Pitt to launch study of medical marijuana use to ease pain in sickle cell patients

Finding a way to use medical marijuana to treat sickle cell anemia will be the focus of a $3 million research program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It is part of a 10-year agreement with Goodblend Pennsylvania LLC, Pitt’s new affiliate in medical marijuana research.

State officials on Wednesday awarded the eighth and final license for medical marijuana research to the company that is part of Parallel, a privately held multi-state cannabis company.

Pitt was among eight Pennsylvania academic research universities certified to conduct clinical research outlined in the state’s 2018 law that legalized medical marijuana.

Parallel was granted a license to grow marijuana here and open as many as six retail outlets in Pennsylvania as part of its clinical partnership with Pitt. It is providing a $3 million unrestricted grant for medical marijuana studies to university researchers to launch the program.

“The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine sees great value in the partnership with Parallel for the residents of the commonwealth and beyond. … Parallel’s focus on the innovation, quality, safety and consistency of its products makes them an ideal partner for Pitt’s research program,” said Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for health sciences and the John and Gertrude Petersen dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The state awarded research licenses to companies affiliated with medical schools at Penn State, Drexel and Thomas Jefferson universities in June 2019. In February, companies affiliated with medical schools at Temple and the University of Pennsylvania as well as the Lake Erie and Philadelphia colleges of osteopathic medicine were awarded licenses.

Pennsylvania was the first state to write a research component into its medical marijuana law.

While research has begun slowly, medical marijuana has morphed into big business in Pennsylvania.

According to state Health Department records, nearly 378,000 patients and caregivers are registered to obtain medical marijuana for 23 medical conditions. The state’s marijuana growers and dispensaries have registered sales of $1.3 billion.

Officials at Pitt said researchers there will launch a clinical trial of medical marijuana among sickle cell disease patients under the direction of Dr. Laura De Castro, director of clinical translational research at Pitt’s Sickle Cell Disease Research Center of Excellence.

About 100,000 Americans suffer from the red blood cell disorder that disproportionately affects African Americans and is associated with a shortened life span. About 15% of sickle cell patients suffer chronic pain, which is typically treated with opioids.

“Patients with sickle cell disease and chronic pain have no real alternative to chronic opioid therapy, which has severe limitations and disadvantages. We are proud to have this opportunity to study potential cannabis treatments for these patients who live in constant debilitating pain,” De Castro said.