Proceedings of the 2025 Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference

Introduction

The state of Florida created a medical cannabis program in 2016, with implementation in 2017 [1, 2]. As of 2025, there are over 900,000 registrants in Florida’s medical cannabis program [3], positioning it as the largest by total participant enrollment when compared with other state medical cannabis programs in the USA [4]. As medical cannabis programs continue to expand throughout the USA and globally, notable gaps remain in the evidence regarding medical cannabis safety and effectiveness when used as a therapeutic or as a treatment adjuvant for several types of health conditions [5].

The state legislature in Florida established the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research, hereafter referred to as the “Consortium,” to conduct, disseminate, and support scientific research on clinical outcomes of cannabis use [1]. Since the inception of the Consortium in 2019, it has expanded its membership to include eleven public and private universities. Investigators within member institutions have access to Consortium-developed research infrastructure, including a grants program, the Medical Marijuana Outcomes Research Repository (MEMORY) and data from the Medical Marijuana and Me (M3) prospective survey, regulatory consultation services to support clinical research, and a community outreach program. The Consortium supports the Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference (CCORC) as a key component of community outreach and dissemination of research findings across clinical and scientific communities.

Meeting Report

The fifth annual CCORC was held in a hybrid format on May 29th and 30th on the University of Florida Lake Nona Campus, Orlando, FL, USA. The fifth annual CCORC expanded upon the research agenda presented at previous CCORCs [6–8] to fulfill three main objectives, in alignment with Consortium charges, and agreed upon by the CCORC Scientific Program Committee: (1) to disseminate findings from research investigating medical cannabis and cannabinoid use, efficacy, and safety; (2) to provide a venue for clinical and research educational opportunities related to medical cannabis, and; (3) to foster research collaboration and stakeholder engagement between Consortium member institutions and the broader scientific, clinical, and public health communities. There were 119 registrants to the CCORC, most in-person, but some virtual-only participants. Registrants were primarily comprised researchers, students, and clinicians; however, government officials and cannabis industry representatives also attended and/or participated as exhibitors. Registrants included representation from all eleven Consortium member institutions and from 10 states in the USA. Physicians, pharmacists, and other clinicians in attendance were able to earn up to 3.0 h of either continuing medical education or continuing pharmacy education credits for attending or participating in components of the scientific program.

Scientific Program

The full scientific program for the fifth annual CCORC is available from: www.ccorc.mmjoutcomes.org, and archived programs from previous meetings are also available. The fifth annual CCORC program featured 3 keynote presentations and 47 presentations of original cannabis research selected following peer review from an open call for abstracts disseminated from December 2024 through February 2025. The 47 presentations of original cannabis research included 8 oral presentations from top-scoring abstract submissions, 2 poster sessions comprised 35 poster presentations, and 4 research symposia. Additionally, 2 workshops were selected for the program by the Scientific Program Committee following review of submitted proposals. All keynote presentations are available as archived recordings on the conference website for meeting registrants. All accepted poster and oral presentation abstracts are included as a supplement in this issue of Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Digital versions of accepted posters are also available on the conference website as archived materials accessible to meeting registrants.

The abstracts selected for oral presentations covered research investigating the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on a variety of conditions, such as sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder, and HIV. Several presentations focused on epidemiological assessment of cannabis use patterns in particular contexts, such as cannabis use behaviors in patients with cancer and in those with alcohol use disorders. Others presented preliminary results from a clinical trial, including a mobile intervention to address cannabis use disorders (CUDs) among black adults, and one study investigated pharmacokinetics for a novel cannabinoid, cannabidiolic acid, for which little is known. The oral presentations selected by the SPC reinforced the main themes that emerged from keynote and oral presentations, which included the following: (1) exploring approaches to treatment for CUDs, (2) understanding cannabis use trends, benefits, and risks when used as adjuvant treatment by distinct demographic and clinical subgroups, (3) the state of the science of novel cannabinoid delivery systems, particularly in applications for cancer treatments and symptom relief. Highlights from keynote addresses and other research presentations at CCORC, in alignment with these themes, are described below.

Exploring Approaches to CUD Treatments

One keynote speaker, Dr. Rachel Tomko, provided an overview of findings from her broad-scoped research agenda highlighting the promises and pitfalls of known and emerging behavioral and pharmacological CUD treatments and CUD care. She noted that as of 2025, there are no FDA approved medications for CUD. Dr. Tomko’s research demonstrating sex differences and other individualized risk factors in CUD development [9] among those who use cannabis has informed individualizing risk-benefit assessment for CUD treatment goals. This work has included developing measures of cannabis dose reduction as an appropriate treatment goal in CUD patients, rather than treatment goals that exclusively focus on abstinence [10, 11].

Understanding Use Trends and Risk-Benefit in Distinct Groups

Another keynote speaker, Dr. Angela Bryan, presented results from several completed and ongoing studies that advance our understanding of cannabis use trends, benefits, and risks when used as adjuvant treatment by distinct demographic and clinical subgroups, notably older adults. Dr. Bryan noted that cannabis use is increasingly common in older adults, but there are gaps in our understanding about how cannabis may have differential effects on this distinct group; importantly, there may be a potential concern regarding motor control, sleep, pain, anxiety, depression, and cognitive function impacts in older adults who use cannabis. Her earlier work on cannabis use impacts on older adult brain structures [12] as well as psychomotor performance in frequent cannabis users [13] partially informed research in her current line of inquiry. She shared preliminary results from her ongoing research that is enrolling older adults and assessing subjective effects on sleep, pain, and mental health, and she notes that expectancies of effect should be considered carefully by investigators who study the effects of cannabis when designing trials [14].

