Christine Grella

Christine E. Grella, Ph.D., is Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles and Co-Director of the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP). She received her doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1985 and has been affiliated with the UCLA Department of Psychiatry since 1992. Her research has focused on service access, utilization, and outcomes of participation in multiple service delivery systems, including substance use disorder treatment, mental health, child welfare, health services, HIV services, and criminal justice. She has led several longitudinal cohort studies, conducted over a dozen evaluation studies of treatment interventions for individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders, and conducted epidemiological studies using state and national survey data.

Her relevant research on cannabis includes: (1) a cluster-based sample of individuals using medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, which examined the patterns of marijuana use, other substance use, health status, and social functioning as well as perceived attitudes about the benefits and harms of marijuana use generally; (2) analyses of a statewide epidemiological database on the association of medical marijuana use with other physical and mental health disorders; (3) a current study examining the association of marijuana use/disorder and other physical and mental health disorders recorded in electronic medical records.