Canadian Big Cannabis Companies and the Financial Sponsorship of Scientific Research

This event is part of the JCB Bioethics Seminar Series 2021-22.

Full Title: Canadian Big Cannabis Companies and the Financial Sponsorship of Scientific Research

Speaker:

• Quinn Grundy, RN PhD, Assistant Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and a Faculty Associate with the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

• Daniel Buchman, PhD, RSW, Bioethicist and Independent Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Member, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics.

Abstract

Since Canada legalized non-medical cannabis in 2018, cannabis companies have grown in size and market value comparable to industries such as Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, and Big Food. ‘Big Cannabis’ is adopting practices familiar to these industries, such as financially sponsoring research, which can influence research agendas and introduce bias in ways that adversely affect public health outcomes. In this presentation, we report on the findings of a study that documented the nature and extent of Canadian Big Cannabis companies’ sponsorship of research and describe the related ethical, social, and population health implications. Our findings suggest how financial relationships with the cannabis industry are situated within a broader socio-political history related to the commercial determinants of health, gender, racism, and criminalization.