Abstract
With increasing legalization of medical cannabis and prevalence of polysubstance use in the United States comes the need for standard psychometrically validated measures to study these substances’ health effects in the population. The PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) Toolkit (www.phenxtoolkit.org) is a freely accessible catalog of recommended measurement protocols to promote data compatibility across studies, but this extensive catalog did not include measures in these important areas.
In 2024, a PhenX Working Group of experts followed a well-established consensus process to identify and recommend measurement protocols suitable for inclusion in studies on medical cannabis and polysubstance use. The broader scientific community was invited to review and provide feedback that was considered in the process of finalizing recommendations.
In 2025, the PhenX Toolkit released 15 new medical cannabis and polysubstance use protocols, which assess medical and other cannabis use—including consumption levels, product types, sources, motives, expectancies, medical card status, provider–patient communication, and biochemical validation—as well as polysubstance use patterns and related overdose risk. These protocols complement existing substance-related content in PhenX Toolkit and facilitate future development of knowledge on health effects of cannabis and polysubstance use and clinical guidance on safety or dosing for medical cannabis.
Researchers are encouraged to adopt these measurement protocols, so results across studies can be better compared and combined to efficiently and reliably evaluate the health effects of medical cannabis and polysubstance use. Measures in these domains will continue to be updated as new knowledge is gained.
•Fifteen medical cannabis & polysubstance use protocols are added to PhenX Toolkit.•New protocols facilitate studies on health effects of cannabis & polysubstance use.•Standard measures enhance data compatibility and integration across studies.