A required Letter of Intent (LOI) and invited full proposals may be submitted in response to this RFP until 11:59 PM (EST) on Feb 4, 2027, and April 2, 2027, respectively. Applicants will be notified of the invitation to submit full proposals by Feb 26, 2027, and after review, awards will be announced in July, with an Oct 1, 2027, start date.
A LOI using the Online Form is required to ensure consistency of the proposed research with the research priorities of the Consortium for Medical Marijuana (MMJ) Clinical Outcomes Research as defined by Florida statute, as well as to allow recruitment of external reviewers with subject matter expertise in the proposed area of inquiry.
Download the full 2027 RFP for submission guidelines.
The Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research is comprised of public and private university member institutions within Florida. The Consortium provides awards to support clinical and translational research related to MMJ to investigators within member institutions. The Consortium is charged by Florida statute to conduct and support “research that contributes to the body of scientific knowledge on the effects of the medical use of marijuana and informs both policy and medical practice related to the treatment of debilitating medical conditions with marijuana”. The statute requires “the board to award funds to members of the consortium, requiring the board to collaborate with and authorizing the board to award funds to teaching nursing homes for certain research”.
This award mechanism will consider fully developed research studies that generate novel evidence, as well as studies intended to facilitate the collection and/or analysis of preliminary data that will support future extramural funding applications. For pilot grants, there needs to be a clearly delineated plan for securing future funding. The Consortium discourages applications that are similar to previous research projects, with unclear justification for innovation.
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
|
RFP Announcement |
Nov 13, 2026 |
|
Online LOI Deadline |
11:59 PM (EST), Feb 4, 2027 |
|
LOI Review Decision |
Feb 26, 2027 |
|
Invited Proposal Submission Deadline |
11:59 PM (EST), April 2, 2027 |
|
Notice of Awards |
July, 2027 |
|
Award Funding Period |
Level 1 Oct 1, 2027, through Sept 30, 2028 Level 2 Oct 1, 2027, through Sept 30, 2029* |
*Dependent on continued state support, and internal board review of progress made towards year 1 goals
All applicant principal investigators (PIs) must be faculty members of Consortium member institutions, which currently include:
There is no restriction on the affiliation of the Co-investigators. All applicants who propose human subject/animal research must comply with their institutional IRB, IACUC, or other regulatory approvals as appropriate.
Applicants may submit only one proposal for this RFP as the PI and there are no restrictions regarding the number of proposals where the investigator is listed as a co-investigator.
Past Consortium grant awardees are eligible to apply one year after their grant end date. In case of a no-cost extension, the end date of the no-cost extension will be considered the grant end date.
All proposal submissions will be treated as new submissions regardless of previous participation in the Consortium grants program.
The following are Consortium research priorities that were derived in consultation with scientific and subject matter experts, evidence review, input from stakeholder engagement, NIH areas of programmatic interest, and the research priorities proposed by National Academies. Priority will be given to human subjects research, but preclinical translational research with strong rationale for clinical applicability will be considered.
Proposals addressing these priorities are highly encouraged:
1. Clinical outcomes of medical marijuana use with priority granted to studies investigating efficacy and safety in humans, for the treatment of qualifying conditions listed for medical marijuana use in Florida (see qualifying conditions list at: https://knowthefactsmmj.com/patients/).
a. with particular focus on use and outcomes across the lifespan
b. impact in high-risk populations
c. effects on clinical outcomes among those with multimorbidity
2. Effect of medical marijuana on use of prescription medications and other substances, and related substance use disorders: human subjects research on the impact of MMJ on the use of or harm related to alcohol, illicit drugs (e.g. opioids, amphetamines), and/or prescription medications (e.g. prescription pain medications, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants).
3. Differences in effects of routes of administration: effect of dosing and routes of MMJ use on efficacy and safety; of particular interest are studies that evaluate effects of smoking and vaping.
4. Interactions of medical marijuana with other drugs/medications:
a. with particular focus on medications that are commonly used by patients who seek medical marijuana treatment
b. impact of polysubstance use, including interactions with alcohol, tobacco, benzodiazepines, and prescription and nonprescription opioids
5. Public health outcomes of cannabis laws and regulations: studies on how state and local cannabis regulations, such as those related to licensing, zoning, product types, product additives, advertising, product labeling, and pricing influence:
a. public health outcomes, including health service use, disparities in treatment access, and
b. research outcomes, including limitations or other effects on ability to conduct research
c. environmental and/or occupational health impacts
6. Evaluating components of medical marijuana/cannabis and contrast their clinical outcomes:
a. comparing different components of MMJ (e.g. CBD, THC, CBG, different terpenes)
b. research on different potency levels of THC products (e.g. >10% vs <10% THC)
c. standards for measuring cannabis dose, intoxication, and impairment
d. health effects of emerging synthetic and semisynthetic cannabinoids and high-concentration products.
7. Mitigation of the risks of cannabis use by evaluating risk-mitigation strategies for cannabis use and their effectiveness in reducing problematic use and minimizing harm.
Download the full 2027 RFP for submission guidelines.
