Six months of questionnaires
New York's Office of Cannabis Management is recruiting adults with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis for a six-month study of oral CBD and THC.[1] Participants will log symptoms through monthly questionnaires and daily dosing diaries.
The pilot can document whether patients feel better. It is not designed to show whether cannabinoids reduce gut inflammation.
It joins a growing roster of structured cannabinoid research for specific conditions. Recent studies have also tested THC and CBD for dementia agitation. New York's effort arrives as the state's cannabis regulator builds a broader research infrastructure around its medical program.
Who can enroll
Participants must be 18 or older, carry a physician-confirmed IBD diagnosis, and be registered or registering in New York's Medical Cannabis Program.[1] They must plan to take 10 to 35 mg of oral CBD and THC daily and cannot currently consume more than 30 mg of THC per day. Applicants with a history of substance abuse are excluded.
Each enrollee fills out monthly surveys and keeps a dosing diary through a secure REDCap portal. OCM offers dispensary vouchers as compensation but has not disclosed their value.[1] The study page was last updated July 24.
Symptoms, not scopes
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"The purpose of this study is to evaluate changes in quality of life and IBD symptoms among participants who are using medical cannabis, based on questionnaires commonly used in clinical practice and research," OCM says on the study page.[1]
The public materials do not mention endoscopy, fecal calprotectin, C-reactive protein, or any other objective inflammation marker.[1] They do not identify a target enrollment number, principal investigator, institutional-review-board approval, or trial-registry entry.
That distinction shapes what the results can say. An IBD patient can report less pain while mucosal inflammation continues unchecked. In gastroenterology, symptom relief and disease control are separate questions.
Small trials have landed the same way
Separate Cochrane reviews of cannabis for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis found the evidence too limited to reach firm conclusions.[4][5] The available studies were small, used different products and routes, and provided low- or very-low-certainty evidence.
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A 2013 Crohn's trial enrolled 21 patients. Clinical response occurred in 10 of 11 cannabis participants versus 4 of 10 on placebo, but the study missed its primary remission endpoint.[4] A separate trial of 10 mg oral CBD twice daily found the treatment safe but no better than placebo for disease activity.
A BMJ umbrella review reported that cannabinoids improved IBD quality of life.[6] It added that the evidence was heterogeneous and did not equate quality-of-life improvement with mucosal healing.
A mouse study points the other way
A paper published in May 2026 in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases found that cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) signaling promoted gut-homing behavior in T cells and worsened ileitis in mice.[3] Deleting the receptor's gene in T cells reduced chronic ileitis.
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The authors, led by Colm B. Collins of University College Dublin, wrote that their results "align more closely with clinical data from human IBD patients, which show no benefit and, in some cases, worsening outcomes with cannabinoid exposure."[3]
The work was conducted in cells and mice, not in a human CBD or THC trial. The authors said it may help explain how chronic cannabis use "might lead to worsening disease outcomes for IBD patients" if CB2 activation drives the same T-cell behavior in people.[3]
Seven medical schools, one new center
On June 25, OCM launched the Center of Excellence for Cannabis Care and Health Equity, an initiative linking regulation with clinician education, public health, and research.[2]
At a July 2 Cannabis Control Board meeting, OCM said the center involved seven public-health and medical schools and would advance "research, education, and knowledge sharing of best practices on cannabis across the board."[2] OCM's presentation called it "the first of its kind program launched by any cannabis regulator."
The IBD pilot is part of that effort.
Oral products, specific challenges
OCM's protocol centers on oral CBD and THC, not smoked or vaporized cannabis.[1] Oral products provide longer-lasting exposure and are easier to record in a dosing diary. They also carry slower onset, variable absorption, and greater conversion of THC to the potent metabolite 11-hydroxy-THC during first-pass liver metabolism.
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For people with active IBD, oral absorption may be especially unpredictable. Diarrhea, prior surgery, and altered intestinal transit can all change how much cannabinoid reaches the bloodstream.
Some patients choose inhalation because it produces effects within minutes during acute nausea or pain. Vaporizers avoid combustion and the toxicants that come with it, but they still produce an inhaled aerosol and are not equivalent to the oral products OCM is studying.
A belief the evidence has not confirmed
A clinical review in Frontline Gastroenterology found that 17.6% of IBD patients regularly used cannabis and 83.9% of those users believed it improved abdominal pain.[7]
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"Medical cannabis is not approved for use in IBD and there is currently no evidence of its benefit in treating IBD-related abdominal pain," the same review concluded.[7]
OCM's six-month pilot can begin to narrow that gap by collecting structured dosing and symptom data from medical-program enrollees. Whether cannabinoids change the inflammatory disease itself is a question for a randomized trial with biomarker endpoints. New York has not announced one.
