NASEM to fund impaired driving research • Germany hosts global forum • Canada approves Epidiolex • & more …

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The Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP), within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), is funding $500,000 to an entity that will research cannabis-impaired driving, according to a Request for Proposals that Cannabis Wire spotted. 

Specifically, this funding will be used to fill gaps in existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about cannabis-impaired driving, and ways to prevent it, especially among young adults and teens. 

The deliverables include developing educational resources and interventions to help various stakeholders (parents, educators, and employers) communicate with young drivers about cannabis-impaired driving. The successful applicant will also conduct a workshop aimed at feedback and refining these resources.

The final output also includes a comprehensive research report, educational materials, a set of future research and intervention recommendations, a presentation, and a technical memo on implementing the findings. 

The BTSCRP is a partnership between the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Last week, Burkhard Blienert, Germany’s drugs commissioner, hosted the second “International Forum for Sustainable Cannabis Regulation.” 

The event, which included participants from Canada, Colombia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the U.S., focused on discussions around an “international framework” for cannabis. 

“The old answers in cannabis policy are no longer valid,” Blienert said in the announcement. “A number of other states are breaking new ground with us in cannabis policy. It is important to me that we learn from each other and exchange ideas openly about what works and where there are difficulties.”

This means that patients in Canada will be able to get the product, a pure CBD extract, by prescription, and be reimbursed for it. 

“Living with LGS, Dravet syndrome or TSC is very difficult. It means enduring recurring seizures every day. This presents a challenging and isolating experience for individuals living with these conditions to experience and places a great deal of stress on caregivers who witness the seizures,” said Laura Dickson, president of the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance, in the announcement. “This approval encourages hope and optimism for this community.”

The product has been FDA-approved in the U.S. for years, and remains the only FDA-approved drug that contains a cannabis plant extract.

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) is looking for someone with “marketing and communications expertise” to create a “public awareness campaign” to “promote harm reduction practices and the safe use of substances such as cannabis and alcohol and responsible participation in activities such as sports betting and other forms of gambling.”