The Cannabis and Health Research Initiative will help integrate medicinal cannabis in healthcare

Abstract

In the USA, there are more than 5.5 million registered patients in state-regulated medicinal cannabis programs and many people use hemp products (sourced from cannabis containing <0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by dry weight) for therapeutic purposes. However, clinical research on non-pharmaceutical cannabis products remains limited¹, healthcare providers feel inadequately trained on integrating medicinal cannabis into their practice², and medicinal cannabis use is poorly documented in electronic medical records (EMRs)³. These issues highlight the need for patient-level data on the impacts of medicinal cannabis use⁴.

With legalization of retail cannabis sales in some US states, the diversity of cannabis products available to consumers has substantially increased⁵. Products vary in chemical composition⁶, dose and intended route of administration, all of which can affect clinical effect, safety and abuse liability, and should be considered in clinical decision making. The diversity in cannabis products and the use of poorly defined nomenclature contributes to difficulty in assessing the health effects of medicinal cannabis.