Here are some of the websites I’ve found most useful in researching my books and blog posts and getting the best information about many aspects of the fast-moving medical cannabis cosmos.
Project CBD: Medical Marijuana & Cannabinoid Science
https://www.projectcbd.org/
Project CBD is a California-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical uses of cannabidiol (CBD), the main non-psychoactive element in cannabis, and other components of the plant. The organization provides educational services for physicians, patients, industry professionals and the public. It also, among other things, updates doctors and patients on developments in cannabis science, therapeutics and political economy; supports physician and researcher efforts to collect, aggregate and publish patient data to determine patterns of CBD efficacy; conducts training workshops for health workers and dispensary staff on the benefits and challenges of CBD-rich therapeutics and ways to maximize patient interactions; and publishes a free online newsletter and co-produces the education video series Cannabis Conversations.
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
http://www.maps.org/
Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and education organization that helps people medically, legally and culturally benefit from the careful use of psychedelics and cannabis. Among its important research efforts, MAPS won regulatory approval to conduct the first-ever study of smoked cannabis for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in war veterans. It also has completed the first double-blind, placebo-controlled study of therapeutic LSD in people since the early 1970s.
NORML: Working to Reform Marijuana Laws
http://www.norml.org
The mission of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), established in 1970, is to move public opinion to legalize the responsible use by adults of cannabis. NORML also advocates for consumers, to ensure their access to high-quality cannabis that is safe, convenient and affordable.
Marijuana Policy Project: We Change Laws
https://www.mpp.org/
MPP, founded in 1995, is the largest U.S. organization focused only on ending cannabis prohibition. Its mission is to change federal law to allow states to determine their own cannabis policies and regulate cannabis like alcohol is regulated in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories.
Smoking cannabis. Shutterstock by Pe3k
Patients out of Time: Protecting Patients and Reducing Harm
http://patientsoutoftime.org/
Patients Out of Time is a non-profit 501c3 Virginia corporation that helps educate health care professionals and their specialty and professional organizations, the legal profession and the public about medical cannabis.
Leafly: Marijuana Dispensary & Strain Reviews
http://www.leafly.com
Leafly calls itself the world’s cannabis information resource. Its Wikipedia entry says it’s the largest cannabis website in the world, with more than 13 million monthly visitors and 40 million page views across its website and mobile applications. According to Forbes, Leafly’s founders like to call it a Yelp-Consumer Reports hybrid.
Drawing of cannabis sativa. From Franz Eugen Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflantzen, published and copyrighted by Gera-Untermhaus, FE Köhler in 1887, Wikimedia Commons.
Americans for Safe Access:
Advancing Legal Medical Marijuana Therapeutics and Research
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/
A medical cannabis patient founded Americans for Safe Access (ASA) in 2002 as a way for patients to advocate the acceptance of cannabis as medicine. ASA has more than 100,000 active members in all 50 states. It is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to medical cannabis and research.
The Vaults of Erowid
http://www.erowid.org
Erowid is a member-supported organization providing access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants, chemicals and related issues. The organization works with academic, medical and experiential experts to develop and publish new resources and to improve and increase access to existing resources. It also strives to ensure that their resources are maintained and preserved as a historical record for the future.
