As more U.S. states legalize cannabis (also often called marijuana) for medical and recreational use, increasing numbers of persons are experimenting with it for pain relief. In line with a latest study published in JAMA Network Open, almost a 3rd of patients with chronic pain reported using cannabis to administer it.

Greater than half of the 1,724 adults surveyed reported that using cannabis led them to diminish the usage of pain medications, including prescription opioids and over-the-counter analgesics. Cannabis also effected the usage of other non-drug related pain relief methods to varied degrees: some people indicated that cannabis led them to show less often to techniques that many clinical guidelines recommend as first-line therapies similar to physical therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, while others with chronic pain increased their use of such treatments.

The incontrovertible fact that patients report substituting cannabis for pain medications a lot underscores the necessity for research on the advantages and risk of using cannabis for chronic pain.”

Mark Bicket, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor within the Department of Anesthesiology and Co-Director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network

Source:

Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan

Journal reference:

Bicket, M.C., et al. (2023) Use of Cannabis and Other Pain Treatments Amongst Adults With Chronic Pain in US States With Medical Cannabis Programs. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49797.