates many of the same carcinogens as tobacco, studies to date have not shown a link between cannabis smoking and lung cancer risk.” The notice uses the example of cannabis smoking being linked to testicular cancer as well.

It also briefly defines the activity of various cannabinoid receptors in the human body through animal models and cancer cell lines. “Cancer cell line experiments show that THC and CBD can mediate many anti-tumor effects, including inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis,” the NOSI states. “These anti-tumor activities have led to early clinical testing of THC and CBD for glioblastoma and prostate cancers. While preclinical studies show differing effects of cannabinoids on cancer cells, deeper understanding is needed about how the tumor promoting and suppressive mechanisms of cannabinoid signaling influence cancer biological processes.”

Finally, the notice summarizes the current state of Food and Drug Administration-approved synthetic cannabinoids, dronabinol and nabilone, that are being used to treat chemotherapy. “Increasingly, cancer treatments involve targeted and immunological therapies, but little is known about whether and how cannabis and cannabinoids influence their efficacy.”

The NOSI concludes by inviting researchers whose focus on these topics (Cancer Risk, Cannabinoid Ligands and Receptors, Cancer Biology, Cancer Treatment and Symptom Management) can lead to a wide variety of research opportunities.

The NIH won’t consider any applications for studies that include clinical trials, “symptoms not related to cancer or cancer treatment,” or “projects that lack cancer models, specimens, or cells.” Instead the agency is looking for more specific methods of study in order for researchers to be considered. “Studies that integrate expertise from multiple disciplines, incorporate state-of-the-art, human-relevant models (e.g., organoid or patient-derived xenograft models) and utilize advanced technologies and methods are strongly encouraged.” Researchers can apply for a grant starting on June 5 and onward.

In December 2021, the NCI released a paper addressing the challenges that are holding back cannabis and cannabinoid research. “Conflicting federal and state cannabis regulations hinder research in several ways including the inability of researchers to access products that are legal in their state, a lack of standardization and quality control of cannabis and cannabis-derived products within and across states, and no national oversight of this standardization and quality control or the industry.”

Although government agencies have conducted limited studies in the past in relation to medical cannabis, many other study efforts have begun to explore cannabis consumption among cancer patients. The Virginia Commonwealth University of Massey Cancer Center published a study in August 2021 and found that cancer patients consume less cannabis than those of the general public. A study published in December 2020 found that one-third of Canadian cancer patients were reporting cannabis use as well.

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Approaching new levels of snitchery, a next door neighbor in Oklahoma filed a complaint under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act—the worst type of lawsuit—after they accused a cannabis farm of growing too close to the property line.

Keith and Stephanie Grant filed a complaint, Grant et al v. Flying Bud Farms, LLC et al, in the Northern District of Oklahoma against Flying Bud Farms, LLC and numerous companies associated with Flying Bud Farms for allegedly growing, distributing and selling cannabis illegally.

Per the complaint, The Grants live in rural Oklahoma next door to defendant Gary Bacon Jr.’s property. In 2019, Bacon launched Flying Bud Farms with co-defendant Derek Wachob to grow cannabis and supply local dispensaries including for their own D-Luxe Dispensary.

While the complaint admits that the cannabis was grown “approximately less than 50 feet from the Grants’ property line,” it claims the Grants were forced to live “in the constant presence of an openly operating unlawful marijuana cultivation and distribution enterprise and a construction zone” which made it impossible for them to “enjoy” their home. 

Practically everything about the cannabis operation bothered the next door neighbors. The Grants claim that they can’t enjoy their home because of bright lights at night, noisey industrial fans, alterations of the floodplain that allegedly caused flooding on the Grants’ property, helicopter noises and the trademark odor of cannabis that they say have been a constant nuisance. 

Federal racketeering charges are nothing to laugh about. RICO lawsuits are the government’s “most powerful tool” in combating criminal organizations, New York Times reports. They are typically reserved for organized crime. RICO suits illustrate the scope of punishment the law can reach—think triple or more the cost in damages and attorneys’ fees. It can quickly sink a business.

Racketeering charges under RICO have been tested previously in several other similar cannabis-related cases, but typically have not succeeded. This happens ever since a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in June 2017 in Colorado when it was ruled that it was “reasonable to infer” that a potential home buyer would be less inclined to purchase land adjacent to a grow in the case of Safe Streets Alliance v. Alternative Holistic Healing, LLC. RICO lawsuits have a tendency to lead to massive settlement agreements.

