Aurora Cannabis and McGill University announced the launch of an international collaborative medical research project that will comprehensively examine the therapeutic impact and human health outcomes of cannabidiol (CBD) oil as a therapy for chronic pain and related anxiety and depression.
Following an extensive provincial government review, the study received funding from Quebec's Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation, under the program called: Programme de soutien à la recherche, Soutien à des initiatives internationales de recherche et d'innovation (PSR-SIIRI). In addition to Aurora's financial contribution and provision of the CBD oil the research project will jointly be conducted at research institutions in Canada, Italy and France.
The project that will be led by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a leading researcher at the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University. Dr. Gobbi and her team will work with a group of international research scientists at the Université Paris Descartes in France, and the Universities of Campania "L.Vanvitelli" and Vita – Salute San Raffaele in Italy. This three year translational collaborative research project will investigate the pain relief properties of CBD oil by exploring its mechanism of action in pain and associated depression and anxiety.
"Based on our extensive experience with more than 60,000 registered Canadian patients, we believe CBD to be one of the most impactful medical compounds to become legally available to people in need of non-addictive therapies to treat pain," stated Terry Booth, CEO. "Our support for and involvement with this project underlines Aurora's leadership in the medical cannabis space, as well as our long-term commitment to a science-based approach to deepen understanding of this amazing substance. This comprehensive study will deliver important data to support a rapidly growing international network of physicians who have started prescribing cannabis, or who are considering doing so. This is especially important considering the growing international momentum in legalizing medical cannabis, with numerous new markets anticipated to come online in the coming years. We are proud to be partnering on this project with a world-renowned research institution such as McGill University, and are grateful for the support of the Quebec government."
Aurora Cannabis and McGill University partner in research project
Dr. Gobbi added, "The cannabis plant and its components are yet to be fully understood and more evidence-based studies are needed. While an increasing body of scientific and anecdotal evidence shows that CBD has substantial potential in medical applications without any addictive liability, this project will ultimately elucidate the mechanism and the clinical application of the CBD. CBD oil is increasingly prescribed by physicians around the globe who are looking for clinical and other scientific studies to provide further guidance. We are very pleased to be working with Aurora on this project, underlining the continued leadership in this field and with our international partner universities in France and Italy, who will be contributing their expertise in the field of pharmacology of pain and cannabis science."