Track:
MEDICAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCH
Sessions & Session Descriptions:
Cannabis Epidemiology, Public Health, and Clinical Impact
The intersection of cannabis research and public health continues to evolve, requiring robust epidemiological studies to inform policy, clinical guidelines, and harm reduction strategies. Epidemiological research plays a critical role in understanding cannabis use patterns, health outcomes, and public health implications. This session will explore key findings from epidemiological research on cannabis use patterns, health outcomes, and population-level impacts. Topics will include trends in medical and adult-use cannabis consumption, disparities in access and use, and the role of cannabis in managing symptoms of chronic conditions such as pain, insomnia, anxiety, and well-being. This session will explore key findings on medical and non-medical cannabis consumption, its role in managing chronic conditions, and patient reported outcomes. Additionally, it will examine how healthcare provider knowledge and attitudes shape patient care, treatment decisions, and cannabis recommendations. Topics will include trends in use, methodological challenges in studying cannabis, and the intersection of public health policy, physician education, and clinical practice. Attendees will gain insights into how epidemiological research and provider perspectives inform regulation, harm reduction, and evidence-based decision-making.
Cardiovascular and Cognitive Health Considerations Among Older Adults Using Cannabis
In 2025, people born in 1970 are entering older adulthood as defined by ages 55+ years. They join a growing portion of the population, and maintaining quality of life (rather than prioritizing quantity of life) with aging has been an increasingly important area of public health research. Older adults may use cannabis recreationally and/or for medical purposes, and many older adults are potentially interested in avoiding medication side effects by instead using cannabis for sleep, pain, or other conditions (Haug et al., 2017). Given that aging adults are more likely to live with multiple chronic conditions, research on health associations of cannabis use during aging is critical for informing public health. For example, previous studies have documented possible negative cognitive associations of cannabis use including delayed and immediate recall (Khoury et al., 2022) and processing speed and executive functioning (Stypulkowski & Thayer, 2022), although these studies are significantly limited by small and homogeneous samples. Alternatively, when consumption and dosages are tightly controlled in preclinical research, there is potential for neuroprotective effects such that low doses of cannabinoids have improved cognition, particularly memory, in older adult mice (Pocuca et al., 2021; Zamberletti & Rubino, 2022). One possible mechanism of how cannabis could impact cognition is through cardiovascular health, which when problematic is consistently predictive of cognitive decline and biomarkers of aging (Feng et al., 2023; Jin et al., 2023). Several studies have documented potential associations between cannabis use and higher risk of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke even in otherwise healthy young individuals (Abu Jad et al., 2022). A systematic review of articles that examined the association between nonmedical cannabis use and cardiovascular events in observational or experimental studies of adults concluded people who use any cannabis may be at increased risk for cardiovascular events compared to nonusers (Yang et al., 2022). Research among older adults is still needed, and the proposed session will highlight current cannabis research across cardiovascular health and cognitive health among older adults.
Evaluating Patient Level Health Impacts of Medicinal Cannabis: the Cannabis & Health Research Initiative (chri)
Due to changes in cannabis policy, most Americans now have access to an array of retail cannabis products. An estimated 5.5 million Americans are registered with state-regulated medical cannabis programs and the therapeutic use of federally legal hemp (e.g., CBD) products is widespread. Despite most states having legalized medicinal cannabis use, little is known about the characteristics of these patients, the cannabis products they use, or the patient-level health impact of their medicinal cannabis use. Filling these gaps in knowledge remains an urgent public health need.
This session will describe products of the Cannabis and Health Research Initiative (CHRI), a NIH/NIDA-funded consortium of researchers at Johns Hopkins and other institutions, who have developed a platform for real-world and large-scale observational cannabis research and scientific resources. The session will have 3 presentations:
Part 1: Dr. Cerina Dubois– Cannabis Use Questionnaire (CUQ) and the Core Assessment Battery for Cannabis (CABC)
This presentation will describe the development and validation of the CUQ, a quantitative measure of cannabis use behavior that covers all current retail product types. It will also describe a recommended CABC for use in studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
Part 2: Dr. Johannes Thrul – Large Language Models (LLMs) to Extract Medicinal Cannabis Use Data from Electronic Health Records (EHR)
This presentation will describe the utility of LLMs to systematically capture detailed information about cannabis use status from clinical notes in EHRs. Data will be presented on the application of these tools to analyze patient records in the Johns Hopkins Health System who have a diagnosis of interest (e.g., autism, PTSD; >1.5 million records analyzed to date) and compare cohorts based on cannabis use status.
Part 3: Dr. Ryan Vandrey – The National Cannabis Study (NCS) and CHRI Data Repository
Data from the NCS, a 12-month longitudinal observational study of 10,000 patients newly initiating medicinal cannabis use, will be presented. Data from the NCS and other studies are included in the CHRI Data Repository. The contents and access to the repository, including a small grant program funded by CHRI will be detailed in the presentation.
