Big Data Opens a New Path for Cannabis Patients

(Editors Note: This content has been contributed by Strainprint)

Strainprint is leading the way in the cannabis industry with its rich and robust medical patient data and sophisticated Business Intelligence solutions. With a vision to advance the scientific understanding of cannabis and its legitimization as a therapy and to have the largest longitudinal study of cannabis use in the world, Strainprint is using Patient Generated Health-Data (PGHD) to help health professionals, producers, researchers and educators understand and make informed decisions about patient treatment.

How it all began

Starting as an idea back in 2014, one of the founders, Stephanie Karasick, first came up with the concept after becoming a cannabis patient and learning first hand the complexity of navigating cannabis as a treatment option. Shocked at how different each strain she tried made her feel, she kept a detailed written diary.  Although she was very diligent and deliberate in her tracking, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better way for patients to track their use of cannabis. She searched for online tools, but found very little to help inform her as a patient about dosing and strain efficacy.  That was the genesis of the Strainprint App.

Why Is Strainprint Important?

For patients, the outcome-tracking Strainprint App is invaluable. It is designed to help them easily journal their cannabis medication sessions and over time learn which strains work best for the symptoms they are treating. They can also explore which strains are working for others that are treating similar symptoms/conditions and learn more about the ingredients and efficacy of those strains.  

Why do patients love Strainprint the app? Aside from the fact that it’s free and they have access to an amazing loyalty rewards program*, they can also securely share their treatment history with their physicians, which in turn helps their physicians to better guide them.  Overall, Strainprint helps them to gain a full understanding of how to treat their symptoms/conditions and basically to “use cannabis better!”  

Since March 2017, tens of thousands of cannabis patients have tracked almost 700,000 personal health sessions on the app, generating almost 10 million cannabis data points.  It is the largest and most granular longitudinal, observational data set on cannabis in the world and it’s growing at 20% per month.  These are not qualitative “reviews” like you find on Leafly, Weedmaps or Lift, but rather research-focused (doctor-designed) medical outcomes.

While Strainprint gives the app away to patients for free, it offers a web-based Analytics platform for businesses to visually understand and mine anonymous data in real-time.  Producers (growers) use Strainprint Analytics for business intelligence and product optimization (ie. understanding what’s working for what and what they should be growing). Clinics, doctors, and large Pharmacy chains use it for patient treatment guidance and research. Biotech’s use it for product formulations and governments use it to help drive public policy.  

Supporting Clinical Research

As the database continues to grow, so has the interest in using Strainprint data for defining clinical research and medical cannabis studies.  The good news is that the platform is research ready.  The mobile app can be custom-branded (white-labeled), as well as configured with validated questionnaires and custom surveys.  The results can be accessed in real-time in Strainprint Analytics and can easily be compared with a full global data set.  The platform is ethics-ready and privacy compliant for North America and soon Europe.  

Recently, researchers from Washington State University published a study on cannabis use for treating anxiety, depression and stress, based entirely on archival Strainprint data.  The results, found in the Journal of Affective Disorders, revealed some key medical findings, including that “medical cannabis users, report a substantial and significant reduction in symptoms of negative affect shortly after using cannabis.”

“We are excited to see the many ways that Strainprint data is helping patients, clinicians, and researchers to understand cannabis in a scientific way. Our platform all cannabis patients to inform their doctors and the research community presents a unique opportunity to advance research and advocacy for medical cannabis” said Strainprint CEO, Andrew Muroff.

What’s Next?

Strainprint recently closed a Cdn.$3.9 million Series A capital raise and is focused on continued product development and talent acquisition to execute strategic initiatives in the coming year. With two major product releases since March 2017, the Strainprint team is preparing for entry into international legal markets outside of North America and is evolving its product line to support the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Canada.

“Most traditional medical specializations have a strong clinical and evidence-based library of resources available to them, but research on cannabis has been limited due to its prohibition for almost 80 years,” says Muroff.  “We now have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the community of users and those who care for them, while also supporting those who make decisions around public policy and the legal status of cannabis understand it better.”

Strainprint’s self-proclaimed “datanerds” are changing how the industry views cannabis, one cannabis session at a time.