San Diego, California – California is renewing its commitment to cannabis research with a fresh $30 million in grant funding for public universities, aiming to deepen the state’s understanding of the industry and its far-reaching effects. The state Department of Cannabis Control will accept applications until August 12, continuing an initiative that has already steered $50 million into cannabis research since 2020.
This third round of grants arrives at a pivotal moment, as cannabis continues to move from the margins to the mainstream. From the economic collapse of traditional cultivation communities to the genetic heritage of legacy cannabis plants, researchers have documented both the industry’s promise and its challenges. Earlier rounds funded studies that traced the fragile economic ecosystem in North Coast counties, where some cultivators have been forced to leave fields fallow in the face of rising costs and a regulatory burden that, despite recent tax relief, has not proved transformative.
Other projects focused on preserving cannabis’s botanical legacy. A UC Berkeley initiative has been working with growers to catalog and analyze the genetics of cannabis varieties passed down through generations, building a community-driven resource that honors the culture and knowledge of small-scale cultivators. The goal is to capture the rich biodiversity of the crop before economic pressures or corporate consolidation erase it…