Medical Marijuana Applicant Promises $5M In Grants, Including $1M To Stony Brook

Jacob Redmond

Well-Known Member
A pharmaceutical company competing for one of the state's five medical marijuana licenses on Monday pledged to provide $5 million in grants to researchers statewide including $1 million to Stony Brook University.

Fiorello Pharmaceuticals Inc. based in New York announced Monday that it will provide the grants for research into medical marijuana uses if it secures one of five state licenses to provide medical marijuana.

The Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo adopted New York's medical marijuana law last year. The law is strictly limited to marijuana in smokeless forms for specific serious medical conditions including epilepsy, cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and A.L.S., which has long been known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The state Health Department is now evaluating voluminous proposals by more than 100 companies. Operations and dispensing of medical marijuana is scheduled to begin Jan. 5.

At the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the grant would allow continued research into understanding how medical marijuana can be used to treat diseases that include childhood epilepsy, said Dale G. Deutsch, professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Stony Brook.

Fiorello Pharmaceuticals also pledges to provide $1 million in research grants over five year to facilities in the Albany area where the company would operate part of its medical marijuana operation. The balance of $3 million would be awarded to clinicians and researchers statewide, the company stated.

Government grants are limited because of federal criminal laws that make marijuana use illegal, so the company said the private sector must step up.

Ari Hoffnung, Fiorello's CEO, called the pledge the largest research commitment ever involving medical marijuana.

"The private sector and state governments must step in to fill the unconscionable void in medical marijuana research created by the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug," he said Monday.

He said the funding will advance treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases while making New York a global leader in marijuana research.

The pledge of $5 million in research grants over five years is part of the proposal to the Health Department.

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News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Med marijuana applicant promises $5 M in research grants, including $1 M to Stony Brook | Newsday
Author: Michael Gormley
Contact: michael.gormley@newday.com
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Website: Newsday - The Long Island and New York City News Source | Newsday
 
Just a little sweetening of the pot eh Hoffnung, nothing like bribery at all.
The State of NY also seems to really want to preserve the black market by way of regulations, wonder who else added sweetener to their pockets.
 
Just a little sweetening of the pot eh Hoffnung, nothing like bribery at all.
The State of NY also seems to really want to preserve the black market by way of regulations, wonder who else added sweetener to their pockets.

I agree. I hope NY picks someone who knows what they are doing and not someone who is openly willing to "donate" money away.
 
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