Kent Hutchison

Kent Hutchison, PhD, is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder and the Founder of the Center for Research and Education Addressing Cannabis and Health (CU REACH). Dr. Hutchison has been an NIH funded scientist for the past 20 years and has published numerous papers in the area of substance use. Dr. Hutchison recently served on the National Academy of Sciences committee that published a comprehensive report on the health effects of cannabis in late 2016. Dr. Hutchison has also recently given two congressional briefings on this subject matter. He is also the principal investigator (or co-investigator) on three new NIH funded studies that examine the effects of cannabis products (e.g., flower, edibles, concentrates) purchased in the state of Colorado. Specifically, the studies are designed to compare the effects of CBD only products, THC combined with CBD, or THC only on cognitive outcomes, anxiety, and pain using a mobile pharmacology lab. This research focuses on a number of patient populations, including pain patients, individuals who want to stop using opiates, veterans, and the elderly. The mobile lab allows for the assessment of blood levels of THC and CBD and a test of whether blood levels of these cannabinoids predict the effects of cannabis on key outcomes (e.g., reductions in pain and opiate use). Importantly, this approach is also consistent with federal laws that have restricted cannabis research in the past. Dr. Hutchison has also been actively developing an online educational program at the University of Colorado that is focused cannabis and health.