Table 1.
NIH cannabinoid research investment by Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC), fiscal years 2015-2019
| RCDC categorya | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabinoid | $111 275 219 | $115 167 703 | $139 903 453 | $146 551 293 | $188 912 542 |
| Cannabidiol | $9 035 446 | $11 667 081 | $15 059 130 | $19 397 279 | $30 661 833 |
| Endocannabinoid | n/a | $51 217 092 | $62 870 455 | $62 628 836 | $73 139 271 |
| Therapeutic cannabinoids | $21 214 163 | $28 174 758 | $36 290 698 | $37 322 692 | $46 461 827 |
The Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization system tracks National Institutes of Health (NIH) research expenditures year by year in standardized groups defined by NIH experts. The cannabinoid research RCDC category is the “master” category for all NIH-supported cannabis research. It includes 3 subsets: cannabidiol, endocannabinoid, and therapeutic cannabinoid research. Individual projects may be included in multiple research categories. For example, a study investigating the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabidiol would be categorized under the cannabinoid, cannabidiol, and therapeutic cannabinoids RCDC categories. Studies investigating endogenous cannabinoids would be included in the cannabinoid and endocannabinoid systems RCDC studies.