{"id":10889,"date":"2025-10-28T20:09:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabisindustryjournal.com\/?post_type=column&amp;p=37808"},"modified":"2025-10-28T20:09:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:09:30","slug":"the-fight-for-cannabis-and-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/the-fight-for-cannabis-and-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fight For Cannabis and Cancer\u00a0Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/the-fight-for-cannabis-and-cancer-research\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p><span>For decades, cannabis has lived in a research dead zone. Federal prohibition has blocked meaningful grants, limited clinical trials, and left millions of people with cancer relying on anecdotal evidence for treatment rather than data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As founders of<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/ericcancerplaybook.org\/\"><span>E.R.I.C. Cancer Playbook<\/span><\/a><span>, we refused to accept that. If institutions didn\u2019t collect the data, patients and the people supporting them would.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s how our journey began seven years ago in Oklahoma, where we distributed more than 20,000 grams of full extract cannabis oil (FECO) to cancer participants through partnerships. What started as a compassionate access effort has evolved into a model for patient-driven research, powered by what\u2019s known as patient-reported outcomes, or PROs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>By recording symptom relief, dosing, and quality-of-life changes, PROs fill in the evidence gaps left by federal inaction\u2014and they\u2019re now one of the best and only tools available to move the science forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While the program is still young, about 100 participants have completed the full E.R.I.C. Cancer Playbook protocol so far, each receiving seven grams of FECO weekly. Through our Oklahoma and Colorado partnerships, we\u2019ve saved participants more than $500,000 in medicine costs, distributed 20,000 FECO syringes for a penny each, and proved that compassion and data can coexist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In Oklahoma, participants contribute just $10 per week. In Colorado, the model is pay-what-you-<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-37812 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-fight-for-cannabis-and-cancer-research.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"145\" height=\"200\" \/>can-afford: Participants donate what they can afford to E.R.I.C. Cancer Playbook and receive a coupon redeemable for high-quality FECO at our dispensary partner, Native Roots Cannabis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The results have been profound. Ninety-eight percent of participants report improved quality of life. Fifteen percent report measurable anticancer effects, such as tumor shrinkage or normalized markers. Ten percent have achieved complete remission, while only two percent report no effect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Beyond the numbers are stories that defy expectation\u2014a 6-year-old undergoing aggressive chemotherapy who stayed energetic thanks to what he called his \u201cblack medicine for my tummy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These outcomes are why we keep going.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Oct. 23, we o<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20251008244227\/en\/Cancer-Patients-to-Benefit-from-Affordable-Cannabis-Medicine-Program-Launching-in-Colorado-October-2025\"><span>fficially launched the Colorado FECO Program<\/span><\/a> <span>at a packed event at Native Roots\u2019 Colorado Boulevard store. Among those attending was Ean Seeb, the Colorado Governor\u2019s Special Advisor on Cannabis and Natural Medicine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The program is exclusively available through Native Roots\u2019 store at 2645 S. Santa Fe Drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Our team recently presented at the Society of Cannabis Clinicians\u2019<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cannabisclinicians.org\/event\/scc-3rd-annual-medical-cannabis-conference\/\"><span>3rd Annual Medical Cannabis Conference<\/span><\/a> <span>in Denver, where roughly 200 clinicians gathered. Their response was overwhelmingly positive: Many claim our program was one of the most promising innovations they\u2019d seen in years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Why does this matter? Because PROs give us a path forward when clinical trials can\u2019t. Each participant\u2019s digital \u201cPlaybook\u201d merges self-reported data with insights from our<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/apr\/18\/medical-cannabis-cancer-study\"><span>10,000-study meta-analysis<\/span><\/a> <span>to generate personalized recommendations based on real-world outcomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These aggregated data help identify effective cannabinoid ratios, dosing ranges, and symptom-specific strategies. They also give physicians a research-backed framework for discussing cannabis use safely and responsibly with their patients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Through collaborations with the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cannabisclinicians.org\/\"><span>Society of Cannabis Clinicians<\/span><\/a><span>, Institute of Cannabis Research,\u00a0<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/xcures.com\/\"><span>xCures<\/span><\/a><span>, and the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthoncologyinstitute.com\/\"><span>Whole Health Oncology Institute<\/span><\/a><span>, we\u2019re expanding the model to new states\u2014including New York and Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And as we document this next phase in an upcoming docuseries, one thing remains constant: Real-world data will drive real-world change.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Cancer Playbook encourages patients to consider cannabis as part of their cancer care from the outset rather than as a last resort. Every data point collected brings us closer to understanding how cannabis can be precisely and effectively used in cancer treatment. Their initiative represents a pivotal step forward in transforming anecdotal evidence into actionable medical insight. Cannabis is improving and saving lives for those suffering from cancer, and now the data is finally proving it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\">\n<div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, cannabis has lived in a research dead zone. Federal prohibition has blocked meaningful grants, limited clinical trials, and left millions of people with cancer relying on anecdotal evidence for treatment rather than data.\u00a0 As founders of E.R.I.C. Cancer Playbook, we refused to accept that. If institutions didn\u2019t collect the data, patients and the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7620,6431,9,2561,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[7622,6434,35],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}