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On July 21, the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) announced the 2022 Veteran Marijuana Research (VMR) Grant Program Award Recommendations to Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. All of the information regarding the VMR Grant Program – including the initial Request for Proposals (RFP), the Response to Inquiries, the JEC Summary and Award Recommendations, and each of the 2022 received proposals – is published on the CRA website here.

On April 1, 2022, the CRA issued an RFP for the VMR grants. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (Initiated Law 1 of 2018) was passed by the voters of the state of Michigan in November 2018 and, among other things, creates the Marijuana Regulation Fund in the state treasury and requires the Cannabis Regulatory Agency to expend money in the fund until 2022 or for at least two years, to provide $20 million annually to one or more clinical trials that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and sponsored by a non-profit organization or researcher within an academic institution researching the efficacy of marijuana in treating the medical conditions of United States armed services veterans and preventing veteran suicide.

The CRA received responsive proposals in response to the RFP from Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, Field to Healed, and Omni Medical Services. The review team recommended that Wayne State University receives two grant awards, and the University of Michigan receives one grant award. When determining the amount to be awarded to each organization, the review team took into consideration several factors, including:

  • Experience and financial stability of the organization
  • Work plan
  • Management summary
  • Budget and budget narrative

Wayne State University was awarded the full amount requested for both of their proposals – $9,028,541 and $3,536,524 – and the University of Michigan was awarded $7,434,935 of the requested $11,987,667. Responses to this solicitation were reviewed by a Joint Evaluation Committee (JEC) which consisted of the following individuals:

  • Andrew Brisbo, Executive Director, Cannabis Regulatory Agency
  • Robert Near, Deputy Director, Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
  • Catherine Reid, M.D., Medical Adviser for the State Hospital Administration, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
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