The 2026 Discovery Award Nomination

Cannabis research is essential to understanding therapeutic benefits, identifying potential harms, improving product safety, and developing evidence-informed public policy. Decades of federal cannabis research priorities placed disproportionate emphasis on addiction, substance use, and potential harms, leaving important therapeutic questions comparatively under-explored. As cannabis becomes more widely available and federal policy evolves, researchers face new opportunities to study complex botanical medicines, patient responses, product characteristics, and public health outcomes using both established and innovative scientific methods.

The Discovery Award honors researchers whose work generates new evidence, challenges assumptions, investigates emerging concerns, and expands scientific understanding of cannabis safety and medicine. Research may identify contaminants, assess testing standards, examine therapeutic effects, improve dosing knowledge, evaluate impairment, or explain differences in patient experiences. The award reflects a commitment to investigating legitimate safety questions without exaggerating risks, dismissing concerns, or predetermining conclusions. Scientific uncertainty should motivate better research rather than become an excuse to abandon patient access or ignore potential harms.

The 2026 nominees- Kyle Boyar, Marion McNabb, Stefan Broselid, Mitchell Colbert, Julie K. Johnson, Jessica Tonani, and Melani Kane- represent different approaches to expanding cannabis knowledge. Their contributions include investigations of testing standards, patient experiences, product safety, and emerging scientific questions. Together, their work demonstrates that research into therapeutic potential and research into risks are complementary responsibilities, both necessary to improve patient care, strengthen public protections, and develop policies grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.

Learn more about the Discovery Award and the nominees' role in Cannabis Safety.