Washington  State University(WSU) Faculty Senate and Board of Regents have formalized the school’s Cannabis research center by establishing a Center for Cannabis Policy Research and Outreach (CCPRO). In the past six years, WSU’s researchers have worked on over 50 projects with nearly 10 million dollars in funding. The research center has been conducting research since 2011, a year before Washington became the first state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.

Washington State University is one of the top cannabis research universities in the country.
CCPRO was approved in May. The center has over 100 scientists currently working on a diverse range of cannabis related projects such as economics, cannabis and brain development and overall health. Researchers have also been studying how Washington’s 2012 marijuana legalization has impacted  law enforcement.   

Dr. Michael McDonall, CCPRO director and professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine stated that Washington State University is one of the top cannabis research universities in the country. CCPRO has been collaborating with other universities such as Oregon state university (OSU) and the University of California to develop the best method to improve germplasm- the seeds in the genetic material needed in order to grow better hemp crops. “The center status recognizes our researchers’ outstanding, multi-disciplinary scholarship on cannabis. It also brings together under one center work on everything from research focused on the impact of cannabis on development to scholarship on cannabis and public safety, as well as our growing hemp research” said McDonall. CCPRO is striving to change the country’s attitudes and perspectives towards cannabis by expanding marijuana research.