HIV/AIDS: Cannabinoid Research Clinician Packet (Nationwide Edition)

A 14-page, doctor-facing review of the cannabinoid evidence in HIV/AIDS care, from wasting and appetite to HIV neuropathy, inflammation, mood and sleep, with balanced cautions.

Includes:

• Wasting and appetite: dronabinol's FDA approval, the pivotal trial, Cochrane and comparisons with other agents
• HIV-associated neuropathy: the smoked-cannabis RCTs and the meta-analyses
• Inflammation, immunity, viral control and ART adherence (associations, not proof)
• Mood, sleep and cognition: why patients use it and what they report
• Cautions: lung disease, use disorder and what the cohorts did and did not find
• Arizona in focus, older adults with HIV, and medicines to flag for pharmacist review
• A patient-conversation checklist and a 50-state + DC program table (NCSL, October 2026)

Same clean format, 55 verified sources, same rules: no doses, no product recommendations, no antiretroviral advice.

Education only. These guides are a research-navigation aid. They are not medical, legal or prescribing advice. They do not diagnose, prescribe, recommend products, set doses or titration, or give drug-interaction verdicts. Findings are summarized for orientation only. Read the original sources before relying on any of them. Clinical decisions remain with the treating clinician. Confirm all laws and program rules on official state sites. For use with licensed, state-regulated medical cannabis programs and FDA-approved drugs only.

Sources include FDA drug labels, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017), Cochrane reviews, studies indexed in PubMed (including the MACS, VACS, ACTG and CNICS cohorts), the Federal Register, Arizona statutes, rules and ADHS forms, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and official state program sites. This is an independent guide and is not endorsed by any cited source. Prepared by Annie Romelfanger, author of Medical Cannabis Handbook: A Friendly Guide to Safe, Simple Healing. Last reviewed: October 2026. Corrections: romelfanger@proton.me.