UCLA has received four grants totaling $7.3 million from the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to support research on a broad range of topics, from the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids to the cardiovascular risks of cannabis use and strategies for addressing California's unregulated cannabis market.
The funding will support research by faculty from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , the UCLA College of Letters and Science and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health .
“This achievement reflects UCLA’s leadership in advancing cannabis science through innovative research. From the laboratory to real-world market dynamics, our faculty are generating findings that will shape evidence-based regulation that prioritizes public health,” said Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids and professor at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA .
The two-year grants awarded to UCLA researchers, who are members of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, represent a quarter of the $30 million that the DCC recently provided to nine academic institutions to further scientific understanding of cannabis and inform efforts to shape public policy related to the evolving legal cannabis market.
The UCLA studies funded by these awards include:
The studies are expected to begin in early 2026.
For more information on the 2025 grant awardees and studies, visit the Department of Cannabis Control website .