Leafly Launches New Data-Sharing Program to Advance Cannabis Research

The Leafly + University program allows accredited cannabis researchers to access proprietary data from one of the world's largest cannabis information resources, at no cost

SEATTLE– (July 28, 2022) – -- Leafly Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFLY), a leading online cannabis discovery marketplace and resource for cannabis consumers, today announced a new program that allows accredited cannabis researchers to supplement their work with a large cannabis dataset that would otherwise not be available. 

Leafly is the informed way to shop for weed and its cannabis data library includes tens of thousands of cannabinoid and terpene strain profiles from the Leafly-Certified Labs Program, subjective strain effects from consumer reviews, and cannabis popularity metrics. This data does not include identifiable customer information and is curated to be of the most use to academic researchers that study the various scientific compounds of cannabis.  

“As the cultural and legal landscapes of cannabis access and consumption continue to evolve, the need for more intensive research cannot be understated,” said Nick Jikomes, PhD and Director of Science & Innovation for Leafly. “After several successful partnerships with university institutions, we decided to open up our data library to the rest of the cannabis academic community. We hope to help play a role in creating universal understanding of this magical and mysterious plant.”

Earlier this year, Leafly and the University of Colorado Boulder co-published research on the chemical composition of marijuana products. The study - the largest analysis of its kind - found that commercial cannabis labels “do not consistently align with the observed chemical diversity” of the product, demonstrating a need for a standardized labeling system across the cannabis industry.

Brian Keegan, a co-author of the study and Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder said that partnerships like Leafly + University are critically important as the industry continues to mature and that the need to unlock more information about cannabis, its chemical compounds and the effects it can have on users will only continue to increase.

“Leafly was an outstanding research partner in an area that desperately needs less hot air and more empirical research. Leafly provided its one-of-a-kind dataset and made their experts available to answer our questions,” said Brian Keegan, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. “We went from a research question and design to executing agreements, shared data, and submitting a collaborative manuscript in the space of nine months. That is less time than I wait on most grant proposals and journal manuscript decisions.”

For more information on the Leafly + University cannabis research program, visit: www.leafly.com/research.