Marijuana, Prescription Opioid, or Prescription Benzodiazepine Drug Use Among Older Adults (R03) | PA 17 198

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 198

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Marijuana, Prescription Opioid, or Prescription Benzodiazepine Drug Use Among Older Adults (R03)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA 17-198) is a discretionary grant program designed to support small, innovative research projects focused on drug use in later life. It targets an area that has received comparatively less scientific attention: why adults aged 50 and older use marijuana and/or prescription opioids or benzodiazepines, what factors shape that use, and what the short- and long-term consequences look like for the aging brain, behavior, and public health. The overarching purpose is to generate actionable knowledge that can improve risk identification and inform clinical and public health responses for older populations.

A central feature of this opportunity is its explicit focus on two distinct groups within the older adult population. The first group includes people with an earlier onset of drug use who are now aging into later adulthood, bringing with them decades of exposure and possible cumulative effects. The second group includes people who begin using these substances after age 50, a pathway that may be driven by different triggers such as pain, insomnia, anxiety, social isolation, bereavement, changing medical regimens, or evolving access and norms (including shifting marijuana policies). By emphasizing both trajectories, the program encourages research that recognizes older adults are not a single uniform category and that the determinants and consequences of use may differ depending on when and why use began.

The announcement encourages studies that examine determinants (risk and protective factors) and/or characterize outcomes, including neurobiological alterations, behavioral changes, and broader public health impacts. In practice, this can include questions about how aging-related changes in the body and brain interact with these substances, how patterns of use relate to cognition, mood, sleep, falls, driving safety, medication adherence, or healthcare utilization, and how prescribed use may shift into misuse or disorder in the context of polypharmacy and chronic disease. The FOA also supports work that clarifies the real-world consequences of exposure to prescription opioids and benzodiazepines, which are commonly used in older adults and can carry elevated risks in this age group, including sedation, cognitive impairment, and dangerous interactions with other medications or alcohol. For marijuana, the opportunity supports research that helps disentangle therapeutic, non-medical, and mixed-use patterns, especially as availability and potency have changed over time.

Methodologically, the program is intentionally broad. It invites approaches spanning basic science, clinical research, and epidemiology. That flexibility means applicants can propose mechanistic studies (for example, age-related neurobiological responses to these drugs), clinical investigations (including characterization of symptoms, comorbidities, and functional outcomes), or population-level analyses (such as trends, correlates, disparities, and health system impacts). The emphasis is on innovative, targeted projects suitable for the NIH R03 mechanism, which is typically used for pilot work, feasibility studies, secondary data analyses, or other small-scale projects that can generate preliminary evidence and guide larger future studies.

In terms of practical grant details drawn from the source information provided, this is a grant funding instrument with a listed award ceiling of $50,000. The original closing date shown is January 24, 2018, and the opportunity was created on March 7, 2017. The activity category is listed under Education and Health, and associated CFDA numbers include 93.279 and 93.866. While the "ExpectedAwards" field is not specified in the provided data, the intent is clearly to seed focused research projects that can quickly add clarity to a gap in knowledge about substance use and aging.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and institutions, as well as certain non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible or encouraged applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (foreign) organizations.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at moving the field toward a clearer understanding of late-life drug use by supporting nimble studies that can identify who is at risk, what biological and behavioral changes may occur with use in an aging context, and what the downstream clinical and public health consequences are. The expectation is that findings from these R03 projects will help establish evidence that can refine prevention strategies, improve screening and treatment decisions, and guide safer clinical practices for older adults who use marijuana, prescription opioids, or prescription benzodiazepines.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Marijuana, Prescription Opioid, or Prescription Benzodiazepine Drug Use Among Older Adults (R03)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-03-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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