Of eligible respondents, 72 percent agreed with the statement, “Medical marijuana should be used to reduce the use of opioids for non-cancer pain.” Sixty-three percent of respondents also agreed, “The DEA should reclassify marijuana so that it is no longer a schedule I drug.”
“Over the course of our study, … we identified a significant and progressive increase in the number of patients using cannabis. In patients with chronic pain, cannabis use more than doubled during this period.”
“Interested persons or organizations are invited to participate by submitting written views, recommendations, and data related to perspectives on and experiences with pain and pain management. CDC invites comments specifically on topics focused on using or prescribing opioid pain medications, non-opioid medications, or non-pharmacological treatments.”
Authors reported that patients administered oral THC experienced a “nine-fold greater reduction in opioid consumption” compared to controls.
Authors reported “an independent negative association between frequent cannabis use and frequent illicit opioid use.” Specifically, subjects who consumed cannabis daily “had about 50 percent lower odds of using illicit opioids every day [as] compared to cannabis non-users.”
“Individuals who report having pain limiting that limits their daily activity see large health improvements. This is the strongest evidence that a group with a high probability of pain medication use sees large benefits from medical marijuana laws.”
Researchers concluded, “Our findings are consistent with prior surveys of American and Canadian marijuana users in which substitution of marijuana for opioids was prevalent due to better symptom management and fewer adverse and withdrawal effects.”
Adults who purchase retail cannabis typically report using it to mitigate pain and to improve sleep, and often use it in place of conventional medications, according to data published online today in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. “Our findings suggest that de facto medical use may be highly prevalent among adult use customers, and that access to an adult use cannabis market may influence individuals’ use of other medications,” authors concluded.