Medical Cannabis and Behavior

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Chronic Pain Patients, Medical Cannabis Users

In brief

This study will assess cognition, neural function, and drug exposure in chronic pain patients who have been prescribed medical cannabis and will differentiate outcomes based on use of specific CBD-dominant versus THC-dominant treatment products. This longitudinal study will recruit medical cannabis users from local dispensaries. Each participant will complete a baseline assessment prior to the start of medical cannabis use, monthly phone calls to assess treatment adherence, and a four-month follow- up assessment. The aims of this project are: Aim 1. To assess impacts of medical cannabis compounds on executive functions, learning and memory in adults to determine whether cognitive impairments are evident after the onset of cannabis use; Aim 2. To assess the impacts of medical cannabis compounds on white matter microstructure, functional brain activity and functional connectivity; Aim 3. To differentiate change over four months in these outcomes as a function of (a) age and (b) pre-to-post-treatment changes in blood levels of cannabinoid compounds.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06808048
Run by: University of Minnesota
People needed: 180
Starts: 2025-06-18
Expected to finish: 2029-07-31
Last updated by the study team: 2026-07-14

Who can join

Age: 30 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Medical cannabis users (n=120) will be required to
Be ages 30-75;
Be qualified for a medical cannabis prescription based only on a diagnosis of chronic pain; note that individuals can, in theory, utilize medical cannabis for more than one qualifying condition. People with orthopedic pain will be prioritized.
Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing;
Be free of current and past DSM-V-deﬁned substance use disorders; have < 5 lifetime recreational uses of illicit drugs.
Have limited daily exposure to nicotine (e.g., no daily smokers/vapers; use of nicotine products fewer than 5 occasions weekly);
Willing to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, and other (non-treatment) drugs for 24 hours prior to study. Abstinence will be verified by breathalyzer and urine drug screening; must not test positive on breathalyzer and urine drug screenings for any nonprescribed psychoactive substance or for cannabis (at baseline);
Must be right handed as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory;
No history of daily cannabis use; limited cannabis product use (recreational or therapeutic) within the past three months;
Able to schedule and complete a multi-hour single session protocol;
Have sufficient manual mobility to be able to complete computerized neurocognitive assessments;
Able to communicate with the researchers by phone during the four month pre-post assessment interval
Pain patients who are not using medical cannabis (n=60) will be required to:
Be ages 30-75;
Suffer from a chronic pain condition that could qualify them for medical cannabis; People with orthopedic pain will be prioritized.
Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing;
Be free of current and past DSM-V-deﬁned substance use disorders; have < 5 lifetime recreational uses of illicit drugs.
Have limited daily exposure to nicotine (e.g., no daily smokers/vapers; use of nicotine products fewer than 5 occasions weekly);
Willing to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, and other (non-treatment) drugs for 24 hours prior to study. Abstinence will be veriﬁed by breathalyzer and urine drug screening; must not test positive on breathalyzer and urine drug screenings for any non- prescribed psychoactive substance or for cannabis (at baseline);
Must be right handed as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory;
No history of daily cannabis use; cannabis use within the past three months limited to a few times.
Able to schedule and complete a multi-hour single session protocol;
Have suﬃcient manual mobility to be able to complete computerized neurocognitive assessments;
Able to communicate with the researchers by phone during the four month pre-post assessment interval Within both groups, concomitant opioid use will be allowed as will other prescribed treatments. Controls will be matched to the cannabis group on age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), type of pain condition (orthopedic pain will be targeted) and comorbid opioid use.
All potential participants must indicate at the baseline enrollment that they have no immediate plans to relocate from the Twin Cities metro area (e.g., must be willing and able to participate in longitudinal assessment for a four-month period).

You may not qualify if…

Cannot have a degenerative neurological condition or a neurological condition that impacts brain function (e.g., epilepsy);
No contraindications to MRI scanning;
No lifetime history of severe DSM-V psychopathology (psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder); if currently treated mood for anxiety disorders, must be stable;
No current pregnancy or pregnancy within the prior 3 months; cannot be lactating;

Where it is running

University of Minnesota — Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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