When a group of researchers wants to look into marijuana’s medical efficacy, they have only one source through which to legally obtain the plant material. That source is the University of Mississippi and its NIDA Drug Supply Program, a program that produces marijuana research that is “similar” to standard retail marijuana.
Ole Miss pharmacologist and head of the school’s Marijuana Research Project, Mahmoud ElSohly, oversees all cultivation of marijuana for research purposes. He and his team just released a report demonstrating that the plants they produce are genetically similar and, as a result, contain comparable levels of delta-9 THC, the cannabinoid associated with marijuana’s intoxicating properties.
A Questionable Past
The university’s most recent report would be no big deal except for the fact that it has a questionable history of providing researchers with comparable plant material. As recently as seven years ago, researchers were complaining that the marijuana they were being sent was not even close to being comparable to retail product.
Some researchers complained that the research plants were not potent enough. Others complained that the plant material was old, dried out, and moldy. To their credit, those in charge of the NIDA Drug Supply Program cleaned things up dramatically.
If the data found in the current report is accurate, marijuana being produced by the University of Mississippi for research purposes contains 10-20% THC – comparable to what is found on the state-legal market, both for recreational and medical purposes.
Interestingly, the marijuana produced under the program when it first launched rarely had THC levels above 6%. So why are levels as high as 20% now? According to program officials, it is because the University of Mississippi essentially produces whatever researchers request.
Requests Have Changed Over the Years
Research marijuana’s THC content has increased because researchers are asking for plant material with higher potencies. This is in direct response to a state-level industry in which producers and processors are engaged in a veritable arms race to see who can produce the most potent product.
Anyone doing legitimate medical research needs to conduct such research based on what medical cannabis patients are currently using. So if patients are looking at higher potency products, those are the types of products researchers should be studying. Hence the need to request higher potency marijuana from Ole Miss.
The Same Everywhere You Go
ElSohly maintains that the plant material his laboratory produces is genetically similar to the plants being cultivated across the country. He insists that it does not matter whether you are talking about plants produced legally under a state license or material that has been seized by law enforcement, the genetic makeup is the same.
As a result, he also maintains that THC volumes will be similar. This is primarily because a plant’s cannabinoid profile is a matter of genetics. It has little to do with climate, growing conditions, or other environmental factors. Plants with similar genetic makeup will demonstrate similar cannabinoid volumes.
As far as medical cannabis patients go, Salt Lake City Utah’s dispensary Beehive Farmacy recommends working closely with doctors, pharmacy technicians, and medical cannabis pharmacists to understand potency and its implications. Irrespective of what the University of Mississippi is doing with research marijuana, medical cannabis patients need to understand how much THC they are consuming.
More Research to Come?
In closing, it’s appropriate to wonder whether or not there is more research to come. The federal government looks poised to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. And if that happens, the University of Mississippi’s Marijuana Research Project is going to get a lot busier.
