2022- Best Year yet for Canna Research.

The need for more study is easily one of the most typical comments surrounding every avenue of cannabis use.

Studying the most widely used illicit substance globally is something that most agree should be continued, especially as regulation continues apace.

The 4,300 research articles published this year exceed last year's total of just over 4,200.

"Despite claims by some that cannabis has yet to be subject to sufficient scientific scrutiny, scientists' interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our knowledge of the plant, its active components, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and society," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post.

Now is the time for politicians and others to stop evaluating cannabis with the view of 'what we don't know'. Instead, society as a whole needs to start employing evidence-based discussions about cannabis and reform policies that tell of all that we do know.

Lawmakers and legalisation advocates have aligned with prohibitionists to support expanded research into cannabis—a point emphasised by President Joe Biden signed a historic standalone bill in recent weeks to help improve researchers' ability to access the cannabis plant.

The DEA has moved things forward in recent years to support new cultivators of cannabis to be used in investigations. NIDA, The National Institute on Drug Abuse, has recently been looking for new cultivators to supply the agency with cannabis for further research.

Meanwhile, the large-scale legislation signed by Biden in 2021 contains conditions that allow researchers to study the cannabis that the general public is purchasing from state-legal dispensaries instead of being able to use government-cultivated cannabis only.

NIDA Director Nora Volkow commented last year that scientists have been subject to unnecessary limits regarding the sources of cannabis that they are authorised to study. It makes perfect sense to enact a policy change that expands access to products available in the state-legal markets.

The future sure looks bright for cannabis research in 2023!