Canada has committed $24 million through CIHR to create the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium, a national network of ten multidisciplinary teams studying how cannabis affects brain health. Research will address sleep, prenatal and adolescent exposure, cognitive effects, and therapeutic potential for conditions such as psychosis, PTSD and epilepsy. Universities including Waterloo will lead large-scale studies—Waterloo plans to recruit about 3,000 participants—while broader trends show rising legal sales and rapid growth in cannabis research since legalization.
Canada Pledges $24M to Launch National Cannabis and Brain Health Research Consortium
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 16: Toronto, Canada - October, 16 2015 - A a state-of-the-art fully automated medical marijuana production facility is in a nondescript building in Scarborough. (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)Toronto Star via Getty Images
Canada's federal health ministry has announced a $24 million investment through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to establish the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium, the country's first national research network focused on cannabis and brain health.
Consortium Goals: The funding will bring together ten multidisciplinary research teams from institutions across Canada to address persistent knowledge gaps about how cannabis use affects brain development, mental health and neurological outcomes across the life course.
Research Priorities
Participating teams will investigate a broad set of topics, including:
- Effects of recreational and medicinal cannabis use on brain health, cognition and sleep
- Impact of prenatal and adolescent exposure on neurodevelopment
- Risks for vulnerable groups such as youth, pregnant people, frequent users and individuals at elevated risk for mental-health disorders
- Therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for conditions such as psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and epilepsy
"This $24 million investment will bring together researchers from across the country to advance our understanding of how cannabis affects brain health and generate knowledge that helps improve care, inform policy and supports the health of Canadians," said Canada's Minister of Health, Mark Holland, in a statement accompanying the announcement.
One example of how the funding will be used: the University of Waterloo will receive approximately $2.4 million to study health risks and brain-related effects, recruiting roughly 3,000 Canadians for its project, according to David Hammond of Waterloo's School of Public Health Sciences.
Context: Legalization and Research Growth
Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018 and now operates a regulated market with more than 3,000 licensed retailers. Retail sales of legal cannabis reached $5.5 billion in fiscal 2024/2025—up 6.1% year over year and 37.1% over three years—with federal and provincial governments collecting about $2.5 billion in tax revenue in that period.
Legalization was intended in part to shrink the illicit market. Surveys suggest substantial shifts to legal purchasing: one survey published last year found that about 78% of cannabis users now report buying from legal sources, while a separate 2024 survey reported that 72% of purchasers identified the legal market as their source. The health ministry has also reported that more than one in three Canadian adults have used cannabis.
Scientific interest in cannabis and cannabinoid research has expanded sharply over the past two decades. A bibliometric analysis identified 29,802 articles and reviews on cannabis and cannabinoids published between 1829 and 2021, with the largest surge in the last 20 years; 4,266 of those papers were in neuroscience. Frequently recurring research themes include cognition, memory, adolescence, psychosis, schizophrenia, cannabinoid receptors and the hippocampus.
By coordinating national expertise and standardizing approaches, the CIHR consortium aims to produce evidence that can guide prevention strategies, clinical care and policy decisions—helping clinicians, policymakers and the public better understand both risks and potential therapeutic uses of cannabis.
What to expect next: Over coming years the consortium will roll out cohort studies, clinical trials and population surveys. Results are expected to inform prevention initiatives, clinical guidelines and evidence-informed policymaking.
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