Proceedings of the 2025 Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference

Summary & key facts

The Proceedings report describes the fifth annual Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference held in 2025. The meeting brought together about 120 researchers, clinicians, students, and some government and industry attendees to share about 47 studies on medical cannabis. Key themes were: treatments for cannabis use disorder (including that there were no FDA‑approved drugs for it in 2025), how cannabis affects older adults, and research into lesser-studied cannabinoids and new ways to deliver them for problems like cancer-related pain. The Consortium running the conference also highlighted large data resources being used to study real-world medical cannabis use and safety. The report stresses that important evidence gaps remain about benefits and risks for different groups of patients.

Key facts:

• Florida’s medical cannabis program had over 900,000 people registered by 2025, making it the largest state program in the U.S. by total enrollment.
• About 120 people registered for the 2025 conference. Most were researchers, students, or clinicians, and the program included about 47 research presentations and posters.
• As of 2025, there were no FDA‑approved medicines for treating cannabis use disorder, and researchers discussed behavioral and medication approaches being tested.
• Researchers emphasized that older adults are using cannabis more often, but scientists do not yet fully understand how cannabis affects their sleep, movement, thinking, mood, or pain.
• Laboratory and clinical work presented at the conference described new or lesser-studied cannabinoids and delivery methods. Some early research suggests these might help with chemotherapy‑related nerve pain, but this is still being tested.
• The Consortium described two large research data resources. One links medical cannabis licensure and dispensary records to health insurance claims and death records to study real-world safety and use patterns.
• Conference studies covered many topics, including sleep problems, PTSD, HIV, cancer care, alcohol use disorders, a mobile intervention trial for cannabis use disorder among Black adults, and pharmacology of a compound called cannabidiolic acid.

Topics

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Psychedelics and Drug Studies Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Action (physics) Cannabis Disease Family medicine Medicine MEDLINE Psychiatry Psychology Quality (philosophy) Quality of life (healthcare)

Substances

Cannabis

Conditions & symptoms

Addiction Anxiety Chronic Pain Depression PTSD Sleep disorder Anxiety or worry Chronic pain Difficulty focusing Poor sleep Sadness or low mood