Health Mogul Says CSU Pueblo Should Have Pot Research Center

(Photo: CPR/Irvin Coffee)
<p>An array of marijuana plants in a Boulder grow. </p>

Neurologist Dr. Malik Hasan told the Pueblo Cheiftain's editorial board Wednesday that a marijuana research center for Pueblo's Colorado State University campus could make the city into a new biotechnical pharmaceutical industry. Hasan is best known for building Pueblo's QualMed Health Inc. into one of America's biggest HMOs.

He told the paper that Colorado has a three- to four-year head start before federal law decriminalizes marijuana. By starting now, CSU-Pueblo can establish the infrastructure and research that will unlock cannabis' 200 new molecules, says Hasan. As far as funding, Hasan said that "the millions will come."

CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare said the university needs to consider the complex federal and state legal implications associated with marijuana research before starting any projects. Hasan vows that he won't let CSU-Fort Collins to “steal our idea.”