The Cannabis Research Review Board (CRRB) is the result of the Cannabinoid Research Act, (H.B. 130) that was passed and was signed into law during the 2017 Utah General Legislative Session. During the 2018 Utah General Legislative Session, amendments (H.B. 25) were made to Cannabinoid Research Act as follows:

The composition of the CRRB was modified from three board members being members of the Controlled Substance Advisory Committee to one; and The duties of the CRRB were broadened to include review of research regarding “expanded cannabinoid products” which includes cannabinoid products with significant tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.

The Cannabinoid Research Act directs DHHS to form and facilitate the CRRB. As stated in the legislation, the purpose of the CRRB is to review available research related to the human use of cannabinoid products. Specifically, the CRRB evaluates the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid products and expanded cannabinoid products in terms of:

• medical conditions that respond to cannabinoid products;
• dosage amounts and their medical forms; and
• interactions between cannabinoid products, expanded cannabinoid products, and other treatments.

The CRRB may only review research that has been approved by an Institutional Review Board, or approved/conducted by the federal government.

From this research, the CRRB is directed to develop prescribing guidelines that may potentially be used by qualified medical providers recommending cannabinoid products to their patients. The CRRB is directed to report the findings of their evaluation in writing to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee before November 1st of each year.

• CRRB Bylaws

Per section 4 of the CRRB Bylaws: All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public in accordance with regulations of the Open and Public Meetings Act. Closed meetings may be held in accordance with UCA §52-4-205.

a) Notice of all meetings shall be posted on the Public Meeting Notice website.

b) Members of the general public may comment or give testimony with the following limitations:

1) Prior to their statements, each person testifying must fully disclose COI, including any association or financial relationship with a grower, processor, manufacturer, marketer, or seller of hemp, cannabis, or cannabinoid/extended cannabinoid or synthesized cannabinoid products, or an organization that lobbies for or on behalf of such.

2) Only one person from an organization may testify.

3) Comments are limited to meeting agenda items. Unsolicited testimony is limited to two (2) minutes

• Katherine Carlson, M.D., M.S. (Board Chair)

Psychiatrist Medical Director, Project Reality Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Services

• Perry G. Fine, M.D. (Previous Board Chair)

Professor of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah

• Matthew S. McIff, M.D. (Vice Chair)

Family Medicine Physician

• Michael Moss, M.D.

Medical Director, Utah Poison Control, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Utah

• Jennifer L. Norris, M.D.

Internal Medicine Physician

• Misty D. Smith, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah

• Brian Keith Zehnder, M.D.

Medical Director, Exodus Healthcare Network, PLLC Past member of the Utah State Legislature

The information provided in the following documents is intended to help patients in Utah and Utah health care professionals to make well-informed decisions to improve the quality of health care outcomes in patients using medical cannabis through the Utah Medical Cannabis Program. The use of medical cannabis is at one’s own risk and the use of medical cannabis is not considered first-line therapy for most medical conditions. DHHS and the Center for Medical Cannabis highly advise that patients consult with their physician on using medical cannabis as a medical treatment. Documents provided on this website discuss warnings and risks related to the use of cannabis and as such, patrons using these documents are advised to use documents listed here as informational and educational only. We advise that patrons who are minors using medical cannabis also understand and refer to official policy statements and positions posted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (2004 Policy and an updated 2015 Policy).

• General Use
• ALS
• Alzheimer's
• Anxiety Whereas Statements
• Autism
• Cancer and CINV
• Cannabis and Opioid Use Disorder
• Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis
• Delta-8 THC and Analog/Synthesized Cannabinoids
• Epilepsy
• HIV/AIDS
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Persistent Pain
• PTSD

• Chronic Pain - Dr. Perry Fine
• Multiple Sclerosis - Dr. Joel Ehrenkranz
• PTSD - Dr. Katherine Carlson
• Anxiety - Dr. Michael Crookston
• Opioid Use Disorder - Dr. Adam Gordon
• Suppository Administration of Cannabis Products - Dr. Karen S. Wilcox
• Autism - Dr. Deborah Bilder
• Dementia-Related Neuropsychiatric Symptoms - Dr. Megan Puckett
• Cannabis and Cancer Pain - Dr. Daniel W. Odell
• THC and Crash Data - Carrie Silcox, Highway Safety Division
• Cannabis Acute Pain - Lauren Heath PharmD, MS, BCACP
• Summary of the AHRQ Systematic Review on Cannabis/Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain - Lauren Heath PharmD, MS, BCACP
• CRRB Cannabis Driving Impairment - Dr. Michael Moss
• Synthetic and Derivative Cannabinoid Q&A - Dr. Brandon Forsyth, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
• Cannabis Exposures Reported to Poison Centers - Dr. Michael Moss, Utah Poison Control

The Cannabis Research Review Board (CRRB) and the Center for Medical Cannabis at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) seek to create an inclusive medical cannabis program and an educated community by continuing to consider studies submitted by the industry and the public.

To this end, the DHHS and CRRB invite you and other stakeholders in the medical cannabis community to submit studies for review and consideration. The industry and public are welcome to submit studies published inside and outside the United States for review by the DHHS and CRRB. The DHHS will evaluate the validity of the scientific findings of each study submitted based on the rigor of the study design, the risk of bias, and relevance.

To submit a study for DHHS and CRRB review, please upload it to this form, and the DHHS staff will access it there. If the study has been found to meet the scientific rigor required by state statute, it will be shared with the Board.

Respectfully,

Sarah Ponce, MS, RN,
Research manager,
Center for Medical Cannabis