Florida A&M University (FAMU) Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) researcher John Luque, Ph.D., has published “Medical Marijuana Policy Reform Reaches Florida: A Scoping Review” in the Florida Public Health Review.
“This scoping review article on medical marijuana policy reform in Florida and potential therapeutic benefits allowed the research team to understand the value that medical marijuana holds for diverse patients, to control chronic pain for example, and to identify emerging issues for health care providers in this new policy environment,” said Luque, an associate professor in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education in FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS). The article was published on Sept. 21, 2019.
The Florida Public Health Review is housed at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
Luque is a recipient of one of the inaugural MMERI grants for research titled Mixed Methods Study of Medical Marijuana Use Among Minority Patients, along with FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate Professor Arinzechukwu Okere, PharmD.
MMERI Director of Research Cynthia Hughes-Harris, Ph.D., dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences, said, “This is an example of the high caliber researchers that are a part of FAMU and the resulting research that is made possible by the funding from the Florida Legislature. Our objective is to influence policy and to increase the knowledge base regarding marijuana use and we do this through sharing our findings in relevant publications and presentations.”
The MMERI was launched in response to the Legislature’s funding allocation to educate “minorities about marijuana for medical use and the impact of the unlawful use of marijuana on minority communities.”
As part of the 2017 legislation, FAMU receives $10 for every $75 identification card purchased by individuals approved to buy medical marijuana.
MMERI’s objective is to establish the University as a touchstone center for marijuana information, fill in the gaps in medical marijuana research particularly as it relates to diverse communities and to inform public policy, in Florida and beyond, about the impact and issues presented by the developing marijuana industry.
