# Rocky Mountain Cannabis Research Center

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2024 · $2,803,466

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CANNABIS RESEARCH CENTER (RM-CRC)
The United States has recently experienced enormous changes in the legal status and public acceptance of
cannabis. Recreational and medical cannabis products that contain varying amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are now widely available throughout North America. Despite these changes,
research on the effects of THC and CBD has been lacking. The central goals of this Research Center of
Excellence application are to evaluate, in three research projects that span emerging, middle-aged, and older
adults, how CBD affects the use of and subjective response to THC, and whether these effects are mediated by
the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and associated lipids. To that end, the three research projects within the
RM-CRC utilize research strategies that capitalize on three key innovations. First, the projects will employ mobile
pharmacology laboratories to collect biological samples and assess the acute effects of THC and CBD on key
neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes, endocannabinoids, and other lipids that interact with the ECS. Second,
under the auspices of an FDA IND we hold for hemp-derived CBD, projects will randomly assign participants to
CBD or placebo and will parametrically manipulate either the dose of CBD or whether the CBD product contains
THC, to determine how hemp-derived CBD products may impact the effects of THC. Finally, the projects rely on
newly designed assays within our Cannabis Research Analytics Core (CRAC) to measure cannabinoids,
metabolites, terpenes, endocannabinoids, and other lipid mediators in blood samples. The Data Harmonization
and Analysis Core (DHAC) will deploy a single-solution system to support data collection, harmonization across
projects, and sharing of the data with the larger scientific community directly and via NIH approved repositories.
The DHAC will also harmonize previously collected data (from 7 R01s, n=1359) and conduct advanced machine
learning analyses of the relationships between THC and CBD blood levels, endocannabinoids and other lipid
mediators, and behavioral data. The results will inform center-wide analyses of the harmonized P50 project data.
Thus, the CRAC and DHAC provide the RM-CRC with significant added value that will allow the Center to
generate significant new knowledge with respect to how changes in the ECS and related lipids mediate the
effects of THC and CBD across the lifespan. The RM-CRC is expected to be a significant resource to the field
more broadly by providing other scientists access to data regarding CBD effects on psychiatric and health
outcomes, cannabinoid, metabolite, and terpene blood levels, and 100+ endocannabinoids and related lipid
mediators in approximately 2000 participants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10912672
- **Project number:** 5P50DA056408-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** KENT E. HUTCHISON
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,803,466
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10912672

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10912672, Rocky Mountain Cannabis Research Center (5P50DA056408-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10912672. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*