In an effort to shed some light on the unknown that is cannabinoids and their effects on the brain, a private donor is gifting Harvard and MIT to help fund much needed scientific research on the matter. WBUR-FM, a public radio station owned by Boston University, reported on the story, saying that the donation is believed to be the largest private gift to date to be given to study cannabis and how it impacts the brain.
The private grant money is coming from Bob Broderick, who is an investor in Manhattan, New York. Broderick reportedly made ‘tens of millions of dollars by investing in the legal marijuana industry in Canada’, he told WBUR-FM. This donation to fund scientific research on cannabis not only showcases the lucrative potential of the industry, but how many professionals love to give back to support the plant medicine, because they believe it its potential.
Even though there have been many studies done on cannabis, how it can help with pain management, and how it impacts the brain, Broderick says that there is still a bit of a stigma attached for young researchers to do so.
“People take risks when they say they are going to start doing cannabis work. For a young researcher at MIT or Harvard to say, ‘I’m going to pivot my career and study the effects of cannabis,’ I don’t think that’s something that would have happened five years ago,” Broderick said.
Broderick went on to point out that even though many studies on THC and CBD have been conducted, we’re still somewhat in the dark as to how cannabinoids impact the human brain.
“Two of them have been studied in some detail – THC and CBD,” Broderick says. “Even for those, I have to say our knowledge is very, very sparse in terms of how they actually have their effects on the brain. But for many of the other hundred cannabinoids or so we know – we really know nothing,” Broderick said.
While some researchers and medical professionals might still place a stigma on studying cannabis medicine, there are countless others who support such research. If this study conducted by Harvard and MIT proves to be successful, it could open the door for similar research to be done as well. In the end, studying cannabinoids only serves to help the cause of cannabis research and advance the industry forward as a whole.
