THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE
FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATION ONE
To develop a comprehensive evidence base on the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use (both harmful and beneficial effects), public agencies, philanthropic and professional organizations, private companies, and clinical and public health research groups should provide funding and support for a national cannabis research agenda that addresses key gaps in the evidence base.
RECOMMENDATION TWO
To promote the development of conclusive evidence on the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use (both harmful and beneficial effects), agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, should jointly fund a workshop to develop a set of research standards and benchmarks to guide and ensure the production of high-quality cannabis research.
RECOMMENDATION THREE
To ensure that sufficient data are available to inform research on the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use (both harmful and beneficial effects), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and state and local public health departments should fund and support improvements to federal public health surveillance systems and state-based public health surveillance efforts.
RECOMMENDATION FOUR
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, industry groups, and nongovernmental organizations should fund the convening of a committee of experts tasked to produce an objective and evidence-based report that fully characterizes the impacts of regulatory barriers to cannabis research and that proposes strategies for supporting development of the resources and infrastructure necessary to conduct a comprehensive cannabis research agenda.