ARCATA, Calif. (November 26, 2012)—Humboldt State University, a public school that’s located in one of California's prime pot-growing regions, has formed an academic institute devoted to marijuana.

The Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research plans to sponsor scholarly lectures and coordinate research among 11 faculty members from fields such as economics, geography, politics, psychology and sociology.

One professor is studying recent campaigns to legalize marijuana, while another is investigating the environmental effects of pot cultivation.

Sociology professor Josh Meisel said the institute is probably the first dedicated to examining marijuana through the lens of multiple disciplines.

The University of California has a medical marijuana research center in San Diego that conducted scientific studies on the drug's health effects until its state funding ran out.