USU is helping with new U of U medical cannabis research – Cache Valley Daily

LOGAN – Housed at University of Utah Health, the Center for Medical Cannabis Research has been launched to help patients and providers scientifically understand cannabis and to make decisions about the medication.

CMCR is a statewide institution seeking collaborations with other instate institutions involved in cannabis research, including Utah State University where Professor Bruce Bugbee first started growing cannabis for research in 2019. Dr. Bugbee and his group also work with licensed growers in Utah.

Bugbee directs USU’s Crop Physiology Lab and he said growing cannabis in open fields comes with several variables while growers using indoor cultivation don’t have to deal with changing temperatures and differences in soils.

Dr. Bugbee said to protect consumers, cannabis from licensed growers is tested for heavy metals, pesticides and mycotoxins and crops failing those tests cannot be sold. He said by helping growers produce high-quality cannabis it will not only reduce prices but can keep people from buying untested, dangerous black-market products.

“Growing pharmaceutical-grade cannabis is a challenge, but it can consistently be achieved,” Bugbee said. “We need to help growers produce high-quality plants for research so we can understand how to utilize this botanical medicine.”