Leveraging Harmonized Data to Explore Cannabis Use Outcomes Across the Lifespan: Insights from the Rocky Mountain Cannabis Research Center (rm-crc)
The Rocky Mountain Cannabis Research Center (RM-CRC) was established in 2023 with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to advance the scientific understanding of cannabis use and its effects across the lifespan. A key aim of the RM-CRC is to harmonize data from both legacy NIH-funded cannabis research projects and newly initiated RM-CRC studies. By integrating and standardizing data across multiple sources, the center seeks to create large, robust datasets that facilitate novel analyses examining the predictors and outcomes associated with THC and CBD use. These efforts are essential for improving measurement approaches, identifying key biomarkers, and clarifying the broader physiological and cognitive effects of cannabis use. To date, several harmonized data analyses have been conducted, and this session will highlight some of these initial efforts. Presentations will cover a range of topics related to cannabis use measurement, biological mechanisms, and cognitive outcomes. Key discussions will include methods for assessing cannabis consumption patterns, including frequency and quantity of use; the role of age in moderating the effects of THC and CBD on the endocannabinoid system, inflammatory pathways, and related lipid mediators; and the effects of THC on cognitive function and gray matter preservation among older adults. By leveraging harmonized datasets, the RM-CRC aims to enhance the field’s ability to generate reproducible, large-scale findings that inform both scientific understanding and public health policies. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss emerging results, methodological challenges, and future directions in cannabis research. Attendees will gain insight into how integrating diverse datasets can lead to more comprehensive analyses, ultimately advancing knowledge on the effects of cannabis across the lifespan.
Navigating the Weeds to Cannabis Research: the Nih Cannabis Resource Center Has Arrived
Cannabis and various constituents, including multiple cannabinoids, have a wide array of pharmacologic actions that have propagated interest from both health care providers and the public about the medicinal effects of cannabis products. Despite widespread availability and established pharmaceutical potential, multiple barriers to conducting cannabis research remain, resulting in insufficient data on the basic mechanisms, safety, abuse potential, and efficacy for many of the cannabinoids and other constituents in cannabis. NIH/NCCIH published a request for information (RFI) in 2022 to gather information from investigators about scientific interests and barriers to conducting research in the field. In response to the challenges raised in the RFI, a trans-NIH institute partnership issued a funding opportunity announcement in 2024 to support the development and maintenance of a Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (R3CR). The R3CR, led by investigators at the University of Mississippi, Washington State University, and the US Pharmacopoeia was formed in partnership with NCCIH, NIDA, NIA, and NCI in 2025. The R3CR aims to facilitate research advances through synergistic interactions among experts in relevant commercial, basic science, clinical research, and regulatory domains. This session will provide an overview of the R3CR, highlights of the three core components (Research Support Core, Research Standards Core, Regulatory Guidance Core), and case studies of how investigators overcame barriers to conducting their research projects.
New Therapeutically Active Natural Products from Cannabis Sativa L.
Cannabis sativa L. is an abundant source of hundreds of secondary metabolites including many that are unique to this species such as many of the cannabinoids, the flavonoids called cannflavins, and lignans called cannabisins. Several cannabinoids have been already been approved as therapeutic agents and many others have been shown to have beneficial effects such antiviral activity or pain relieving properties. This session highlights the search for new pharmacologically active compounds from C. sativa.
The Role of Cannabinoids in Pain Management
Cannabinoids have been investigated as potential analgesic therapeutics for a variety of pain conditions. This session will explore the efficacy of treatment with cannabinoid formulations for chronic and acute pain conditions. Studies can include surveys, registry data, observational designs, and clinical trials. Evidence supported perspectives and reviews of the literature will also be considered. Presentations will provide current information on the utility of particular cannabinoids/ratios (chemovars), routes and frequency of administration, effective/non-effective doses, etc., as well as discuss adverse effects. This session will identify strengths and weaknesses in the currently available scientific data on the efficacy of cannabinoids for pain and will suggest future research that is needed in this field.
Advancing Equity: the Role of Cannabis in Biomedical Research, Clinical Care and Health Policy to Address Health Disparities
As cannabis policy continues to evolve across the United States, the intersection of cannabis use, medical relevance, health equity, and systemic disparities has emerged as critical areas of exploration. This session will examine the role of cannabis in advancing equitable outcomes across biomedical research, clinical care, and health policy and education. Panelist will discuss how cannabis-related research can better reflect the diversity of affected populations, the importance of inclusive clinical practices, and how policy decisions can either mitigate or perpetuate health disparities—particularly among historically marginalized communities. This session will also provide insight into the potential for cannabis to serve as both a therapeutic tool and a catalyst for systemic change when integrated with an intentional focus on equity and justice.