A global initiative, known as the Women’s Cannabis Project, has developed a new policy framework aimed at expanding access to medical cannabis for women’s health conditions across Europe, following a series of advocacy wins in the US.
The framework, developed by the organisation’s European Advisory Council, is intended to support policymakers considering how women’s health conditions could be more formally integrated into medical cannabis programmes.
It follows several years of state-level advocacy efforts in the US by the project and affiliated researchers. In January 2025, Illinois approved endometriosis, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and female orgasmic disorder (FOD) for treatment with medical cannabis, following a patient petition supported by the organisation.
FOD has also been approved as a qualifying condition in Connecticut and is currently under review in Oregon following an appeal hearing earlier this year.
The organisation says these developments signal growing recognition of women’s health in medical cannabis programmes and a broader shift towards ‘gender-informed’ policies.
“This work evolved from advocacy into results,” explained Kelsey Engvik, Director of the Women’s Cannabis Project.
“What emerged was a larger framework for how women’s health can be recognised, measured, researched, and integrated into medical cannabis policy globally.”
The framework explores how medical cannabis policy could evolve beyond pain and symptom management to include conditions affecting neurological regulation, sexual health, and quality of life.
Particular focus has been placed on emerging evidence around FOD, a condition estimated to affect a significant proportion of women globally but for which there are currently no approved treatments.
Researchers involved in the project say some cases may be linked to trauma, PTSD, or the effects of cancer treatment and surgery, raising broader questions about how neurological and psychological factors are considered within sexual health care.
Dr Suzanne Mulvehill, founder and executive director of the FORI, said researchers had observed women reporting improved orgasmic function associated with cannabis use in a range of clinical contexts.
“What we began to observe in our research was women with histories of sexual trauma, PTSD, and gynaecological cancer treatment or surgeries reporting improved access to orgasm with cannabis use in ways that were not fully explainable through traditional sexual response models,” she said.
“Rather than asking only ‘What is wrong?’, the framework begins asking a different question: ‘What neuroregulatory conditions are necessary for orgasmic function to become possible?’”
The framework will be presented by Eliane Eggler, chair of the European Advisory Council for the Women’s Cannabis Project, at an industry conference in Zurich later this month.
Dr Mulvehill is also due to speak about the role medical cannabis can play in addressing the gender health gap at Cannabis Europa 2026 in London on 27 May.
