The Cannabis Philanthropist
The founder of a Manhattan-based global equity firm, Bob Broderick, has donated $9 million to Harvard and MIT to further academic research in cannabis. Broderick hopes that his donation will help strengthen scientific evidence on the health impacts and medicinal properties of cannabis.
Read more: https://bit.ly/2H51zbk
Smoke and Mirrors
A new study reveals genetic differences between the cannabis used in US research studies and commercial strains from dispensaries. US cannabis scientists must use cannabis grown for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at a single facility; however, many say that this bears little resemblance to strains sold in dispensaries. The new study lends weight to this assertion, suggesting that NIDA-supplied cannabis may be genetically closer to hemp than to commercially available strains.
Read more: https://go.nature.com/2PL4LwW
Cash Injection
Australian philanthropists Barry and Joy Lambert have donated two million dollars, dubbed the Lambert Innovation Fund, to Philadelphia’s Jefferson University to fund research into medical uses for industrial hemp and its derivatives.
Read more: https://bit.ly/2V7r4Tv
Heavy Lifting
In a questionnaire-based study, cannabis users reported that the drug motivates them to participate in exercise. Not only did those who smoke cannabis before or after the gym spend more time working out, they also reported that they enjoyed their workouts more.
Read more: https://bit.ly/2H7t4CI
Munchie Myths
Despite the much-discussed appetite-stimulating effect of cannabis, a recent study reviewing data from 33,000 people in the US found that cannabis users were less likely to be overweight or obese compared with non-users, when assessed by BMI.
Read more: https://bit.ly/2Wr1DJf
I've always wanted a career in which I could practice my creativity, even when I worked on the assembly line in a fish factory. At one time, I channeled this need into dance, drawing, poetry and fiction, and I still do most of these things. But, following completion of my MSc(Res) in Translational Oncology and time working in labs and as a Medical Writer for major pharmaceutical companies, I'm happy to find myself in a career that allows me to combine my creative side with my scientific mind as the Deputy Editor of The Analytical Scientist.
