Summary
An analysis of cannabis research funding in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom has found that more than $1.5 billion was directed to the topic between 2000 and 2018—with the vast majority of the money spent on understanding the potential harms of the recreational drug. Just over $1 billion came from the biggest funder, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, which doled out far more money for researching cannabis misuse and its negative effects than for studies of cannabis and cannabis-derived chemicals as a therapeutic drug.