UCLA researcher aims to study societal impacts of cannabis

In the 15 months since the recreational sale of marijuana became legal for adults in California, an explosion of new cannabis-based products, unchecked health claims and slick advertisements has bombarded the state.Anticipating the accompanying social impacts, UCLA established the  UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, known as the CRI,  in 2017 as one of the first academic programs in the world dedicated to the study of marijuana. Supported by the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the UCLA Brain Research Institute, the CRI is led by director Dr. Jeff Chen and brings together more than 15 departments across UCLA to explore cannabis’ effect on society, including legal, economic, health and other social impacts.In January,  Ziva Cooper joined the CRI as its first research director, where she will primarily lead the examinations into the health effects of cannabis. Recently, Cooper discussed her work, the research goals of the project and the impact of California’s new marijuana laws.What attracted you to this field of cannabis research in the first place?As an undergraduate and a graduate student at the University of Michigan, my work focused on preclinical pharmacology of opioids. I studied both the therapeutic effects of opioids, such as pain relief, and the negative effects, such as abuse and addiction. When I started my postdoctoral fellowship in 2007 at Columbia University, I was introduced to one of my mentors, Dr. Margaret Hane...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news