NIH R3CR Stakeholder Meeting Executive Summary

Meeting was held on Thurs, May 21, 2026 | 9 a.m. – 4:00p.m. ET | USP Headquarters, Rockville MD (Spalding/WBMS meeting rooms) and virtual

On May 21, 2026, the Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR) hosted its first stakeholder meeting at the USP Headquarters in Rockville, MD.

Created as a collaborative effort between the University of Mississippi, the United States Pharmacopeia, and Washington State University, R3CR was established to help investigators navigate the logistical, regulatory, and technical hurdles of cannabis research

This landmark hybrid event brought together federal regulators and academic leaders to align resources, showcase our first seven seed-funding awardees, and discuss compliant pathways for sharing research-grade materials.

We invite you to read the full Executive Summary below to catch up on our session highlights, examine identified community research priorities, and explore the resources we are building to support the next generation of rigorous cannabis science.

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports research that generates evidence to better understand the risks and benefits of cannabis used for medical purposes. Recent rescheduling of marijuana presents new opportunities for researchers to conduct studies examining cannabis in clinical and non-clinical settings. To support the research community by addressing persistent barriers to conducting rigorous, reproducible cannabis and cannabinoid research, NIH committed resources to establish the Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR), a collaborative effort by the University of Mississippi (UM), the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and Washington State University (WSU).

The goal for this comprehensive research center is to address barriers to cannabis research and provide broad, synergistic support to help researchers generate more rigorous scientific evidence across multidisciplinary cannabis research areas. The three cores of the R3RC are intended to support the distinct and specific needs of the research community.

The Research Support Core, led by WSU, provides guidance and resources to investigators to help them address knowledge gaps about cannabis and its constituents. The Regulatory Guidance Core, led by UM, compiles, interprets, and provides up-to-date information on regulatory policies, reducing barriers to cannabis research. The Research Standards Core, led by USP, provides guidance, best practices, and resources related to the characterization, nomenclature, and specifications of cannabis chemotypes, supporting the reproducibility of clinical and non-clinical studies.

Introduction

On May 21, 2026, the R3CR hosted its first stakeholder meeting at USP’s headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. The Center had the following goals for the forum:

1. Share progress updates from the Center’s three cores.
2. Announce the initial round of seed funding awards.
3. Facilitate networks and build community.
4. Disseminate resources, research, and knowledge.
5. Discuss research challenges and the regulatory environment.

Session 1: RC3R Overview and Seed Funding Awardees

Donald Stanford, Assistant Director of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UM, provided an overview of the Regulatory Guidance Core, including milestones and accomplishments, and shared recent updates to the regulatory status of cannabinoids and medical marijuana.

Dr. Nandakumara Sarma, Research Standards Core Lead and Director of Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), presented the goals of the Research Standards Core, including support for the reproducibility and comparability of research and guidance for analytical methods and testing labs to help address barriers related to characterizing materials.

Dr. Mary Paine, R3CR Research Support Core Lead and Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Washington State University, reviewed the goals for the Research Support Core, provided a timeline of activities, and shared that R3CR is now a member of the Association of Cannabis Research Centers (ACRC).

The R3CR selected seven applicants to receive seed funding awards in 2026.  These seed funding applications were designed to help researchers overcome logistical barriers to conducting cannabis research. During the forum, awardees presented their projects, sharing goals, anticipated outcomes, and impacts to public health. The awardees and their projects are summarized in Table 1.

In late summer 2026, the R3CR will release the request for applications for the second round of seed funding. The Center is focused on supporting projects that help investigators overcome regulatory and logistical challenges in cannabis research. Applicants will be evaluated based on their project’s feasibility, significance, and alignment with the Center’s goals as well as their institutional capacity and approach.

Session 2: Navigating the Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Cannabis research faces unique challenges due to the evolving regulatory landscape. A patchwork of state laws, combined with recent changes at the federal level, creates a complex legal environment in which research must be conducted. Throughout the session, the Regulatory Guidance Core discussed the impacts of recent updates, including Public Law 119-37, Division B; Executive Order 14370; and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Final Rule on Schedules of Controlled Substances.

Researchers shared their experiences navigating the complex regulatory environment, and FDA staff provided insights on preparing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for cannabis research. The Regulatory Guidance Core emphasized how cannabis rescheduling will reduce barriers to research but not affect FDA requirements for an IND.

Session 3: DEA-Approved Suppliers and Peer-to-Peer Supply Network

Well-characterized materials are needed to conduct controlled experiments, avoid confounding factors, and generate reproducible data. Attendees heard from DEA-approved bulk manufacturer marijuana growers who noted that currently, there is a lack of demand for materials that match the available capacity; however, rescheduling may improve market conditions as the research environment improves.

Variability in terminology, potency inflation, the diversity and complexity of chemical matrices, and the scarcity of research-grade materials remain quality concerns for cannabis and cannabinoids. Attendees emphasized the importance of selecting well-characterized products, dosages, and matrices to streamline IND applications and research protocols. The Research Standards Core has compiled resources for researchers, including best practices and analytical methods, to help address these known quality challenges. Attendees discussed the Request for Information (RFI) for investigators’ interests in and barriers to adoption of a peer-to-peer network for exchange of cannabis materials and its constituents.

Session 4: Aligning Center Resources with Research Needs

Understanding the needs of the community is central to the Center’s ability to address challenges facing researchers. In session 4, attendees discussed the process of conducting clinical research, the Association of Cannabis Research Center’s (ACRC’s) survey on research priorities (shown in Table 2), and the challenge of effectively communicating cannabis research on digital platforms.

Navigating regulatory compliance remains a challenge for clinical and non-clinical researchers. In this context, attendees discussed barriers facing researchers and the complexity of interfacing cross-functionally within institutions and across state and federal agencies.

Table 1. First Round of Seed Funding: Awardees, Project Descriptions, and Goals

Table 2. Research Priorities Identified by the ACRC Survey