Comments Policy

Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR)

Effective Date: November 4, 2026 | Last Reviewed & Updated: November 4, 2026 | NIH Award U24AT013161

Applies to: r3cr.org, R3CR Blog, and Social Channels

1. Purpose & Guiding Principles

The Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR) serves as an academic and collaborative resource hub dedicated to facilitating scientific advances, streamlining regulatory compliance, and driving reproducible studies across the cannabis and cannabinoid research landscape. Our digital platforms, including the R3CR Blog (https://r3cr.org/blog/) and associated social channels, are designed to share objective insights, bridge knowledge gaps, and foster constructive dialogue.

Cannabis research touches on rapidly evolving scientific, medical, and regulatory challenges. Discussing these issues can evoke strong perspectives and differing viewpoints. We welcome vigorous, evidence-based academic debate and diverse professional insights. However, to ensure this forum remains productive, trustworthy, and welcoming for all participants, all comments must maintain recognition of each other’s professional dignity and adhere to the guidelines set forth below.

2. Core Expectations for Commenters

We hold our online discussion forums to high scientific and professional standards. Commenters are expected to:

  • Maintain Mutual Professional Respect: Engage with authors and fellow commenters with courtesy. Challenge hypotheses, methodologies, data interpretations, and policy analyses rather than making personal remarks about the individuals presenting them.
  • Stay Grounded in Evidence: Substantiate claims and scientific critiques with references to reputable, peer-reviewed scientific literature, official regulatory documentation, or established clinical standards. Grounding comments in data elevates the quality of discussion.
  • Remain Relevant to the Topic: Keep comments directly focused on the substance of the specific article, research milestone, or regulatory update being discussed. Off-topic discussions or tangential debates will be redirected or removed.
  • Assume Constructive Intent: Recognize that contributors participate in R3CR discussions to advance public understanding and research quality. If a comment appears unclear or contentious, seek clarification courteously before responding defensively.

3. Prohibited Content

To maintain community integrity, academic standards, and online safety, R3CR strictly prohibits the following in all comment threads:

  • Commercial Solicitation & Advertising: Marketing, promoting, or advertising specific commercial products, dispensaries, brands, consulting services, clinical trial recruitment schemes, or business ventures. Unsolicited commercial pitches and affiliate links will be deleted immediately.
  • Personal Attacks & Harassment: Defamatory statements, abusive language, bullying, baiting, ad hominem attacks, stalking, or hostile ‘flaming’ directed at authors, commenters, or research personnel.
  • Hate Speech & Discriminatory Language: Derogatory remarks, slurs, or harassment targeting race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.
  • Obscene, Vulgar, or Offensive Material: Sexually explicit, indecent, profane, graphic, or gratuitously violent text, links, or multimedia.
  • Unsubstantiated Medical & Therapeutic Claims: Anecdotal claims, health advice, or promotion of unproven medical cures or cannabis treatments that lack empirical support or contradict regulatory consumer health safeguards.
  • Spamming & Repetitive Posting: Posting identical or near-identical text across multiple articles, excessive link-dumping, automated bot submissions, or repetitive arguments that derail ongoing discussions.
  • Violations of Privacy & Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Disclosing private personal details—such as home addresses, personal telephone numbers, private email addresses, or confidential patient health information—belonging to yourself or others.
  • Copyright & Legal Infringement: Posting proprietary text, copyrighted materials without authorization, trade secrets, or content that breaches legal confidentiality obligations.

4. Moderation Workflow & Administrative Oversight

R3CR is committed to transparent, fair, and consistent comment moderation. Our workflow operates under the following parameters:

  • Review Protocol: Comments submitted to the R3CR Blog are reviewed by the R3CR editorial and administrative team. Moderation occurs during standard business hours (Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding institutional holidays).
  • Administrative Discretion: The R3CR administrative team reserves the exclusive right to withhold, edit for formatting clarity, or completely remove any comment that violates these standards. In accordance with digital best practices, complete removal of violating comments is the standard administrative remedy.
  • Enforcement & Banning Policy: Users who violate these standards may be issued a formal notice via their registered email address. Repeated, persistent, or egregious violations will result in permanent blocking of the user account and/or IP address from all R3CR forums and interactive portals.
  • Community Flagging Mechanism: If you encounter a comment that you believe violates this policy before an administrator has reviewed it, please notify our team by emailing info@r3cr.org with the post title, URL, and a brief description of the issue.

5. Thread Expiration & Comment Archiving

To protect legacy content from automated spam bots and maintain manageable administrative oversight, R3CR reserves the right to close the comment section on individual blog posts after a designated period (typically 60 to 90 days following initial publication). Archived discussions will remain visible for public reference, but new comment submissions will be disabled.

6. Author & Institutional Disclaimers

Opinions, views, and positions expressed in the comment section are solely those of the individual commenters. They do not necessarily reflect the official opinions, policies, or endorsements of the Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR), its collaborative partner institutions (Washington State University, University of Mississippi, and United States Pharmacopeia), or the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Guest blog articles and community contributions are provided for educational and scientific dialogue only and do not constitute formal legal, regulatory, or clinical medical advice.

7. Contact & Inquiries

For questions regarding this Comments Policy, to inquire about a moderated comment, or to learn more about our submission guidelines and editorial standards, please contact our administrative team: