CARE Series: Is Cannabis Therapeutic? What we Know About Cannabis and Health

Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:00 PM - Monday, October 30, 2028, 1:00 PM

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.00 hours), ANCC Nursing Contact Hours (1.00 hours), CME-Designated Participation Credit (1.00 hours)

Alan Budney PhD, Professor of Psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Data Sciences at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College reviews:

• Recent research on risks to health of cannabis use across the age spectrum

• The state of the evidence on cannabis consumption for therapeutic purposes

• Implications for clinical recommendations to patients regarding cannabis use

• Considerations of situational and individual context when evaluating risk and impact of cannabis consumption

Presenter

Alan Budney PhD
Professor of Psychology
Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Data Sciences
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College

Dr. Budney is a clinical psychologist and Professor at Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health in the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Data Sciences.  He is past Director of Dartmouth’s NIH-funded training program in the Science of Co-Occurring Disorders and of the Treatment Development and Evaluation Core of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health. He received his PhD from Rutgers University and his B.S. from Penn State University. His research has been funded continuously by the NIH-NIDA for over 30 years. He has conducted extensive research on innovative treatments for Cannabis Use Disorders in adults and adolescents and has published results from seminal laboratory and survey studies characterizing the cannabis withdrawal syndrome. His recent work leverages social media platforms to determine how to best measure cannabis use and identify problematic patterns of cannabis use, and to expedite understanding of the changing landscape of cannabis use, cannabis products, and cannabis laws and regulations. He has published over 250 scientific articles and book chapters. He is Past-President of two Divisions of the American Psychological Association and of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. He was a member of the DSM-5 Substance Use Disorders working group and has served on many scientific and community advisory committees across the US and Internationally.

1. Label one psychoactive and one non-psychoactive compound naturally occurring in cannabis.
2. Identify one factor that has limited the quality of evidence of cannabis trials to date.
3. Describe one established risk of cannabis (THC laden) and one of CBD.

In support of improving patient care, Dartmouth Health is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. 

American Medical Association (AMA)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hours. 

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Bibliographic Material

• Aragona F, Tabbì M, Gugliandolo E, Giannetto C, D'Angelo F, Fazio F, Interlandi C. Role of cannabidiolic acid or the combination of cannabigerol/cannabidiol in pain modulation and welfare improvement in horses with chronic osteoarthritis. Front Vet Sci. 2024 Dec 10;11:1496473. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1496473. PMID: 39720409; PMCID: PMC11668182.

• Arout CA, Haney M, Herrmann ES, Bedi G, Cooper ZD. A placebo-controlled investigation of the analgesic effects, abuse liability, safety and tolerability of a range of oral cannabidiol doses in healthy humans. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Jan;88(1):347-355. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.14973. Epub 2021 Jul 23. PMID: 34223660.

• Bonn-Miller MO, Sisley S, Riggs P, Yazar-Klosinski B, Wang JB, Loflin MJE, Shechet B, Hennigan C, Matthews R, Emerson A, Doblin R. The short-term impact of 3 smoked cannabis preparations versus placebo on PTSD symptoms: A randomized cross-over clinical trial. PLoS One. 2021 Mar 17;16(3):e0246990. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246990. PMID: 33730032; PMCID: PMC7968689.

• Brazeau D, Deshaies AA, Williamson D, Bernard F, Arbour C, Pinard AM, Rouleau D, De Beaumont L. Impact of an acute 1-month cannabidiol treatment on pain and inflammation after a long bone fracture: a triple-blind randomised, placebo-controlled, clinical trial protocol. BMJ Open. 2025 Feb 20;15(2):e092919. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092919. PMID: 39979051; PMCID: PMC11842986.

• Burczyk DD, Wcis?o-Dziadecka D, Olczyk P, Che?mecka E, Burczyk WK. Evaluation of Biophysical Parameters of the Skin of Patients With Atopic Dermatitis After Application of an Ointment Containing 30% Cannabidiol and 5% Cannabigerol. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2025 Mar 19;18:649-662. https://doi.org/10.2147/CCID.S472746. PMID: 40124934; PMCID: PMC11930258.

• Cooper ZD, Bedi G, Ramesh D, Balter R, Comer SD, Haney M. Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018 Sep;43(10):2046-2055. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0011-2. Epub 2018 Feb 5. PMID: 29463913; PMCID: PMC6098090.

• Hausenblas H, Hooper S, Lynch T. Effectiveness of a Cannabinoids Supplement on Sleep and Mood in Adults With Subthreshold Insomnia: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Crossover Pilot Trial. Health Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 19;8(2):e70481. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70481. PMID: 39980821; PMCID: PMC11839740.

• Kadriya A, Forbes-Robertson S, Falah M. The Anticancer Activity of Cannabinol (CBN) and Cannabigerol (CBG) on Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells. Molecules. 2024 Dec 18;29(24):5970. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29245970. PMID: 39770061; PMCID: PMC11676644.

• Karakash WJ, Bolia IK, Levian BA, Chu TN, Kim DR, Fathi A, Liu JN, Petrigliano FA, Weber AE. Orthopedic Patients Are Highly Amenable to Cannabis-Based Products for the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain. Orthopedics. 2025 Mar-Apr;48(2):98-103. https://doi.org/10.3928/01477447-20250114-02. Epub 2025 Jan 17. PMID: 39835847.

• Lee C, Danielson EC, Beestrum M, Eurich DT, Knapp A, Jordan N. Medical Cannabis and Its Efficacy/Effectiveness for the Treatment of Low-Back Pain: a Systematic Review. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2023 Dec;27(12):821-835. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-023-01189-0. Epub 2023 Dec 2. PMID: 38041708; PMCID: PMC11095816.

• Mastrofini GF, McFadden BA, Chandler AJ, Lints BS, Cintineo HP, Rhoades ND, Vincenty CS, Stray-Gundersen SO, Lane AD, Arent SM. The effects of a brand-specific, hemp-derived cannabidiol product on physiological, biochemical, and psychometric outcomes in healthy adults: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2024 Dec;21(1):2370430. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/15502783.2024.2370430. Epub 2024 Jun 21. PMID: 38904150; PMCID: PMC11195455.

• Russo EB, Cuttler C, Cooper ZD, Stueber A, Whiteley VL, Sexton M. Survey of Patients Employing Cannabigerol-Predominant Cannabis Preparations: Perceived Medical Effects, Adverse Events, and Withdrawal Symptoms. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2022 Oct;7(5):706-716. https://doi.org/ 10.1089/can.2021.0058. Epub 2021 Sep 27. PMID: 34569849; PMCID: PMC9587780.

• Soriano D, Brumovsky PR, Villar MJ, Coronel MF. Early oral administration of THC:CBD formulations prevent pain-related behaviors without exacerbating paclitaxel-induced changes in weight, locomotion, and anxiety in a rat model of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2025 Sep;242(9):1977-1994. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-025-06778-y. Epub 2025 Mar 31. PMID: 40163146.

• Walsh Z, Mitchell I, Crosby K, St Pierre M, DeClerck D, Ong K, Lucas P. A small clinical trial of vaporized cannabis for PTSD: suggestive results and directions for future study. Trials. 2023 Sep 9;24(1):578. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07543-2. PMID: 37689680; PMCID: PMC10493009.

Resources

• https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/resources/lower-risk-cannabis-use-guidelines.html

• https://www.cannabisandhealth.org/research-library/

• https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27766/cannabis-policy-impacts-public-health-and-health-equity

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