Novel Cannabinoids and Their Delivery Systems

A third emergent theme, particularly embodied within the keynote presentation of Dr. Sara Jane Ward, was the applications of lesser studied cannabinoids and experimental delivery systems within conditions, such as cancers, for symptom relief. Dr. Ward’s keynote address comprehensively covered the state of the science of cannabinoid delivery systems when applied to trialing cannabinoid-derived therapeutics in a variety of conditions, notably cancers [15]. Her translational research in treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a particularly challenging to treat source of pain faced by many cancer patients, has demonstrated the potential for novel cannabinoids as a therapeutic for this type of pain [16, 17], and this research continues to inform further investigation of other cannabinoids’ therapeutic potential within other applications for cancer symptom relief.

Ongoing Research by Consortium Investigators

The fifth annual CCORC also offered attendees opportunities to learn more about two data repositories available to investigators affiliated with Consortium member institutions as well as to gain insight on progress and preliminary findings from large-scale studies led by Consortium-affiliated investigators. An overview of data content and the application process for data access for one such data repository, known as the Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research Repository (MEMORY), was presented within a symposium that also featured preliminary results from the first group of investigators to employ this uniquely rich source of information including detail on medical cannabis licensure and dispensations linked to administrative claims data from Medicaid and Medicare enrollees, as well as vital statistics. More information about the content and structure of MEMORY can be obtained from the Consortium’s website [18]. The second data repository available to Consortium-affiliated investigators, where the most recent findings were presented at CCORC, is from the M³ study (also known as “Medical Marijuana and Me”), which consists of self-reported measures of cannabis use behaviors and experiences. The M³ study contains data from a cross-sectional sample of patients currently certified to access medical cannabis as well as a longitudinal cohort of individuals who are newly certified to access medical cannabis. The comprehensive protocol for the M³ study is published within this journal [19] and the process for M³ data access is available from the Consortium’s website [20].

As medical cannabis programs continue to expand across the globe, and in the face of emerging cannabis regulatory frameworks for both medical cannabis as well as adult cannabis use in the absence of medical supervision, it is important that clinical risk-benefit is rigorously evaluated before cannabis is trialed as a therapeutic for conditions in which risk-benefit is not established. CCORC has established itself as a venue to disseminate high-quality research evaluating cannabis effectiveness and safety within various clinical scenarios and will continue to offer investigators the opportunity to engage with the scientific community to communicate their research results in the years to come.

Conclusion

The fifth annual CCORC presented its most ambitious scientific program to date. Preliminary findings from several studies of cannabis safety, use patterns, and effectiveness that had public health and safety implications were presented by attendees. Keynote addresses from established investigators in cannabis research emphasized the current state of evidence for the emerging roles of cannabis as a therapeutic in pain management, neurological disorders, and psychiatric care, while others called for nuanced consideration of cannabis risk-benefit in distinct clinical subgroups, in addition to a comprehensive state of the science for novel cannabinoid delivery systems (particularly in cancer treatments and for symptom relief). Attendees also received information about resources regarding research infrastructure, including the process for acquiring de-identified medical cannabis program dispensing data within MEMORY. The sixth annual CCORC will be held in November of 2026 in Lake Nona, Orlando, FL, in the USA. The conference website will post updates regarding program developments, meeting details, a call for abstracts, and a call for symposia and workshop proposals.

Acknowledgments

The Consortium leadership would like to thank members of the Consortium Board from its member institutions (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida Memorial University, Florida State University, Nova Southeastern University, University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and the University of Miami); members of the Scientific Program Committee (Yiota Kitsanta, Florida Atlantic University; Lisa Eckel, Florida State University; Matthew Sunderland, Florida International University; Amie Goodin, University of Florida; Ranessa Williams, University of Miami; Jeevan Jyot, University of Florida; Sari Paikoff, Florida Gulf Coast University; Mandip Sachdeva, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; Rose Stiffin, Florida Memorial University; Barry Setlow, University of Florida; Mark Kindy, University of South Florida; Nancy Klimas, Nova Southeastern University; Karina Villalba, University of Central Florida, Almut Winterstein, University of Florida); planning committee members (Almut Winterstein, Amie Goodin, Jeevan Jyot, and Allison Veliz); Consortium volunteers and contributors (Juan Perez, Priyanka Kulkarni, and Chidimma Azubuike); volunteer abstract reviewers; UF Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona IT Team for media support; Florida state legislature for Consortium funding; and many other organizations and institutions that contributed to this year’s CCORC conference.

Conflict of Interest Statement

All authors receive funding support from the Consortium, which is funded by the State of Florida. Dr. Amie Goodin and Dr. Yan Wang were members of the journal’s Editorial Board at the time of submission. J.J., M.H., R.L.C., C.L.-Q., and A.G.W. have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding Sources

This work was funded by the Florida state legislature through the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Author Contributions

Concept and design; administrative, technical, or material support; and supervision: A.G. and A.G.W. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: A.G., J.J., M.H., R.L.C., Y.W., C.L.-Q., and A.G.W. Drafting of the manuscript: A.G. Obtained funding: R.L.C. and A.G.W.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the Florida state legislature through the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.