How can older adults and their doctors get reliable answers about cannabinoid-based treatments?

Topic: CBD

What Comes Next for Cannabinoid Medicine and Older Adults?

A recent episode of TDR Cannabis in 5, hosted by Shadd Dales, focused on President Donald Trump’s public recognition of Howard Kessler, founder of The Commonwealth Project, as an adviser on aging healthcare. The discussion raises a question that matters to older adults: How can interest in cannabinoid-based treatments lead to reliable evidence and better-informed care?

The opportunity reaches beyond politics. For older adults, the practical questions are personal: Could a particular treatment help with pain or other symptoms? Is it safe to take with existing medicines? What dose and product were studied? What should a doctor watch for?

Those questions cannot be answered for every product at once. Cannabinoid-based treatments vary, and evidence about one product or group of patients does not establish that another will work the same way. Older adults may also have several health conditions and take multiple medications, making careful research and medical guidance especially important.

Kessler’s work through The Commonwealth Project is aimed at building a path to better answers. The proposed Kessler Healthcare Discovery Engine would connect patients, treating physicians, research, and health records over time. The goal is to study specific treatments, measure benefits and risks, and learn how results differ among patients—including adults 65 and older.

That kind of work could help doctors and patients make more informed decisions. It could examine whether a treatment improves symptoms or daily function, identify side effects or medication concerns, and track outcomes such as emergency visits and hospital care. It could also help determine whether a treatment reduces other healthcare costs.

The podcast raises the possibility that Kessler’s public role could influence what happens next. But public recognition alone does not establish that a treatment is safe or effective, create Medicare coverage, or settle how the Food and Drug Administration will regulate a product. Research, regulation, physician guidance, and coverage decisions each require evidence and further action.

For older adults, the measure of progress will be whether attention leads to useful evidence: clearer information about which treatments may help, for whom, and under what medical supervision. The goal is to move cannabinoid medicine from debate toward careful study and better-informed care.

TDR Coverage

The following TDR Cannabis in 5 videos discuss Howard Kessler’s role and the broader policy context. Learn more about The Commonwealth Project’s Healthcare Discovery work.