California’s Department of Cannabis Control announced today it has awarded nearly $30 million in academic research grants aimed at expanding scientific understanding of marijuana and its impacts on public health, the environment, and the legal cannabis industry.

According to a press release issued today, the California Department of Cannabis Control announced that it has awarded competitive grants to nine academic institutions to support 22 separate research projects. The awards were finalized on December 26, 2025, marking the third round of funding under the state’s Cannabis Academic Research Grant program.

With this latest round, California has now committed close to $80 million to cannabis-related research since 2020. The funded projects span a wide range of topics, including the economic dynamics of the regulated marijuana market, strategies to reduce cannabis-related harms, and the environmental effects associated with cultivation and production.

State officials said the response from the research community was substantial, with 149 proposals submitted for consideration. Grant decisions were based on the strength of the proposed scientific methods, the potential to improve public understanding of marijuana and its effects, and the likelihood that findings could inform future policymaking at both the state and national level.

All research produced through the program will be made publicly available at no cost, a requirement intended to ensure broad access to peer-reviewed, data-driven findings.

The grant program is funded using marijuana tax revenue generated under Proposition 64, the 2016 voter-approved initiative that legalized adult-use marijuana in California, decriminalized personal possession, and established a framework for reinvesting cannabis revenues into public programs, including research.

Below is a full list of 2025 awardees provided by the Department of Cannabis Control.

