Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dr. Ryan Vandrey is a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John’s Hopkins. Dr. Johannes Thrul is an Associate Professor at John’s Hopkins.
They both work for the Cannabis Health & Research Initiative, which is a collaboration between two organizations with years of experience in medicinal cannabis research: Johns Hopkins University and Realm of Caring. Simply put, CHRI is a platform of data collection and dissemination focused on the health outcomes of medicinal cannabis at the patient level, and they have created a number of valuable resources to help cannabis medicine researchers, including:
- A data repository that contains de-identified data collected through CHRI
- Research Library that contains more than 3000 published scientific articles related to the health effects of cannabis
- A set of validated questionnares that clinicians can use when speaking to patients about cannabis
- and more
The CHRI is also currently recruiting participants for their National Cannabis Study, which is a collection of firsthand experiences with medicinal cannabis among individuals with various health conditions. Specifically, they are looking for participants who plan to use cannabis but have not yet started cannabis use. So if that’s you or someone you know, we highly suggest you consider participating in the study because the research has the potential to impact best practices in healthcare and the cannabis industry.
During our conversation, Ryan and Johannes shared more details about the CHRI and the National Cannabis Study, and I think you will agree that their mission aligns perfectly with the CannMed Community.
Thanks to This Episode's Sponsor: Realm of Caring
Founded in 2013, Realm of Caring (RoC) serves anyone in need of more information about cannabinoid therapies. Through revolutionary CBD and Cannabis research, innovative education, and life-changing grants, RoC seeks to facilitate and encourage the mainstream acceptance of transformative, plant powered therapies to benefit individuals and families and serve healthcare providers as well as the hemp and cannabis industries.
Learn more at RealmofCaring.org
Additional Resources
- Cannabis Health Research Initiative website - cannabisandhealth.org
Dr. Ryan Vandrey is a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John’s Hopkins. Dr. Johannes Thrul is an Associate Professor at John’s Hopkins.
They both work for the Cannabis Health & Research Initiative, which is a collaboration between two organizations with years of experience in medicinal cannabis research: Johns Hopkins University and Realm of Caring. Simply put, CHRI is a platform of data collection and dissemination focused on the health outcomes of medicinal cannabis at the patient level, and they have created a number of valuable resources to help cannabis medicine researchers, including:
- A data repository that contains de-identified data collected through CHRI
- Research Library that contains more than 3000 published scientific articles related to the health effects of cannabis
- A set of validated questionnares that clinicians can use when speaking to patients about cannabis
- and more
The CHRI is also currently recruiting participants for their National Cannabis Study, which is a collection of firsthand experiences with medicinal cannabis among individuals with various health conditions. Specifically, they are looking for participants who plan to use cannabis but have not yet started cannabis use. So if that’s you or someone you know, we highly suggest you consider participating in the study because the research has the potential to impact best practices in healthcare and the cannabis industry.
During our conversation, Ryan and Johannes shared more details about the CHRI and the National Cannabis Study, and I think you will agree that their mission aligns perfectly with the CannMed Community.
Thanks to This Episode's Sponsor: Realm of Caring
Founded in 2013, Realm of Caring (RoC) serves anyone in need of more information about cannabinoid therapies. Through revolutionary CBD and Cannabis research, innovative education, and life-changing grants, RoC seeks to facilitate and encourage the mainstream acceptance of transformative, plant powered therapies to benefit individuals and families and serve healthcare providers as well as the hemp and cannabis industries.
Learn more at RealmofCaring.org
Additional Resources
- Cannabis Health Research Initiative website - cannabisandhealth.org






![What were some improvements/outcomes from the sleep study of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Dr. Mohsin Maqbool is a pediatric neurologist and sleep specialist based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. His work focuses on the intersection of neurodevelopment, sleep, and cannabinoid therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder. He is particularly interested in how cannabinoid formulations may influence sleep regulation, behavior, and quality of life in children with autism.
