With the help of a $740,000 grant, researchers from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City will soon be studying the effects of marijuana on the brain, according to an article published April 28 by Fox 13 News.
The grant, given by a local philanthropist, will cover the cost of scanning the brains of 40 participants to see the cognitive effects of marijuana.
“It probably has some effects on brain function that we really don't understand very well,” explained lead author of the study Jeffrey Anderson, MD, PhD, director of the fMRI Neurosurgical Mapping Service and principal investigator for the Utah Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory at the university, to Fox 13 News. “We’d like to understand what is the effect on anxiety, on PTSD, on depression, on autism.”
This year, the "right to try bill", allowing for medical marijuana to be grown in Utah for terminally ill patients, was signed into law, according to the article. As medical marijuana is expected to be on the Utah ballot in November, researchers hope to see if the benefits of medical marijuana ultimately outweigh the risks.
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A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.