A recent study—the largest of its kind—has found strong scientific backing for the use of medical marijuana in managing cancer symptoms and possibly even affecting how the disease progresses. Published in Frontiers in Oncology, the research pulls together a vast amount of existing evidence to assess where science stands on the topic.
Ryan Castle, who leads research at the Whole Health Oncology Institute, spearheaded the analysis. According to him, the aim was to cut through years of conflicting studies and unclear messaging. A big challenge, Castle explained, is that marijuana is still categorized as a Schedule I drug at the federal level, which makes high-quality clinical research in the U.S. difficult to conduct.
The study was backed by Cancer Playbook, a group that works alongside the Whole Health Oncology Institute to gather and analyze patient feedback on treatments. Even though legal barriers limit formal trials on marijuana, there’s a huge volume of observational research and lab-based studies that look at how marijuana affects cancer—both in terms of symptom relief and its impact on cancer cells.
Castle’s team reviewed over 10,000 studies, far exceeding the scope of any previous analysis on this subject. To handle the massive dataset, they used artificial intelligence—specifically, a technique called sentiment analysis—to sort the findings. This allowed them to gauge how many studies supported marijuana, how many were neutral, and how many were negative. They looked at effects like reducing inflammation, improving appetite, and promoting cancer cell death, known as apoptosis.
Around 75% of the studies suggested that marijuana had a positive impact on cancer symptoms, and in many cases, also indicated it might help stop the disease from spreading.
Despite promising signs, there’s still debate. A 2024 JAMA study suggested a higher risk of neck and head cancers among those with marijuana-use disorder, but some critics, like UCSF oncologist Dr. Donald Abrams, argue that the study overlooked key risk factors like alcohol and tobacco use.
Abrams, who’s been treating cancer patients for over four decades, supports using marijuana to manage symptoms but is less convinced about its ability to treat cancer directly. Still, he acknowledges that lab studies have shown marijuana can impact tumors in animals and test tubes, though those results haven’t yet been mirrored in large-scale trials on humans.
Castle remains optimistic. He points to smaller human studies showing extended survival times or reduced tumor sizes in patients who received marijuana-based treatments alongside chemotherapy. However, he emphasizes that more robust human trials are essential.
Ultimately, Castle hopes the findings will help push U.S. regulators to reclassify marijuana, removing roadblocks to further clinical research.
The easing of existing barriers to research could allow products from licensed companies like SNDL Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) to be extensively analyzed for their therapeutic potential.
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