The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has decided not to renew its five-year contract with the University of Mississippi to grow cannabis on campus for research, allowing the deal to terminate in 2028.

According to UM’s website, the contract currently grants the university the ability to cultivate, process, analyze, store and distribute cannabis for research and to supply cannabis and cannabis products to the NIDA Drug Supply program. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which houses NIDA, provided a statement to The Daily Mississippian on the contract’s termination.

“NIH/NIDA’s contract with the University of Mississippi to grow cannabis for research is still in place,” the statement said. “However, in accordance with Section 3b of Executive Order (EO) 14222 — Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative, (Health and Human Services) Divisions have completed a comprehensive assessment of all existing contracts for reducing contract costs.”

The NIH press team went on to discuss the future of NIDA’s research.

“As a result of the HHS cost efficiency initiative, no new task orders to grow cannabis have been issued,” the statement said. “However, the NIDA Drug Supply Program maintains an existing inventory of cannabis and cannabis products, which are available for research.”

Since the contract’s establishment in 1968, UM has been the only higher-education institution in the United States to receive it, according to a 2023 university press release. In accordance with a policy issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2016, UM is one of eight DEA-approved bulk manufacturers and growers.

Each year of the five-year contract, UM receives approximately $1.5 million from NIDA for the purposes indicated in the contract. In the most recent renewal of the five-year contract in 2023, NIDA awarded UM a $2 million work order.

Jacob Batte, the director of news and media relations for the university, shared the university’s plans for the future in a statement to the DM.

“NIDA has chosen not to award the current year task order to the University of Mississippi for cannabis production,” Batte said. “The university has two years remaining on its federal contract and stands ready to leverage its more than 57 years of cannabis research experience to advance the field of cannabis science and meet any future needs NIDA may have.”

Batte went on to highlight UM’s continued commitment to cannabis research.

“The UM School of Pharmacy will continue to play a leading role in the state and around the country in cannabis discovery, innovation and research through the National Center for Natural Products Research, the National Center for Cannabis Research and Education and the Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research,” Batte said.

Tags: cannabisnational institute of drug abusenational institutes of healthnidanih