Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Public Health Research on Cannabis

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Notice Number: NOT-DA-19-065

Key Dates
Release Date: August 14, 2019
First Available Due Date: October 5, 2019
Expiration Date: January 8, 2022

Related Announcements

PA-19-056: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-19-055: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-19-091: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
PA-19-052: NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-19-092: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
PA-19-053: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-19-054: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-18-591, Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Issued by
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is issuing this notice to encourage grant applications on the effects of changing cannabis laws and policies in the US and globally on public health.

Background

Policies around cannabis use in the United States (and globally) are changing rapidly, and far outpacing the knowledge needed to determine and minimize the public health impacts of these changes. A growing number of states have loosened restrictions on cannabis, including those on sales and use, by passing medical marijuana laws or by making cannabis legal for adult recreational use, and in some cases, states have done both. Recognizing this widening research gap, NIDA solicited input from an Advisory Council Workgroup to identify cannabis policy research areas with the greatest urgency and potential for impact. The workgroup report can be found here: https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/nacda_cannabis_policy_research_workgroup_report_feb_2018.pdf

Examples of research areas highlighted in the report that are of interest to NIDA are included below.

Research Objectives

Areas of programmatic interest to NIDA include:

• Develop standards for measuring cannabis (including hemp and hemp product) dose, intoxication, and impairment.
• Enhance existing epidemiology research to study trends for cannabis use and CUD; including new products, patterns of use, and reasons for use in different populations.
• Characterize the composition/potency of cannabis, methods of administration, cannabis extracts/concentrates, and cannabis of varying constituents (e.g. cannabinoid or terpene content), as well as how those factors impact physical and mental health.
• Determine the physical and mental health antecedents of use, as well as outcomes of use.
• Explore the impact of polysubstance use on health outcomes, including interactions (substitution/complementation) with alcohol, tobacco, and prescription and nonprescription opioids;
• Examine reasons for initiation and continued use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes.
• Investigate the effects of different patterns of cannabis use on brain development, educational attainment, and transition to work and adult roles.
• Identify the effects of maternal cannabis consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Develop effective roadside tests for cannabis impairment that can be practically deployed by law enforcement.
• Determine the prevalence of cannabis-involved vehicular crashes and other types of injury or property damage.
• Investigate how cannabis industry practices, including research on marketing, taxes, and prices, impact use and health outcomes (e.g. how different price points impact consumption patterns across different levels of use).
• Determine the impact of federal, state, and local marijuana policies and their implementation on use and health outcomes.
• Explore the heterogeneity of regulatory schemes (e.g. models for retail distribution of cannabis) to understand which combinations or components minimize harm to public health.

Application and Submission Information:

This notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2019 and subsequent receipt dates through January 8, 2022.

Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or any reissues of these announcement through the expiration date of this notice.

• PA-19-056: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-19-055: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-19-091: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
• PA-19-052: NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-19-092: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
• PA-19-053: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-19-054: NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-591, Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Competing grant applications submitted in response to PA-19-056, PA-19-055, PA-19-091, PA-19-052, PA-19-092, PA-19-053, and PA-19-054:

Applications may be submitted for due dates on or after October 5, 2019 and subsequent receipt dates through January 8, 2022.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include "NOT-DA-19-065" (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will be not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Non-competing administrative supplement applications submitted in response to PA-18-591:

Applications may be submitted from October 5, 2019 through the expiration date of this notice, January 8, 2022.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-18-591 must be followed, with the following additions:

• Applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
• The process for Streamlined Submissions using the eRA Commons cannot be used for this initiative.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-DA-19-065 (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact at the Institute supporting the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this FOA in order to facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Inquiries

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NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

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