Dr. Riley D. Kirk, Co-Founder of The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy – Interview Series

As medical cannabis expands into States once thought to be impossible and is becoming accessible for broad demographics of people, the medical and scientific research behind cannabis and the number of established educational institutions dedicated to studying cannabis will also increase. One such brilliant scientist who’s both teaching cannabis chemistry and pharmacology at the University of Rhode Island and has created a cannabis chemistry-centric TikTok account (@Cannabichem) with over 475,000 followers is Dr. Riley D Kirk. Along with an extensive background in education, Dr. Kirk is also the co-founder of The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening cannabis and natural medicine research through “lived experiences and community engagement.”

What initially caught your interest in studying biological and biomedical sciences? What subjects did you study while attending the University of New Hampshire?

I really enjoyed the process of ‘figuring stuff out’ science always had answers and protocols that made sense for my brain. I particularly found the natural sciences the most intriguing because it was something that I could study hands on that would enhance my view of the world, nature, and my own body.

What inspired you to achieve your PhD at the University of Rhode Island, and why did you decide on Pharmaceutical Science? And what subjects did you research while getting such a prestigious degree?

I chose URI for graduate school because it was one of the few schools that offered a Pharmacognosy program which is a specialty under pharmaceutical sciences that focuses on the chemistry of natural products. At the time, my father was battling cancer so I wanted to make sure I was driving distance to see him, and URI was the closest program to Maine. I also interviewed with and really enjoyed the professor I worked under, Dr. Matthew Bertin. He had a very refreshing perspective to research and was one of the best educators I’ve ever met.

When you graduated from your PhD program, what was the state of cannabis medical/pharmacological research at that time?

I honestly didn’t really know, I was so green and fresh that I wasn’t aware of what research was going on and who was doing it. As far as academia goes, there was certainly research going on, but as someone who actually consumes the plant it was obvious the research was not aimed at the industry or the consumer but more at the patent and pharmaceutical process of medicine. I did not have a desire to continue that type of research, I wanted to research the plant and more practical aspects of cannabis medicine.

As an assistant adjunct professor at your alma mater, what subjects do you teach, and what is their importance? How many of your students aspire to become scientists in cannabis like yourself?

It changes throughout the year, but I teach cannabis chemistry, pharmacology and manufacturing at URI. Some of the students aspire to become scientists in cannabis but it is rare. Most are there to learn about the basics of cannabis and be a more knowledgeable consumer or worker. It is rare to have professors with both industry, academic and lived experience knowledge in the subject of cannabis and it’s something unique I can provide to make the education more applicable.

What led to the creation of Cannabichem, and what do you hope to achieve with that platform and the Bioactive Podcast?

The creation of cannabichem came from teaching in academia. I noticed how receptive students were to the education on cannabis and the endocannabinoid system, but it seemed off to me that you had to pay so much money for this education. There are so many people who consume cannabis every single day, who use it as medicine, who can’t afford these programs. So I started to share some of the information on tiktok and instagram and people loved the super nerdy side of cannabis, so I kept sharing the information. The podcast started as a deeper dive into some of the subjects I create shortform content on. Many topics like terpene chemistry or sensitive topics like cannabis and pregnancy require much more nuance than what a 60 second video can offer. With the podcast i’m able to sit down with experts or just have longer conversations with the audience to include more topics and more answers.

Of the videos you’ve made on the Cannabichem TikTok account, what have been the most viewed, and why do you believe those videos were successful?

I’m not really sure to be honest, it is incredibly variable. A lot of it doesn’t have to do with the content but more the level of censorship for that video. Many of my videos breaking down new research do really well or talking about the ECS because nobody else is really doing that and people are hungry for the information.

From a scientific standpoint, what are some of the most groundbreaking or otherwise interesting discoveries you’ve made about cannabis pharmacology and possible medicinal benefits?

A lot of our research focuses on the entourage effect and studying unique synergies in nature. What my research has taught me more than anything is the chemistry of the consumption method you are using matters just as much as the strain (or cultivar) that you choose. Smoking will produce a unique entourage effect compared to dabbing or other forms of vaping and edibles have a completely different entourage of chemistry. Speaking of edibles, one of the more intriguing things we’ve learned from our research is about 20% of people can’t feel edibles and this is something we want to study further.

What is preventing more thorough and possibly federally funded research into cannabis on par with other countries?

The government still wants to fund research that looks like pharmaceutical research, meaning studying one compound at one receptor and it’s a very reductionist approach. Not to mention there is a huge communication gap between the industry and academia, where many industry workers don’t trust academic researchers or the government funding leading to people not wanting to collaborate.

With cannabis and how complex it is, collaboration is absolutely necessary and trust is just as important. Until we can build trust between the funding agencies and the people actually working with the plant, much of the research will continue to be irrelevant. Not to mention the fact that cannabis is still a schedule 1 drug so getting product to research, storing the product, security concerns, etc. all play a role in the difficulty of studying the plant.

What are your duties as a member of the New Hampshire Cannabis Advisory Board, and how would you describe the current state of the New Hampshire industry?

As a member of NHCANN my main duties are to attend meetings and offer a scientific perspective to new bills being proposed, to testify at the state house in front of legislators for specific bills or movement of cannabis in the state and to help educate legislators and other board members. The current state is horrendous, we recently got a new governor and she is the worst thing to happen to both cannabis and wildlife in decades. She has openly announced that she will not pass any cannabis bills that come across her desk, so even if bills pass the house they will die in the senate or at her hands.

When did you create The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy, and how does the organization research and advocate for further research into cannabis and psychedelic medicine?

NAP was founded in 2023 by Dr. Miyabe Shields and myself. Our goal is to do research that better represents actual cannabis consumers and to help bridge the gap between academic research, industrial research and consumers. One of our main missions is to use science as advocacy to leverage the data that we collect from the cannabis community to use to further access for this plant and other natural products at both the state and federal level. We do research on consumers as well as biochemical research on the endocannabinoid system.

Suppose a federal rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III were to occur. How would such a monumental reform change not only the roles that you hold but also cannabis research as a whole?

It would change everything, and greatly reduce the barrier to doing cannabis research. However, I will say, our industry has always found ways to work with this plant and research it despite the unruly regulations. So unless these changes are beneficial to the people as a whole, I believe people are sick of being toyed with by the government and being thrown around from one administration to another while other harmful industries like big pharma, tobacco and alcohol continue to profit off of killing people.

Thank you for joining us, Dr. Kirk! For more information on The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy, please visit its website.