Authors concluded: “Our results support prior studies suggesting cannabis may improve pain and minimize opioid utilization in both cancer and non-cancer settings.
Topic: Opioids/Drugs
Subjects’ use of prescription analgesics fell by nearly half during the study period, a finding that is consistent with other studies.
Authors determined, “The majority responded that these products have helped their pain and allowed them to reduce their pain medications, including opioids.”
Investigators concluded, “Among those prescribed high doses of opioids, there were significant reductions in opioid consumption” relative to matched controls.
“In sum, the findings from the current study … provide further support of previous research questioning the causal claims of the marijuana gateway hypothesis.”
“Post-legalization, cannabis users were less likely to require daily opioids compared with cannabis users before legalization.”
“The results provide preliminary evidence of a link between cannabis use and lower prevalence of opioid overdose among people enrolled in MMT.”
“A significant proportion” of MS patients report having either “stopped or reduced” their use of prescription medications after initiating cannabis therapy.