As was the case with tobacco, some have raised concerns and questions about the health effects of cannabis. What’s needed, as well as a healthy dose of skepticism, is more research. But how is that research going?

The Los Angeles Times reports that, while UCLA claimed not to be receiving donations from the cannabis industry to support their cannabis research, “documents obtained by the newspaper, eventually released by UCLA under the California Public Records Act, show that cannabis companies and investors provided at least some of the early financial support, writing checks for tens of thousands of dollars in donations and assisting with fundraising events.”

From the report:

A marijuana investor and foundations with ties to the newly legal cannabis industry have donated millions of dollars to university research programs studying claims of the plant’s medical virtues, raising questions about how independent the scientific research can be.
Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC San Diego are among the schools that have accepted multimillion-dollar gifts in recent years.

Why is Big Cannabis funding cannabis research at universities? Take a guess.