The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said it again intends to award a federal contract to the University of Mississippi to grow cannabis for federal research purposes.
To date, the university has been the only institution granted such permission.
The University of Mississippi has held the sole federal contract for growing marijuana – for research purposes only – since 1968.
But the quality of the cannabis grown by the university has come under fire in recent years, and other researchers have been trying to obtain federal permission to grow marijuana for research purposes.
In the notice of intent, the NIDA signaled a willingness to consider others who might want to contribute to the research pool in the future:
“This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.”
