Canadian cannabis colossus Canopy Growth will contribute C$2.5 million to study how cannabis can help in the fight against the opioid epidemic. Specifically, the funds will go toward establishing a Professorship of Cannabis Science at the University of British Columbia, the company announced in a press release Wednesday. Canopy Growth hopes their philanthropy will establish an “enduring legacy of research.”
UBC’s New Professorship of Cannabis Science Will Research How Cannabis Can Address The Opioid Crisis
According to the Centers for Disease Control’s analysis of U.S. drug overdose data, drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016. 66 percent or two-thirds of those deaths involved opioids.
Like the United States, Canada is experiencing its own deadly opioid epidemic, but the province most impacted by the crisis is also home to the University of British Columbia.
Recently, for example, two major studies confirmed that cannabis can be an effective tool in combatting the opioid crisis. Legal medical cannabis not only reduces the number of opioid prescriptions doctors prescribe, it can also treat opioid addiction by ameliorating withdrawal symptoms.
Through its Professorship of Cannabis Science, Canopy Growth hopes to contribute to this growing body of research. “Our business strives to be a part of the communities it calls home,” said Canopy Growth President Mark Zekulin. “Here in British Columbia, we feel a responsibility to make investments that matter to this community.”
Canopy Growth Funds Professorship Of Cannabis Science In Partnership With Mental Health Organization
Canopy Growth‘s C$2.5 million contribution to UBC matches a C$500,000 contribution from the British Columbia Center on Substance Use. But the BCCSU’s contribution comes from an investment from the BC Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.
Both organizations are eager to conduct research that could lead to effective solutions to British Columbia’s opioid epidemic. Indeed, in 2017 the province declared a public health emergency in response to 1,400 opioid-related deaths.
“We are working across government and across all sectors to find new, evidence-based ways to save more lives from opioid overdose and help more people find a pathway to hope and healing,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy.
Canopy Growth‘s involvement represents the company’s dedication to medical cannabis research. Just last week, Canopy hired Dr. Mark Ware, a leading cannabis researcher, as the company’s Chief Medical Officer.
Canopy’s C$2.5 million donation will fund a professorship and two years of research through the Canopy Growth Cannabis Endowment Fund at UBC.
“The Faculty of Medicine cannot sit on the sidelines, said Dermot Kelleher, Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine. “It is our responsibility as part of our contract with society to try to find answers to tremendous social challenges.”
Now, with Canopy Growth’s recent contribution to solving those challenges, it’s all hands on deck in Vancouver. Indeed, answers researchers find there would be invaluable to communities around the world.
