A pair of Philadelphia schools will team up on a groundbreaking effort to study the effects of medical marijuana.
Temple University announced Thursday that it will collaborate with Thomas Jefferson University’s Center for Medical Cannabis Education & Research (CMCER) to aid physicians and scientists working with the drug.
The CMCER was launched by Jefferson in May as the first research center operated by a health sciences school to examine the medical uses of marijuana.
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Temple's Center for Substance Abuse Research is nationally recognized for its work in drug addiction. The school's dean, Dr. Larry R. Kaiser, touted the school's researchers to add valuable perspective to the effort.
"Joining forces with CMCER multiplies the potential for producing important insights on the appropriate and safe therapeutic uses of medical cannabis,” said Kaiser.
In April, Pennsylvania became the 24th state in that nation to legalize medical marijuana. With the new law, CMCER director Dr. Charles Pollack Jr. warned that further research was needed on the subject to develop the best practices from a medical standpoint.
"This new collaboration between Temple University and TJU is emblematic of the CMCER’s resolve to meet its mission, and will demonstrate the benefit of collaboration among [state] medical schools in further understanding best use of medical marijuana,” Pollack said.
To celebrate the new partnership, the schools will co-present the 2016 Carolina Cannabinoid Collective Conference. From Oct. 28 to 30, the nation's top researchers will come to Philly to discuss the latest developments and discoveries involving medical marijuana.