Genomic evidence that governmentally produced Cannabis sativa poorly represents genetic variation available in state markets

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the sole producer of
Cannabis for research purposes in the United States, including medical
investigation. Previous research established that cannabinoid profiles in
the NIDA varieties lacked diversity and potency relative to the Cannabis
produced commercially. Additionally, microsatellite marker analyses have
established that the NIDA varieties are genetically divergent form
varieties produced in the private legal market. Here, we analyzed the
genome of multiple Cannabis varieties from diverse lineages including two
produced by NIDA, and we provide further support that NIDA’s varieties
differ from widely available medical, recreational, or industrial
Cannabis. Furthermore, our results suggest that NIDA’s varieties lack
diversity in the single copy portion of the genome, the maternally
inherited genomes, the cannabinoid genes, and in the repetitive content of
the genome. Therefore, results based on NIDA’s varieties are not
generalizable regarding the effects of Cannabis after consumption. For
medical research to be relevant, material that is more widely used would
have to be studied. Clearly, having research to date dominated by a
single, non-representative source of Cannabis has hindered scientific
investigation.