Contribute Data
Share your cannabis and health data with a governed repository. We handle de-identification and harmonization; you keep durable attribution and control.
Contribute Data (front door)
Extending the scientific value of cannabis and health datasets.
The Cannabis and Health Data Repository is a curated, de-identified research resource developed under a National Institutes of Health (NIDA) cooperative agreement. It consolidates cannabis and health datasets that are presently distributed across many independent studies and makes them available for rigorous secondary analysis under uniform governance. Contributing investigators retain their scientific standing and receive durable attribution, while the Data Coordination Center provides harmonization to a common data dictionary, secure storage, and controlled distribution. The Center can also assist with de-identification before submission if your team needs it.
Individual studies are rarely powered to resolve the questions that define a maturing field. Harmonized, pooled data addresses this limitation directly, enabling replication, subgroup analysis, and cross-cohort comparison that no single dataset can support.
At a glance:
- The Data Coordination Center harmonizes and serves your data. You supply a de-identified dataset and its documentation; the Center maps your variables to a common data dictionary, stores the data securely, and manages governed access. If your team needs help de-identifying before submission, we can assist.
- Access stays governed. Data are released only as de-identified data, only to verified researchers, and only under an executed Data Use Agreement, after scientific and ethical review.
- Attribution is durable. Every contributed dataset receives a persistent accession and a formal citation.
- There is no cost to contribute. Contribution, processing, and hosting are supported by the NIH award.
Primary action: Begin a contribution · Secondary action: Read the full contribution guide
What we accept (and what belongs elsewhere)
The Repository welcomes de-identifiable human-subjects datasets concerning cannabis or cannabinoid use and health, including but not limited to:
- Observational and survey studies of cannabis use and health outcomes;
- Clinical trials and treatment studies involving cannabis or cannabinoids;
- Registries and longitudinal cohorts;
- Patient-reported outcome and quality-of-life measures;
- Condition-specific datasets (for example epilepsy, chronic pain, anxiety, sleep, and oncology supportive care).
These examples are illustrative, not a closed priority list. The Repository is deliberately broad across cannabis and health at this stage.
Self-assessment before you apply. A dataset is a strong fit when it:
- Concerns cannabis or cannabinoid use and a health outcome (this is required);
- Comes from human subjects with consent that permits sharing for secondary research;
- Can be de-identified without destroying its analytic value (if it cannot, we can still help — see the restricted tier in Section 8);
- Arrives with documentation sufficient for another investigator to understand it (a codebook and a study description at minimum).
What is a better fit elsewhere. To set expectations honestly: purely genomic or sequence datasets are usually better served by dbGaP; imaging collections by an archive such as TCIA, and neuroimaging studies by a consortium such as ENIGMA; datasets with no cannabis or health content; and non-human-subjects data. Investigators unsure whether a dataset is suitable are encouraged to ask; eligibility can be settled in a brief consultation.
Action: Inquire about a dataset
Why contribute, and what you get
Contribution is not open publication, and it is not a one-way handoff.
Realize the full value of existing data. Most datasets are analyzed for their originating aim and thereafter remain inaccessible. Deposited into a harmonized repository, a dataset becomes part of a comparable and expanding resource that other qualified investigators can build upon — frequently yielding citations and collaborations that would otherwise take considerable individual effort to obtain.
Reduced administrative burden. Several standing barriers to data sharing (variable harmonization, secure storage, documentation, and controlled distribution) are assumed by the Data Coordination Center. You supply a de-identified dataset and its codebook; the Center maps your variables to a shared data dictionary and manages governed release. If de-identification support would help, the Center can assist before you submit.
Retention of control and credit. Data are held only as fully de-identified data and released only to vetted investigators under an executed Data Use Agreement, following review on scientific merit, feasibility, and ethics. Each contribution is permanently accessioned and citable. Investigators who use a contributed dataset are expected to cite its accession and to acknowledge the originating study in their publications; the Repository does not require or automatically confer co-authorship.
Access to the harmonized collection. The same governance and security that protect your dataset also give contributors visibility into the pooled resource as it develops.
Durable stewardship. The Repository is sustained infrastructure under Federal sponsorship with established governance and a long-term preservation mandate — not a resource contingent on a single project’s lifespan.
A path for your Data Management and Sharing plan. If you are preparing an NIH DMS plan, you can name the Cannabis and Health Data Repository as your designated repository (see the boilerplate in Section 12).
Action: Begin a contribution
Contributor FAQ
Is there a cost to contribute? No. Contribution, de-identification assistance, harmonization, and hosting are supported by the NIH award.
Do contributors relinquish control of their data? No. Data are shared only as de-identified data, only under an executed Data Use Agreement, and only after a request has cleared scientific and ethical review. You review the de-identified dataset before it is published.
How is contribution credited? Each dataset receives a persistent accession and a formal citation. Investigators who use it are expected to cite the accession and acknowledge the originating study; the Repository does not require or automatically confer co-authorship.
Who may access contributed data? Verified researchers holding an approved application and an executed Data Use Agreement. Contributed data are not made available to the public.
Can participants be re-identified? No. The Repository holds only de-identified data and does not receive the key that links research identifiers to original participants; it is structurally unable to re-identify individuals. Recipients also agree by contract not to attempt re-identification.
Is IRB approval required? Yes. You hold IRB approval for the study that produced the data, and you confirm the consent permits secondary-research sharing and describes how confidentiality is maintained (Section 9).
What level of effort is required of the contributor? Modest. You characterize the dataset, de-identify it (removing direct identifiers and applying Safe Harbor as your IRB requires, with our assistance if needed), transfer securely, and review the prepared preview. Harmonization to the common data dictionary, secure storage, and governed distribution are performed by the Center.
Which formats are accepted? See Section 6. In short: SPSS, SAS, Stata, R preferred; CSV, Excel, CDISC ODM XML, JSON, and Parquet accepted with a codebook.
How do I fix or extend a submission later? Replace or add files; we keep the same study identifier so later data accumulates (Section 11).
Action: Begin a contribution · Contact us via /contact/
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CHRI aims to inform clinical decision-making, product development and public policy related to the therapeutic use of cannabinoids.