Welcome to McMaster’s newest research centre

Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Canada since 2001 but research has not kept with up with its use and there are significant and concerning gaps in our understanding of its risks and benefits. 

These gaps have left many healthcare providers and patients confused and uncertain of what to do.  And where there is an information gap, there’s a danger misinformation may rush in to fill it.

To address these research and information gaps and help ensure safe and effective medicinal use of cannabis, and thanks to generous support from philanthropists Michael G. DeGroote and the Boris family of Hamilton, in October 2017, McMaster University launched the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. 

The Centre is dedicated to conducting research on medical cannabis, curating, analyzing and sharing evidence-based information, and creating an active and productive network of medical cannabis scientists. The type of information the Centre will develop and share will benefit, among others, the 19 percent of Canadian adults who live with chronic pain¹ and the 22 percent who at some point in their lives struggle with a substance use disorder.²

McMaster University is a fitting home for the centre as it is known around the world for being a leader in evidence-based medicine and innovative health research methodologies. 

Leading the Centre are co-directors Dr. James MacKillop, a professor in psychiatry and neurosciences who is also director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and Dr. Jason Busse, an associate professor of anesthesia at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine who has conducted research in non-cancer pain and its treatment.  Joining Drs. MacKillop and Busse will be more than twenty researchers who will study the pharmacology, benefits and risks of medical cannabis for not only pain and addictions, but a variety of other conditions. 

Sir William Osler, the great Canadian physician, once said, “Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.” Objective and rigorous research is the only means by which uncertainty can be tempered and the probability of success increased.  In many respects, this is the task that has been taken up by the men and women of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research.  We welcome you to join us in this journey.

To learn more about the Centre and its activities, please browse our website. In addition to information on the governance of the Centre, you’ll find profiles of our scientists, descriptions of new or ongoing research projects, updates on the latest peer-reviewed publications, and information on national and international medicinal cannabis conferences, webinars, and educational sessions. Much of the information is updated weekly, so be sure to come back regularly.