Exploring the Latest Medical Cannabis Research: Insights from Healer’s First 2025 Webinar

On January 29, 2025, Dustin Sulak, DO, founder of Healer, a cannabis education and product resource, presented an analysis of five recent research studies involving cannabis.

The first study discussed, “Medical Cannabis Prescription Practices and Quality of Life in Thai Patients: A Nationwide Prospective Observational Cohort Study,” was published in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids in July 2024. In this study, over 20,000 patients received cannabis treatments daily and impacts on their quality of life were measured, with statically significant improvement seen within 90 days. Dr. Sulak highlighted the significantly low doses of the cannabinoids (THC, CBN, and CBD) in the standard formula, and the few adverse effects reported. He also discussed the limitations of the study including that no control group was used and the significant percentage of participants lost to follow up with no reasons listed.

The second study, “Acute cannabidiol administration reduces alcohol craving and cue-induced nucleus accumbens activation in individuals with alcohol use disorder: the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial,” was published in Molecular Psychiatry in December 2024. For this study 28 participants with alcohol use disorder (AUD) received a single dose of 800 mg of CBD. Researchers measured their blood levels, examined stress and cue exposure 180 to 200 minutes after the cannabis, and also did fMRI neuroimaging focusing on the nucleus accumbens (NAc) region of the brain, which is associated with reward signaling. Dr. Sulak explained the significance of CBD levels negatively correlating with NAc activity and alcohol craving scores. “The take home message is that, first of all, people are already doing this. People are using CBD to mitigate drug cravings, and this is additional supporting data for alcohol use disorder. They found that the blood levels correlated with the effectiveness of the treatment, so I think there's probably a role for inhaled CBD. Inhalation is the best way to get these high blood levels.”

Next, “Impact of Cannabis on Opioid Prescriptions in Chronic Pain: Insights from Recent Research in Utah,” was discussed. As Dr. Sulak noted, this retrospective cohort study was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but was published by the Utah state government and was conducted by the company Management Science Associates (MSA). Researchers analyzed data from 186 patients with chronic pain, who had cannabis consumption data from a dispensary, and had a prescription for opioids. Most of the patients decreased their opioid use with an average reduction of 53%, though the average length of time was not noted in the study, Dr. Sulak stated. Most were using a THC-dominant cannabis product, which was demonstrated to be most effective, and vapes were the most common method of consumption. “This is just more data showing that cannabis use is associated with a substantial opioid reduction,” Dr. Sulak noted. “And it's not just an opioid reduction, it's a reduction plus an improvement in the pain.” He also highlighted that tobacco users had an increase in opioid use after starting cannabis.

The fourth study presented, “Cannabis combined with oxycodone for pain relief in fibromyalgia pain: a randomized clinical self-titration trial with focus on adverse events,” was published in Frontiers in Pain Research in November 2024. Researchers hypothesized that adding inhaled cannabis to oxycodone would have advantages over oxycodone alone or over cannabis alone in treating people with fibromyalgia who had moderate to severe pain. The participants in the study, all cannabis-naïve, self-titrated their medication over a six week period. Participants used extended release, five milligrams of oxycodone, and the cannabis dose was 150 milligrams vaporized. Some of the results included: 50% of patients experienced a decrease of one or more points in pain (on a scale of 1-10), 20% experienced a decrease of two or more points, and 25% showed no analgesic benefit. Dr. Sulak noted the high dropout rate due to the harshness of the vapor, and also that there was no control group used in the study. “One of my take home messages here is that initiating cannabis and opioids at the same time may not be ideal. It didn't seem like there was a lot of advantage there.”

The final study was, “A Preliminary Investigation into the Use of Cannabis Suppositories and Online Mindful Compassion for Improving Sexual Function Among Women Following Gynaecological Cancer Treatment,” which was published in Medicina in December 2024. In this study, 83 participants, some who were using cannabis suppositories with varying cannabinoid content and administration frequency, were randomized into four groups. The mindful compassion program was a four-week, online course that taught mindfulness, breathing practices and relaxation techniques and body scans. Data was collected at baseline, four weeks, and 12 weeks. Though the data was not precise, Dr. Sulak noted, ultimately, the group with the suppositories and mindful compassion course reported the most improvement in the most symptoms. “My take home message is, this is more data supporting cannabis vaginal suppositories for pain and possibly for other symptoms,” Dr. Sulak stated. “There seems to be a synergy between cannabis and mindfulness. This has shown up in other studies. Cannabis and mindfulness go extremely well together.”