CSU Gets $270,000 to Study Marijuana

Colorado State University is making great strides in its quest to study marijuana.

CSU-Pueblo, that is.

Pueblo County officials agreed Monday to give the school up to $270,000 in funding to research how marijuana impacts the community and the efficacy of treating health issues, Denver7 reports. This move helps the school become the first 4-year, regional comprehensive university to delve into this type of research.

A new law signed by Governor John Hickenlooper on Monday, June 6, will also allocate $900,000 from Colorado's Marijuana Tax Cash Fund for the school's research.

"This is a momentous day," said Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace in a statement. "I am incredibly excited to have real quantifiable data about how cannabis is affecting our community."

Colorado State University-Pueblo's research will include studies on energy and water used to grow marijuana and the money the industry puts into the community versus the cost of regulation, said Paris Carmichael, Community Information Manager for the Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners.

"These studies not only have local interest but statewide and federal interest," said CSU-Pueblo Provost Rick Kreminski in a statement. "It's an area that has been understudied, and I am appreciative of the taxpayers' decision to use marijuana tax revenue for this purpose."