In the first study to look at specific risk indicators for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young, healthy cannabis users, researchers found increased arterial stiffness and lower cardiac function than in non-users.

“Cannabis is really widely used as a recreational substance all around the world,” said Christian Cheung, a PhD student in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS). “Scientists haven’t done that research with cannabis.”

HHNS professors Dr. Jamie Burr and Dr. Philip Millar continue to lead studies of CVD impacts of cannabis use.

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Prof. Sam Hocker, Department of Clinical Studies, is undertaking a three-year study to learn more about the anti-cancer properties of cannabidiol and its potential for treating urothelial carcinoma, a difficult-to-treat bladder cancer in animals.

The project will provide much-needed research on veterinary applications of cannabis, said OVC dean Jeff Wichtel.

“Veterinarians and pet owners have been eager for information on the medical applications for cannabis,” he says. “This groundbreaking work will help us learn about the role of cannabinoids in cancer and advance this field of medical research in Canada.”

Most bladder carcinomas in humans are treated with surgery and immunotherapy, but some cases are harder to treat. Hocker says work with dogs could help design potential therapeutic options for more aggressive forms of bladder cancer in humans.

Medicinal cannabis is used to treat people, but currently, no products are licensed in Canada for treating animals. Lobbying is under way for legislation to allow veterinarians to authorize use of medical cannabis.

For this research, OVC received one of Canada’s first grants for veterinary cannabis research. Funding came from Grey Wolf Animal Health, a specialty animal health company.

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The study is the first to show the specific trigger for nausea – a common symptom of many diseases and a distressing side effect of chemotherapy that is not effectively treated by current drugs – and its suppression by cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis.

“This work may lead to a host of potential therapeutic benefits,” says Linda Parker, a U of G psychology professor who has studied the pharmacological properties of cannabinoids on brain behaviours for almost two decades.

This includes better anti-nausea therapies using cannabis as well as a novel drug that elevates a natural cannabinoid (2-AG) in the brain region responsible for the sensation of nausea. The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Last year, they published what is believed to be the first-ever scientific paper on growing better marijuana using science.

“Growing marijuana has been illegal for so many years that there has been hardly any scientific research up until this point on how to produce this crop,” says Zheng, who worked with SES Prof. Mike Dixon and PhD student Deron Caplan.

The researchers analyzed optimal fertilizer rates and soilless growing substrates to achieve higher yields and more concentrated medicinal components in marijuana.

Partly funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the study garnered international media attention after it was published in the journal HortScience.

The researchers continue to investigate ideal horticultural practices for indoor cannabis production.

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