Athens, GA: Cancer patients decrease their reliance on prescription opioids following the opening of cannabis retailers, according to data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Georgia, Indiana University, and the University of Chicago assessed the relationship between state-licensed cannabis establishments and prescription opioid usage among commercially insured patients diagnosed with cancer.
Consistent with prior studies, researchers identified “significant reductions … in the rate of [cancer] patients with opioid prescriptions, the mean daily supply [of opioid medications], and the mean number of [opioid] prescriptions per patient after medical and recreational cannabis dispensary openings.”
The study’s authors concluded, “These findings indicate that medical or recreational cannabis laws may be significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer … [and that] cannabis may be a substitute for opioids in the management of cancer-related pain.”
Several studies have previously identified an association between cannabis legalization and reductions in opioid-related mortality.
Separate data published by JAMA Network Open reports that nearly one in three patients with chronic pain use cannabis as an analgesic agent and that many of them substitute it in place of opioids.
Full text of the study, “Cannabis laws and opioid use among commercially insured patients with cancer diagnoses,” appears in JAMA Health Forum. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.’