'Millions Are Using Cannabis Yet Only 18 Labs Are Studying It,' Says Johns Hopkins Scientist

It’s been one year since Maryland launched recreational cannabis sales on July 1, 2023 after voters overwhelmingly approved marijuana legalization in the November midterms. Now, the focus has shifted to pioneering research underway at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and other Maryland-based institutions.

Johns Hopkins, among the nation’s most advanced, is working with participants who are consuming cannabis for scientific studies, which are essential in a field where detailed research remains scarce.

What Are They Doing?

Tucked away in a glassed-in room, which “We call it the smoke box,” said Ryan Vandrey, referring to a negative pressure chamber. Vandrey is a professor at Hopkins' Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit.

Vandrey and his team are looking into complex questions via ongoing studies exploring potency variations, consumption methods, therapeutic benefits and risks as well as how cannabis interacts with other medications.

“Millions are using cannabis, yet only 18 labs are dedicated to studying it,” Vandrey said in a Baltimore Banner interview. He stressed the urgent need for more comprehensive understanding.

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Meanwhile, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, which is also at the forefront of cannabis research in the U.S. established a graduate program in April 2024 where students can study medical cannabis science, therapeutics and policy. Scientists at this facility do research, but they're not directly touching the plant as yet.

On that topic, federal reclassification of cannabis by the DEA is slowly getting underway following President Biden's May announcement to move cannabis from its onerous classification as a dangerous Schedule I drug to a less restrictive Schedule III, which will open the door to scientific research.

Until that happens, the state of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, the School of Pharmacy and cannabis research scientists around the country will still need to navigate the rigorous approval protocols that tend to slow progress.

Chad Johnson, co-director of Maryland's School of Pharmacy grad program, said federal illegality continues to overshadow scientific progress with cumbersome regulations, which could go on for a while.

“The door will not just fling wide open,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, on the money front in Maryland, the state comptroller announced that it had collected more than $14.6 million in adult-use cannabis sales tax revenue between January and March 2024, a slight increase over revenues from October through December 2023.

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