Ole Miss loses federal contract to grow research cannabis

The University of Mississippi lost its contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that allowed it to cultivate marijuana for federally approved studies,  Cannabis Wire first reported.

Ole Miss was the only institution in the U.S. allowed to grow cannabis for research purposes for over five decades under an exclusive contract it’s held since 1968.

That contract will now end in 2028, and the school will not seek to renew it, a university spokesman told Marijuana Moment.

That’s despite opening a new Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research earlier this year.

In 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started licensing more cultivators to provide more variety of research-grade cannabis and improve product quality.

But even with the new licenses, the DEA had continued to source its research marijuana from the university.

So far, the DEA has licensed at least 10 additional growers but has not entered contracts with any of them.

Now that the contract is terminated, it’s uncertain where NIDA will acquire cannabis for future studies.

The shift could signal a broader change in federal marijuana policy.

Although the DEA is considering rescheduling marijuana under federal law, which would open up possibilities for cannabis research, hearings before the agency’s top administrative law judge have been paused since January.

The DEA can resume hearings at any time and is required to give an update on the process to Chief Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney every 90 days.

In the last update earlier this month, the DEA reported no progress.