While most government-funded marijuana research focuses on the negative health effects of the drug, $8 million in grants from the Colorado Board of Health will actually go toward studying marijuana's potential health effects, according to a CBS News report.
Money for the research projects comes from the state's medical marijuana patient fees, not Colorado's new taxes on recreational pot, according to the report.
Specifically, the Colorado studies will test marijuana's potential to treat epilepsy, brain tumors, irritable bowel syndrome, pain relief and Parkinson's disease. Studies will also focus on the impact of medical marijuana on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Several of the studies are still awaiting federal approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and either the National Institutes of Health or HHS, according to the report.
In addition to federal clearance, three of the eight research projects also need access to marijuana, for which there is only one legal source in the country, the Marijuana Research Project at the University of Mississippi.
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