Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR) - PROJECT ABSTRACT Conducting research involving cannabis or cannabinoids presents many challenges to scientists regarding regulatory issues and the acquisition and utilization of materials suitable for valid scientific studies. To address and rectify the major barriers and challenges to cannabis research, we will establish a resource center that will provide research tools to the scientific community that will allow advances in cannabis science through both non- clinical and clinical studies. The goal of this Center is to serve as a comprehensive resource to support investigators involved or interested in cannabis research by providing guidance and information to help address barriers and challenges related to regulations, research materials, and proposal development. The Center will consist of three cores that will provide guidance through a centralized website as well as through workshops and webinars. The Research Support Core will disseminate scientific and regulatory information, organize, and convene webinars and workshops, and administer seed funding for registration support and proposal development. The scoring criteria for seed funding award applications will include relevance to the interests of the NIH IC sponsors. The Regulatory Guidance Core will establish a clearinghouse for policy guidance. The Research Standards Core will provide guidance on cannabis research through a repository of best practices and technical information. The Center will impact a broad range of stakeholders, including the scientific community, federal and state agencies, institutional administrators, and suppliers of research materials. New cannabis investigations fostered by our guidance will serve as incentives for others to enter the cannabis research field, which may lead to novel research studies and licensing of more cannabis technologies as a clear regulatory pathway develops. Investigators as well as research administrators will utilize our guidance tools to advance their studies by gaining an improved understanding of regulatory requirements and best practices. The goals and objectives of this proposal will be accomplished through these specific aims: 1. Promote widespread advancement of cannabis research by propagating guidance and resources to investigators. 2. Reduce barriers to cannabis research by compiling and interpreting regulatory policies to benefit both the investigators and the regulatory agencies. 3. Improve the reproducibility of research studies by providing guidance on investigational materials, quality standards, practices, and metrics for quality research.
