Pitt looks to conduct medical marijuana research

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is interested in partnering with medical marijuana companies to do research on the benefits, and any possible hazards, of using marijuana to treat serious medical conditions.

In a letter sent last week to School of Medicine colleagues, Art Levine, senior vice chancellor for health sciences and medical school dean, said they plan soon to distribute letters of intent guidelines for research partnerships with the companies.

Pennsylvania has “placed a greater emphasis on the need for reliable research than other states that have also enacted medical marijuana laws,” he said.

“While the state is still in the process of defining the regulatory parameters for research programs, the University of Pittsburgh is interested in exploring options for partnerships to advance research on the safety and efficacy of medical applications of cannabis products beyond the current and inadequate level of research and scientific evidence.”

Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 16 in April, legalizing access to medical marijuana for patients with certain serious medical conditions. The state Department of Health is expected to finalize regulations for the program by year’s end.

Temporary regulations allow for up to eight “clinical registrants” that would hold permits to grow, process and dispense medical marijuana at up to six locations each, while a standard dispensary license is limited to three locations. The clinical registrants must have a contractual relationship with medical schools like Pitt’s that operate with an acute care hospital.

The law also calls for unspecified funding to study the efficacy of medical marijuana for treating other serious conditions.

With 25 states now legalizing medical marijuana to some extent, physicians have long voiced concerns about its wide use given a lack of solid clinical evidence that medical marijuana is beneficial and that those benefits outweigh any risks from its use.

The absence of such studies prompted the state’s leading physician association, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, to oppose legalization of medical marijuana in a vote last fall, even as the group called for research funding.

Now that medical marijuana has been legalized, “I would challenge those who worked and supported the bills owe it to their constituents to really do what’s more meaningful and follow through on their efforts and find a way to get funding for these studies,” said Scott Shapiro, a Montgomery County cardiologist and current state medical society president last week.

“Because passing a law doesn’t translate into medical treatment.”