This fall PPA entered a new area of research by signing on to support the Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) within the University of Illinois system. CRI conducts rigorous, relevant, and timely research to provide unbiased information from seed to social impact for policymakers and the public. This partnership, which was built upon an existing relationship between CRI and PPA Project Manager Meg Chamberlin, is an opportunity for PPA to extend its expertise to the rapidly expanding cannabis research and policy fields.
“I jumped at the opportunity to continue working with the leadership team at CRI once I joined PPA,” said Meg. “CRI’s research is expected to fill critical gaps in knowledge and inform efficacious policymaking, and their centering of equity in the cannabis and cannabis research ecosystems is a natural point of connection between our two organizations. I am thrilled to bring PPA-quality support to an organization I believe in.”
PPA’s work with CRI includes translating and summarizing complex scientific research for a range of audiences including policymakers, cultivating research concepts to develop into grant proposals, and creating a process pathway for policy analysis requests from CRI’s foundational funder, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). PPA looks forward to helping as CRI pursues the long-term goal of becoming known within the state, region, nation and world as a competent, trustworthy, fair arbiter of facts about cannabis.
CRI in the news:
Last week Friday state officials joined the director of the Cannabis Research Institute at Discovery Partners Institute in a livestreamed panel discussion that provided an overview of CRI’s functions and the burgeoning cannabis economy. Governor JB Pritzker, Dulce M. Quintero the Secretary Designate of IDHS, and University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen made opening remarks, and it was moderated by journalist Mila Marshall, who also helped write the Illinois Cannabis Regulation & Tax Act (which made cannabis legal in the state).
Panelists included:
- CRI Director Reggie Gaudino, a molecular geneticist focused on biochemical networks in plant phytochemistry
- Donell Barnett, behavioral health adviser at the Illinois Department of Human Services and CRI’s program officer
- Nathaniel Inglis Steinfeld, deputy cannabis regulation oversight officer for research and data in the state of Illinois
- Eva-Dina Delgado, Illinois General Assembly House Representative 3rd District
You can learn more about this event in Gov. Pritzker’s press release about the event here or watch it on youtube here.
CRI was also featured in the Chicago Tribune in September, noting the work beginning in the Chicago area. You can read more about their hope for the research here.