Musk’s DOGE Touts Cancellation Of Marijuana Research Grant From Federal Health Agency
From toxifillers.com with love
The Trump administration is touting its cancellation of federal grant funding for a study examining cannabis use risks among LGBTQ+ individuals, non-binary people and heterosexual women.
On Tuesday, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that’s headed up by Elon Musk listed a series of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funds it has eliminated, including the marijuana research project.
“Today, NIH cancelled the following grants,” DOGE said on X, which is owned by Musk. Of those grants, one was described as “$699K for studying ‘cannabis use’ among ‘sexual minority gender diverse individuals.’”
That’s not a particularly nuanced characterization of the research project, which focuses on examining risk factors for cannabis use disorder (CUD) among not only “sexual minority gender diverse individuals” (SMWGD) but also heterosexual women.
Today, @NIH cancelled the following grants:
– $620K for “an LGB+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys”
– $699K for studying “cannabis use” among “sexual minority gender diverse individuals”
– $740K for examining “social networks” among “black and…— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 12, 2025
Researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) sought to identify “similarities and differences in effects of shared risk factors on [cannabis use, or CU] for these two groups, determine if differences in CU trajectories contribute to CUD disparities, and identify unique risk factors for SMWGD,” according to NIH.
“Sexual minority women (e.g., lesbian, bisexual, queer women) and gender diverse (e.g., non-binary) sexual minorities assigned female at birth are at elevated risk for cannabis use disorder (CUD) compared to heterosexual women, with this disparity growing in recent years, but little is known about how cannabis use (CU) risk processes unfold on a daily basis among sexual minority women and gender diverse individuals (SMWGD).”
Researchers on the study were set to receive $699,139 in funding after having previously been awarded $715,244.
Marijuana Moment reached out to lead researcher Christina Dyar for comment, but she was not immediately available.
The funding cut seems to fit a pattern under President Donald Trump’s second term, with research and spending that intersects with gender identity-related initiatives being increasingly targeted.
Many advocates had hoped that, rather than inhibiting cannabis research, Musk and his team at DOGE would seek to cut costs by targeting agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that have perpetuated marijuana criminalization. It remains to be seen if DEA will continue to avoid any major funding or workforce cuts.
This comes amid a recent revelation that “marijuana” is one of nearly two dozen “controversial or high-profile topics” that staff and researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are required to clear with higher-ups before writing about, according to a recently leaked memo from within the federal agency.
The government directive puts marijuana and opioids on a list along with vaccines, COVID-19, fluoride, measles, abortion, autism, diversity and gender ideology and other issues that are believed to be personal priorities of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently urged Musk to target “unnecessary” federal enforcement against marijuana consumers and businesses as a key way to reduce spending by the federal government.
Meanwhile, Musk also raised eyebrows after arguing that it’s a “great idea” to mandate drug testing of federal employees as he pushes to make massive cuts to government agencies and spending.
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