Public opinion around marijuana use has become increasingly positive and permissive, despite the lack of scientific data on the short and longer term outcomes among exposed children, adolescents, and even adults. Changes in marijuana policy and legal status are gaining momentum, yet we know little about the impact these shifts have had or will have on epidemiology, prevention and treatment of marijuana and other substance use or disorders, related social and health outcomes such as education and professional achievement, other risky behaviors (e.g. drugged driving) and other disease incidence or prevalence (e.g., HIV, mental illness). While modest increases in prevalence of marijuana use coupled with decreases in the perception of harm associated with marijuana use have been seen in recent years, given the current social climate around marijuana use for both medical and recreational purposes it is reasonable to anticipate continued fluctuations in trajectories of use and attitudes. Therefore the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is encouraging population-based research on social, behavioral, and health outcomes of marijuana involvement to help inform the public health impact of the changing marijuana environment.
Scientific evidence on a range of outcomes associated with various levels of marijuana exposure has not kept pace with other aspects of marijuana use. The patterns of use, potency, sources, availability, administration, public perception, and legal status are significantly different than they were when marijuana rose to popularity in the US in the 1970′s, and research describing the impact of these factors and their fluctuations is encouraged. The ultimate purpose of these data will be to inform policy and health care practices related to prevention and treatment of marijuana-related conditions within a rapidly shifting social environment.
This initiative seeks to delineate a broad range of outcomes of marijuana both direct and indirect exposure among children, adolescents, and adults. Population-based studies could include but are not limited to research in the following areas:
- social and emotional development and maturity;
- educational and employment attainment;
- teen and adult life transitions;
- physical and mental health;
- criminal justice involvement (arrests, underage violations, public intoxication, impaired driving);
- composition/potency of marijuana; mechanisms of risk and causality;
- impact on polysubstance use, including interactions (substitute/complement) with alcohol, tobacco, and prescription opioids;
- impact of taxation and regulatory strategies
- effect of cultural change on marijuana use and outcomes.
Research directly related to marijuana law/policy is not required; rather the focus of this call for research is to build knowledge on the social, behavioral, physical, and public health impacts of marijuana involvement. Given the broad nature of needed research on outcomes of marijuana use, both domestic and foreign sites for research are encouraged and use of appropriate controls is recommended. Resulting evidence can be used to inform marijuana policy discussions. Analyses which utilize existing national or state level longitudinal or panel data are highly encouraged.
HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing Policy for the National Institute on Drug Abuse: In light of recent significant advances in rapid testing for HIV and in effective treatments for HIV, NIDA has revised its 2001 policy on HIV counseling and testing. NIDA-funded researchers are strongly encouraged to provide and/or refer research subjects to HIV risk reduction education and education about the benefits of HIV treatment, counseling and testing, referral to treatment, and other appropriate interventions to prevent acquisition and transmission of HIV. This policy applies to all NIDA funded research conducted domestically or internationally. For more information see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-07-013.html.
National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse Recommended Guidelines for the Administration of Drugs to Human Subjects: The National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA) recognizes the importance of research involving the administration of drugs with abuse potential, and dependence or addiction liability, to human subjects. Potential applicants are encouraged to obtain and review these recommendations of Council before submitting an application that will administer compounds to human subjects. The guidelines are available on NIDA’s Web site at http://www.drugabuse.gov/funding/clinical-research/nacda-guidelines-administration-drugs-to-human-subjects.
Points to Consider Regarding Tobacco Industry Funding of NIDA Applicants: The National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA) encourages NIDA and its grantees to consider the points it has set forth with regard to existing or prospective sponsored research agreements with tobacco companies or their related entities and the impact of acceptance of tobacco industry funding on NIDA’s credibility and reputation within the scientific community. Please see http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/advisory-boards-groups/national-advisory-council-drug-abuse-nacda/council-statements/points-to-consider-regarding- for details.
Data Harmonization for Substance Abuse and Addiction via the PhenX Toolkit: NIDA strongly encourages investigators involved in human-subjects studies to employ a common set of tools and resources that will promote the collection of comparable data across studies and to do so by incorporating the measures from the Core and Specialty collections, which are available in the Substance Abuse and Addiction Collection of the PhenX Toolkit (www.phenxtoolkit.org). Please see NOT-DA-12-008 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-12-008.html) for further details.
For the full program announcement visit grants.gov. Next application deadline is June 5, 2014. [contact-form]
