Use of Medical Cannabis May Reduce Reliance on Opioids to Manage Chronic Pain: Survey Findings
More than one-quarter of adults in the US with chronic noncancer pain report using medical cannabis to manage their condition, report authors of a recent survey published in JAMA Network Open. Nearly one-third of those report reducing use of other analgesics,
Results of a new survey from researchers at Michigan Medicine of 1661 adults across the 36 states that have active medical cannabis programs adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests the once illegal substance is being used increasingly as a substitute for traditional analgesic interventions, including prescription opiods.
Click through the slides here for at-a-glance highlights of the findings.
Cannabis and chronic pain: Survey respondents mean age 52 years, 57% women; 36 states + DC with active medical cannabis programs.
Cannabis substituted for pharmacologic and nondrug interventions.
Self-reported medical cannabis use - nearly one-third (31%) of respondents with chronic noncancer pain reported ever having used cannabis.
Medical cannabis often used along with other pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic intervention.
While using medical cannabis, more than half of respondents reported decreased use of prescription opioids, non-prescription opioids, and OTC analgesics.
Among medical cannabis users, use of some nonpharmacologic interventions decreased but some, including meditation and CBT, increased.
"The fact that patients report substituting cannabis for pain medications so much underscores the need for research to clarify the effectiveness and potential adverse consequences of cannabis for chronic pain."
Reference: Bicket MC, Stone EM, McGinty EE. Use of cannabis and other pain treatments among adults with chronic pain in US states with medical cannabis programs. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6:e2249797. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49797
