Clinical Applications of Cannabinoid-Based Therapies: A Clinical Trial Approach - Dr. Staci Gruber

Tags: Medical Cannabis, Recreational Cannabis, Cannabis Treatment, Anxiety, Bipolar, Chronic Pain, Alzheimers

Dr. Staci Gruber, Director of Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at ‪@DeconstructingStigma‬ / ‪@harvardmedicalschool‬ presents, “Clinical Applications of Cannabinoid-Based Therapies: A Clinical Trial Approach” at CannMed 2025.

Historically, data regarding the impact of cannabis have largely been derived from observational studies of recreational consumers or acute administration studies, which in the US, used products exclusively sourced from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Despite a re-legalization for medical purposes in California in 1996, studies of medical cannabis patients, while expanding, remain extremely limited, with no long-term data available. Accordingly, in 2014, Dr. Gruber founded the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program, specifically designed to examine the long-term impact of medical cannabis use on a range of health-related outcomes using various methodological approaches, including clinical trials. In this presentation, Dr. Gruber will summarize important findings from these longitudinal studies, which often reveal clinical improvements over the course of treatment, and will describe how these data paved way for the MIND program’s clinical trials which are formulated to target a range of conditions, including anxiety, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s-related dementia, and glioblastoma. She will discuss challenges, successes, and lessons learned in conducting some of the first clinical trials of ecologically valid, full-spectrum products, while also highlighting preliminary data from a selection of studies. Finally, Dr. Gruber will discuss exciting new projects from the Women’s Health Initiative at MIND (WHIM), the first cannabis-focused program in the US designed specifically to address women’s health.

Learning Objectives:

⦾ Understand key differences between medical and recreational use
⦾ Describe changes exhibited by medical cannabis (MC) patients after 3-12 months of MC treatment
⦾ Identify potential applications of cannabinoids for a range of conditions, including women's health

0:00 - The Need for a Clinical Trial Approach
0:44 - The Lack of Data on Medical Cannabis
1:28 - The Necessity of Clinical Research
2:21 - The FDA and DEA's Role in Clinical Trials
4:06 - Launching the MIND Program (Marijuana Investigations of Neuroscientific Discovery) 5:29 - Firsts and Key Accomplishments of MIND
6:29 - Longitudinal Observational Study of Medical Cannabis Use
8:32 - The Importance of Ecological Validity
9:11 - Anxiety as a Primary Focus for Research
12:06 - CBD vs. THC in Anxiety Treatment
13:16 - Clinical Trials for Anxiety: The Study and Its Results
15:37 - Significant Improvements in Mood and Depression
17:03 - Bipolar Disorder and Medical Cannabis Use
18:49 - Clinical Trial for Bipolar Disorder: Early Findings
20:02 - Investigating Cannabis for Pain Relief
21:48 - Additional Trials: Alzheimer's, Cancer, and Women's Health
24:32 - The Women's Health Initiative (WHIM)
25:55 - Key Obstacles in Cannabis Research
27:12 - The Importance of Collaboration and Standardized Methods
28:02 - Conclusion: A Call for Unified Efforts

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The CannMed 25 Innovation & Investment Summit showcased its first international venue, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Puerto Rico from June 17 - 20, 2025. Since its inception at Harvard Medical School in 2016, CannMed has earned a reputation as the premier destination for cutting-edge research, emerging technologies, and investment opportunities. CannMed 25 continues this tradition with medicinal plant researchers, clinicians and venture capitalists who view this Summit as the industry’s number one showcase for the latest advances in plant-based science, medicine, cultivation, and safety.