The Grants claim that the business is illegal based on federal law. But Flying Bud Farms is listed by the Oklahoma government under the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) as a licensed grower as of December 15, 2021. As Oklahoma has no caps on medical cannabis licenses, there is a high number of legal operations. With the influx of medical cannabis operations, some neighbors are panicking.

They also claim that Flying Buds Farms is located on property owned by Bacon’s stepmother, and that the defendants did not receive permits from the State Fire Marshall or the Creek County Floodplain Management Board for the construction of their facilities.

The plaintiffs are suing on the counts of a violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1962(C) and (D), nuisance, and injury to property. Law Street Media reports that the Grants are seeking “injunctive relief enjoining the defendants from further unlawful racketeering activities, three times their damages caused by the racketeering activities, compensatory damages, abatement of nuisances, disgorgement, attorney’s fees and costs, and other relief.”

The plaintiffs are represented by GableGotwals, a law firm based in Tulsa.

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MAPS, The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Substances, was awarded a $12,979,050 million grant from the state of Michigan to fund a study on PTSD and cannabis on August 10.

According to Dr. Sue Sisley, President of the Scottsdale Research Institute and longtime cannabis researcher, this new study is sorely needed in the community. “Suicide among veterans is an urgent public health crisis, but it’s solvable if we invest in researching new treatments for pain, depression, and PTSD,” said Sisley in a press statement. “This grant enables more rigorous study, overseen by the FDA, which may lead to cannabis flower becoming prescribable medicine someday. Veterans are demanding objective cannabis drug development research, and the state of Michigan is fulfilling our collective obligation to our beloved Veteran community.”

The grant comes from Michigan’s 2021 Veteran Marijuana Research Grant Program, and is funded by the state’s recreational cannabis taxes. With a goal of determining the “the efficacy of marijuana in treating the medical conditions of United States armed services veterans and preventing veteran suicide.”

MAPS Makes History

This will be the second clinical trial to give cannabis medicine or placebos to participating military veterans, and according to the Chief Science Officer of the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, Berra Yazar-Klosinki, PhD, the first trial was a great success. “We overcame significant regulatory obstacles obstructing cannabis research to conduct the first clinical trial of inhaled cannabis for PTSD,” said Yazar-Klosinki. 

“This grant funding provides the resources needed to leverage the results from the first trial, conduct a fully-powered clinical trial, and align the body of scientific evidence with cannabis that more closely mirrors what is available within state-regulated cannabis programs.” This trial will be the second of its kind to be conducted so far, and one that is an FDA- and DEA-regulated double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

The study will enlist 320 eligible veterans who have been diagnosed with either moderate or severe PTSD, and also includes those who suffer from major depressive disorder or substance abuse disorders. Four trial sites will be set up, two of which will be located in Michigan. Once participants pass a three-week enrollment period, they will be given five weeks for “self-administering inhaled, self-titrated doses of high-quality botanical cannabis.” This second trial will also use higher quality cannabis to better determine the effects of those who receive medicine versus a placebo.

The Founder and Director of MAPS, Rick Doblin, PhD, expresses the significance of this amount of money from cannabis taxes being used for research efforts. “Michiganders are granting non-profit researchers the opportunity to establish whether marijuana is helpful for Veterans with PTSD. If so, we will seek to return that generosity by developing a public-benefit cannabis pharmaceutical product that would be eligible for insurance coverage, just like any other pharmaceutical drug.”

The first trial was funded by MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (a MAPS subsidiary) which was also responsible for the only FDA-regulated controlled study for PTSD. The study was funded with $2.2 million from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and was led by the Scottsdale Research Institute. Results of this study showed evidence of the pros and cons to cannabis as a treatment for PTSD patients. According to the MAPS press release, all participating patients showed improvements in their symptoms after three weeks.

PTSD affects a large number of military veterans. According to data from the Veterans Association (VA), about 11-20 percent of veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom suffer from PTSD. Twelve percent of veterans who participated in the Gulf War are diagnosed with PTSD every year. Finally, 15 percent of veterans who served in the Vietnam war are sufferers of PTSD (but the VA also estimates that 30 percent of all Vietnam veterans will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetimes).

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