As studies into the benefits of medicinal cannabis intensify, one University of Wollongong researcher is looking instead at the harms it can cause.
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Associate Professor Nadia Solowij, from the School of Psychology, has been awarded a $731,571 grant for her study, which will look at changes in the brain due to long-term cannabis use and dependence.
Prof Solowij said the four-year research project aimed to develop practical treatments for people with cannabis use disorders.
‘’There’s a lot of evidence that there’s some therapeutic benefits in the cannabis plant, and we’ve seen people with a whole range of medical conditions being assisted in some of their symptoms.
‘’However as scientists we recognise that although cannabis has some therapeutic properties, for some people who use very heavily it does cause problems to their mental health, their daily functioning,’’ she said.
‘’For instance we know 13 million individuals around the world are dependent on cannabis or experience cannabis-use disorders – and only 10 per cent seek treatment.
‘’So while it’s an intriguing plant with a multitude of properties, it’s important to have balanced research to look at both the benefits and the harms.’’
Prof Solowij said researchers would recruit heavy cannabis users, and examine changes in their brains over a 12-month period.
‘’We want to map the changes in the brain that accompany a transition from recreational use to more problematic use, or dependency,’’ she said.
The project team, including partners at Monash and NSW universities, will test models of addiction used in neuroscience that have been applied to other drugs but never examined in cannabis users.
‘’Brain scans will be done over time to look at changes that occur in brain function and structure,’’ she said. ‘’We want to see how those changes relate to a user’s functioning in the real world.’’
The study was one of three UOW projects awarded more than $1.75 million in National Health and Medical Research Council grants on Saturday.
Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld, of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, will receive just over $500,000 to develop a instrument to verify radiation therapy is reaching its target.
‘’Motion adaptive radiation therapy is utilised during the treatment of certain cancers, like lung cancer, where the organs are constantly moving,’’ he said.
‘’It’s important to ensure that the radiation beam is moving at exactly the same time, so that it’s targeting the tumour, and not normal tissue. So we are developing a three-dimensional quality assurance instrument which will verify the dosage … and lead to better treatment outcomes.”
Around $520,000 was also awarded to professors Stephen Pyne and Paul Keller, from the School of Chemistry, for a project that will develop drugs to treat bacteria infections in the bowel.