• UC San Diego: Evaluating the Impact of Cannabis Vape Packaging and Health Warning Regulations on Young Adults.
  Summary: This study will assess how vape packaging features and warning labels affect young adults’ risk perception, attention, and purchase intentions. Findings will inform evidence-based packaging and labeling regulations to reduce youth appeal and enhance the effectiveness of health warnings for cannabis vape products. ($1,517,730)
• UC Davis: School educational approaches to prevent and reduce youth cannabis use. 
  Summary: This project identifies effective cannabis education strategies and their barriers to adoption. The study will deliver data-driven recommendations for school prevention programs and youth cannabis policy.  ($643,828)
• UC San Diego: Cannabis Use and Product Selection Among Older Adults. 
  Summary: This study seeks understanding of how older adults weigh product features like potency, cost, and safety when purchasing cannabis. Findings will inform labeling, education, and retail strategies to improve consumer safety and support evidence-based cannabis policy for aging populations. ($643,428)
• UC Los Angeles: Immediate and long-term cardiovascular effects of smoked and oral cannabis: A controlled human drug-administration study.
  Summary: This study will investigate cardiovascular effects of smoked and oral cannabis to inform clinical guidance, product labeling, and statewide cannabis policy. ($2,083,850)
• UC San Francisco: Clinical pharmacology of commercially available THC-infused beverages.
  Summary: This study will measure THC absorption, onset, and duration across multiple infused-beverage formulations under real-world consumption conditions. Results will inform product safety standards, labeling accuracy, and consumer guidance for low-dose beverage products to minimize impairment risks. ($1,975,523.03)
• UC San Diego: Effects of Cannabis Regulatory Policies on Young Adults in an In Vivo Simulated Dispensary.
  Summary: This behavioral study will use a simulated dispensary environment where young adults make purchasing decisions under different regulatory conditions—such as varying THC limits, health warnings, and price structures—to observe real-time behavioral responses. Findings will quantify how policy levers shape purchasing behavior and risk perception, supporting data-driven regulation to reduce youth harms. ($2,000,000)
• UC Los Angeles: Characterizing unregulated cannabis markets in California post-legalization: a drug checking, ethnographic, and policy study.
  Summary: This study aims to assess why consumers continue using illicit sources of cannabis and what contaminants these products contain. The results will inform regulatory and taxation strategies that minimize public health harms and reduce the size of California’s unregulated market. ($1,999,774.78) 
• UC Los Angeles: Cannabinoid Therapeutics: Synthesis, Binding, Safety, and Computations.
  Summary: This project will study and characterize novel cannabinoids with therapeutic potential. ($2,000,000)
• UC San Francisco: Cannabinoids and the brain: Focused investigations of therapeutic application and early-life risk.
  Summary: This project will examine how exposure to specific cannabinoids affects brain development, neuroinflammation, and therapeutic pathways. The work will clarify safe dosage thresholds and long-term neurological risks, advancing cannabinoid-based medicine and public health protection. ($1,993,986.41)
• UC San Diego: Price and Tax Trends and Their Effects on Cannabis Sales: Evidence from Multi-State Retail Scanner Data.
  Summary: Using comprehensive retail scanner data across 20+ U.S. states, this project will analyze consumer responsiveness to price changes and tax rates, providing actionable insights to guide equitable, health-oriented taxation policies. ($1,219,052)
• UC San Diego: From Community to Counter: Cannabis Retailer Training and Policy Translation in San Diego.
  Summary: This project will develop a training program for cannabis retailers to promote responsible sales, youth prevention, and compliance with local laws. ($1,808,610)
• UC Berkeley: Cannabis Crop Yields: Survey & Remote Sensing.
  Summary: This project will estimate cannabis crop yield variability across indoor, outdoor, and mixed-light cultivation systems. The resulting models will improve crop-production estimates and inform regulatory oversight and market forecasting for California’s legal cannabis sector. ($1,807,977)
• UC Irvine: COPPE Cannabis-use in Older adults: Prevalence & Provider Education Initiative.
  Summary: Combining artificial intelligence–driven data mining across UC Health records with the creation of a statewide learning collaborative, this initiative will map cannabis-related healthcare encounters among older adults and develop provider education modules to improve care and reduce adverse events. ($1,559,887)
• UC Los Angeles: Characterization of Naturally Occurring Organoleptic Compounds for Inhalable Cannabis Regulation.
  Summary: This study will build a Flower Flavor-Compound Reference Dataset defining natural terpene concentration ranges to distinguish authentic plant flavors from prohibited additives, supporting DCC policy and consumer safety. ($1,234,746)
• UC Riverside: Licit and Illicit Cannabis Sources: Predictors, Consequences, and Regulatory Implications.
  Summary: This study will examine how individual, environmental, and policy factors influence consumer reliance on legal versus illegal cannabis sources. Results will help inform regulatory strategies to curb illicit market activity. ($1,241,718.95)
• San Diego State: Pesticide and Allergen Exposure Among Cannabis Workers: An Occupational Health Study.
  Summary: Through a community-based field study of 150 participants, this research uses silicone wristbands for passive chemical sampling and advanced analysis to assess pesticide and terpene exposure among cannabis workers across cultivation types. Results will provide the first comprehensive exposure profile for California’s cannabis workforce, guiding occupational health protections and regulatory enforcement. ($1,157,196)
• UC Davis: Effects of additives and contaminants on the public health implications of cannabis vaping.
  Summary: This research investigates how chemical additives and contaminants in cannabis vape products influence toxicity, brain exposure, and blood-brain barrier function. The project aims to identify specific compounds that heighten neurological or systemic risks, supporting policies for safer manufacturing and regulation of cannabis vape products. ($1,151,290.80)
• Long Beach State: Impacts of Housing and Community-Based Education on Cannabis Use.
  Summary: This research will explore how housing instability and cannabis business zoning affect marginalized residents. Insights will inform equitable urban-planning and regulatory practices that minimize displacement and promote community health in legalization-affected areas. ($891,051)
• UC San Diego: Impact of Marketing of Licensed and Unlicensed Cannabis on Consumer Preferences and Safety.
  Summary: This study investigates how marketing strategies—such as product claims, packaging, and warning labels—affect young adults’ cannabis purchasing decisions and risk perceptions. ($825,618.80)
• UC Berkeley: Assessing the Environmental Benefits of Cannabis Licensure. 
  Summary: This study compares licensed and unlicensed cultivation sites to quantify improvements in water, habitat, and pesticide management following licensure.  ($731,754)
• UC Davis: Pathways to Partnership with the Tribal Cannabis Market.    
• Summary: This study will examine California’s tribal cannabis markets and identify models for tribal–state collaboration. The project will produce regulatory templates and partnership pathways to enhance consumer safety, environmental sustainability, and economic opportunities while respecting tribal sovereignty.  ($698,537)
• UC Berkeley:  Agricultural Exceptionalism: A Comparison of Cannabis, Hemp, and Specialty Crop Regulatory Regimes. 
  Summary:  This project analyzes how cannabis and hemp regulations diverge from those governing conventional agriculture, shaping labor, land use, and environmental compliance. The findings will help harmonize agricultural policy and environmental regulation across crop types.  ($658,565)