Research is a very important when it comes to reforming marijuana laws around the world. Science is on the side of reformers, and as the truth spreads that marijuana is medicine, reform is sure to follow. Below is an e-mail that I received asking for sponsors for an extensive medical marijuana research study which will be based in Spain and Uruguay. Do you have deep pockets? If so, consider funding this worthy cause:
The ICEERS Foundation
ICEERS is a nonprofit foundation founded in 2009 in the Netherlands and declared as a tax-deductible charity a year later. ICEERS is dedicated to the acceptance and integration of ethnobotanical plants as therapeutic and personal growth tools in modern society. The three pillars in which we operate are Education, Research and Service (risk reduction, legal defense, etc…).
Currently we are opening an office in Barcelona and Uruguay, where we do a large part of our current activities. If you want more information about our projects please visit our blog: www.news.iceers.org
The Cannabis Study
Our cannabis study is an independent research project that we are developing in collaboration with the biomedical research institute called Hospital del Mar Institut d’Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), a prestigious institution with extensive experience in clinical research with psychoactive substances, including cannabis, and biomedical analysis techniques. The study seeks to establish a scientific basis for the therapeutic potential of cannabis for patients with a chronic disease (fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma,…) and gain new insights into the effects of cannabis on the endocannabinoid system (the IMIM institute developed a special technique to analyze a large number of endocannabinoids, which makes this possible), hormonal and immune systems.
To see a graphic explanation of the project, please check out the video (it has English subtitles) on the studies page on our blog: www.estudiocannabis.org
Visibility and publication of results
This study will have different communication channels; During the volunteer recruitment process we will spread information on the study through a project page we will make on our main website and our blog, also on cannabis and related blogs and forums, cannabis magazines, and television (e.g. marijuana.tv). Also posters will be distributed in a large number of cannabis associations in Catalonia, where there are currently an estimated 400 associations.
The results will be published in scientific journals of high impact, as we have done with previous studies that were conducted by our principal investigator Dr. José Carlos Bouso, which we expected to generate international public interest. The results will also be presented at conferences, congresses and other educational channels during the 3 year course of the study as we are generating data, and at the end of the study.
Also, as we are opening this field in Uruguay with our Clinical Director there, Dr Raquel Peyraube, who is one of the key people in the cannabis legalization movement there and consultant of the government in relation to drug policy, giving visibility to the results of this study in Uruguay and other Latin American countries where we are promoting projects (such as Chile) is highly important to us.
Current status of the study and funding
Currently the study is approved by the ethics committee of the Hospital Mar in Barcelona and we are looking for patrons and sponsors and we will launch a crowdfunding campaign in a few weeks. Our online data collection system is nearly ready and the biomedical analysis systems at IMIM available for when the study starts. The staff of this study counts with highly qualified researchers (principal investigator Dr. Magi Farré and Dr. José Carlos Bouso, Dr Rafael de la Torre (director of IMIM) and Dr Fernando Caudevilla (Medical Doctor specialized in assistance to drug users) and I am the coordinator of the study).
We already have about 20 volunteers who are waiting to enroll in the study.
The total budget of the study is 255.000€ over the 3 year course (€85.000 per year), of which about two thirds are needed to cover the costs of the biomedical analysis, as these are special tests that have a high cost. To initiate the study with the participants who only do the psychological, quality of life and symptomatology follow up without the biomedical analysis (150 of the 200 participants), we need to have €80.000 secured to cover staff cost over the three year period (27,000€ per year). Once we have this capital available we will begin the study, while we seek the remaining budget of the biomedical tests for the other 50 participants.
Sponsorship Forms :
There are different formulas of sponsorship:
Donation:
Donations up to € 5.000. In this case the name of the company or person who donates is mentioned in the ‘donor’ list on the web page of the study on the main ICEERS website and ICEERS blog and at the end of the conference presentations.
Sponsor:
Starting from a €5.000 contribution, you become a sponsor of the study. In this case the sponsor’s logo appears in the category ‘other sponsors’ on the posters, the study web page on the ICEERS website and blog, on the presentations at conferences and other outreach materials. They are not specifically mentioned in the text of the scientific publications, but the text will have a link to the study’s website that has the logos. The higher the contribution the bigger the size of the logo in relation to the other sponsors.
Shared Patron:
The minimum contribution to become a shared Patron is €10.000/year (€30.000 in total). In this case the Patron’s logo appears (larger than all sponsor logos) in the category ‘Patrons of the study’ on the posters, the study’s web page on the ICEERS website and blog, promotional materials and conference presentations. The patron is also always mentioned in the texts (The main patrons of this study are …) in the scientific publications and other articles. Other sponsors are not specifically mentioned in the publications and articles.
Exclusive Patron (seed bank):
We predict that we will cover 30% of the total budget (€76.500) through private donations and crowdfunding. To get exclusivity as a Cannabis Seed Bank Patron, 60% of the €178.500 (remaining budget) needs to be covered. This is a donation of €35.700/year). In this case you are guaranteed to be the only seed bank.
Exclusive Patron:
We predict that we will cover 30% of the total budget (€76.500) through private donations and crowdfunding. To get exclusivity as Patron the other 70% of the remaining budget needs to be covered €59.900/year). In this case you are guaranteed to be the only company.
