MCRF Supported Projects
Every donation to the MCRF is used to support the direct logistical costs of formal Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved investigations that seek to measure either the safety or effectiveness of medical cannabis use. Examples of such costs include: participant compensation, study equipment and supplies, study recruitment materials, and student projects funding (e.g., Master's Theses, Dissertation awards).
Recent Research Projects (select examples)
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Project Title: Cannabis Consumption and Social Psychological Functioning in Healthy Young Adults
Principle Investigator: Jacob M. Vigil, PhD
Primary Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Abstract: The vast majority of the literature on cannabis consumption worldwide has focused on its addictive nature or its role as a risk factor for mental and physical health disturbances. Given the rapid changes in medical and now recreational cannabis use laws and increased levels of societal consumption of cannabis-based products throughout the United States, more research is needed on how cannabis may affect both normal and abnormal behavioral functioning. There is still virtually no research illuminating how cannabis consumption may affect basic domains of social psychology, or the study of how the individual makes judgments about and interacts with other people, and within the broader community and society. This absence of scientific and public knowledge is extremely notable given the potential impact of cannabis use on societal outcomes, its current stigma, the unresearched yet frequently assumed negative association between cannabis and motivation (“it makes people lazy”), and the current policy-driven legal restrictions on the personal liberties of cannabis users.The objectives of the proposed research are to better understand how cannabis use may affect social psychological functioning in healthy young adults and specifically UNM undergraduate students. The current study is designed for measuring group differences in psychosocial functioning among a relatively healthy college sample of young adults at the University of New Mexico with no recent cannabis (i.e., tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) exposure, light THC exposure, and heavy THC exposure. Objective and subjective cannabis use will be analyzed (via chemical analyses and behavioral measurements) along with a full battery of psychological instruments for measuring for the first time whether recent and/or ongoing cannabis consumption and self-administration sessions are associated with individual differences in psychosocial functioning in otherwise healthy young adults.
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Project Title: The Impact of the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program among People with Chronic Debilitating Health Conditions
Principle Investigator: Jacob M. Vigil, PhD
Primary Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Abstract: There is no extant information on the effectiveness of the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program (MCP) and its impact on core aspects of patient health (e.g., pain experiences, sleep quality, eating behaviors, relationship quality) and healthcare-seeking activities (e.g., prescription fills, medical attention/ doctor visits). In this study we assess the use and application of medical Cannabis among a wide-range of patients with varying chronic health conditions (e.g., chronic pain, cancer, PTSD) currently enrolled in the NM MCP. We compare enrollees to people not using cannabis on pharmaceutical medication use, including narcotics using the NM Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). The study also examines how Cannabis use affects core aspects of mental, physical, and social wellbeing, including pain experiences, sleep quality, eating behaviors, exercise, relationship quality, medical visits, and other general health promotion behaviors. The results of the study are intended to help guide medical providers, legislators, and the general community on the behavioral health consequences of the NM MCP for patients currently enrolled in this system.
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Project Title: Associations between Cannabis Use and Health and Wellbeing among New Mexican Veterans
Principle Investigator: Jacob M. Vigil, PhD
Primary Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an approved or qualifying condition in most state-authorized medical cannabis programs in the U.S.. However the existing literature documents mixed associations between cannabis and PTSD. As community-focused researchers, representing the beneficence of the University of New Mexico research community, we believe that it is both our duty and a blessing to be able to address one of the most pressing set of patient-centered issues—the safety and effectiveness of self-medication behaviors—affecting our brave and often under-attended veterans. In this study, NM veterans with a combat-related PTSD diagnosis who are enrolled in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program (MCP) will be compared to non-cannabis using veterans for psychological wellbeing, prescription medication use, and health behaviors over a 30 day observation period. MCP-enrolled patients will also use mobile devices and the Releaf AppTM educational software program for recording characteristics of and the immediate effects of self-administered medical cannabis. The study is expected to contribute to fair and effective legislation over the safety, regulation, access, and use of medicinal cannabis for palliative care in U.S. veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD.
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Project Title: Effects of Cannabis Consumption Under Naturalistic Conditions Using Mobile Software Applications and Biotechnology
Principle Investigator: Jacob M. Vigil, PhD
Primary Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Project Title: Regulatory Mechanisms in Cannabis Markets
Principle Investigator: Sarah S. Stith, PhD
Primary Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Project Title: Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Health Supply Markets in the U.S.
Principle Investigator: Jacqueline M. Doremus, PhD
Primary Institution: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California
The students and researchers at the MCRF are pleased to recognize our local, national, and international funding partners whom include:
 | Seebinger Hemp | |||||
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Industrial Rehabilitation Clinics | Highway 4 Coffee | |||||
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