At CannMed 26, Mohsin will present “Autism, Sleep, and Medicinal Cannabis: Evaluating 18-Month Efficacy and Safety Outcomes”
During our conversation, we discuss:
- The gaps in current sleep medicine for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Results from Mohsin’s 18-month longitudinal study including improvements to total sleep time, sleep onset and maintenance, and overall quality of sleep
- The method of finding the effective dose for each patient
- Cannabinoids’ effect on the duration of REM sleep and what the daytime implications are
- Thinking of cannabis as a tool to supplement conventional ASD medications and not a replacement
- Future research directions - using wearables and EEG to investigate how cannabinoids affect sleep architecture and brain physiology, as well as using biomarkers to see whether patients are a good candidate for cannabinoid therapies
Thanks to This Episode’s Sponsor: The Society of Cannabis Clinicians
The Society of Cannabis Clinicians is a nonprofit professional association of physicians and other healthcare providers. It provides continuing education—for clinicians, patients, and all concerned about the medical use of cannabis and best practices in clinical care. SCC physicians have been monitoring cannabis use by patients for 20 years and have compiled a wealth of clinical evidence and treatment strategies that will be validated by clinical trials in the years ahead.
To learn more about SCC and to join visit cannabisclinicians.org.
Additional Resources
- Effects of Medical Cannabis Treatment for Autistic Children on Family Accommodation: An Open-Label Mixed-Methods Study - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12563248/
- [Book] Cannabis Is Medicine: How Medical Cannabis and CBD Are Healing Everything from Anxiety to Chronic Pain by Dr. Bonni Goldstein - https://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-Medicine-Medical-Healing-Everything/dp/031650078X
- Register for CannMed 26 - https://cannmedevents.com/package-options/
- Meet the CannMed 26 Speakers - https://cannmedevents.com/speakers/
- Review the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cannmed-coffee-talk/id1504218804
- CannMed Archive - https://cannmedevents.com/cannmed-video-archives/ What were some improvements/outcomes from the sleep study of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vrI_ylBACeg/mqdefault.jpg)

![Improving Sleep for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Mohsin Maqbool, MD
Dr. Mohsin Maqbool is a pediatric neurologist and sleep specialist based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. His work focuses on the intersection of neurodevelopment, sleep, and cannabinoid therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder. He is particularly interested in how cannabinoid formulations may influence sleep regulation, behavior, and quality of life in children with autism.
At CannMed 26, Mohsin will present “Autism, Sleep, and Medicinal Cannabis: Evaluating 18-Month Efficacy and Safety Outcomes”
During our conversation, we discuss:
- The gaps in current sleep medicine for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Results from Mohsin’s 18-month longitudinal study including improvements to total sleep time, sleep onset and maintenance, and overall quality of sleep
- The method of finding the effective dose for each patient
- Cannabinoids’ effect on the duration of REM sleep and what the daytime implications are
- Thinking of cannabis as a tool to supplement conventional ASD medications and not a replacement
- Future research directions - using wearables and EEG to investigate how cannabinoids affect sleep architecture and brain physiology, as well as using biomarkers to see whether patients are a good candidate for cannabinoid therapies
Thanks to This Episode’s Sponsor: The Society of Cannabis Clinicians
The Society of Cannabis Clinicians is a nonprofit professional association of physicians and other healthcare providers. It provides continuing education—for clinicians, patients, and all concerned about the medical use of cannabis and best practices in clinical care. SCC physicians have been monitoring cannabis use by patients for 20 years and have compiled a wealth of clinical evidence and treatment strategies that will be validated by clinical trials in the years ahead.
To learn more about SCC and to join visit cannabisclinicians.org.
Additional Resources
- Effects of Medical Cannabis Treatment for Autistic Children on Family Accommodation: An Open-Label Mixed-Methods Study - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12563248/
- [Book] Cannabis Is Medicine: How Medical Cannabis and CBD Are Healing Everything from Anxiety to Chronic Pain by Dr. Bonni Goldstein - https://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-Medicine-Medical-Healing-Everything/dp/031650078X
- Register for CannMed 26 - https://cannmedevents.com/package-options/
- Meet the CannMed 26 Speakers - https://cannmedevents.com/speakers/
- Review the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cannmed-coffee-talk/id1504218804
- CannMed Archive - https://cannmedevents.com/cannmed-video-archives/ Improving Sleep for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Mohsin Maqbool, MD](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w1ZQaf1ZieY/mqdefault.jpg)

