Monroe, LA: Patients report reduced pain and a decrease in their use of prescription opioids following their initiation of state-authorized medical cannabis products, according to survey data published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Louisiana surveyed responses from over 2,000 Louisianans registered to participate in the state’s medical marijuana access program.
Following their use of cannabis, respondents reported lower pain levels by an average of 3.4 points on a ten-point scale – a finding that is consistent with prior studies. Patients who reported either decreasing or ceasing their use of certain prescription medications were far more likely to report consuming greater quantities of cannabis as compared to those who did not. This finding “offers some confirmation of the substitution between opioids and medical marijuana,” researchers determined.
“The results from this study align with the growing literature on the consumption patterns of MM [medical marijuana],” the study’s authors concluded. “In our study of MM use in Louisiana, it has significantly reduced pain and, for those using it, decreased opioid usage. … More research is needed to understand how this substitution leads to fewer drug-related deaths, a major critique of opioids.”
Nearly one in three patients with chronic pain acknowledge using cannabis as an analgesic and many report substituting it in place of traditional analgesics, sleep aids, anxiolytics, and other prescription medications.
Full text of the study, “Marijuana and opioid usage: An analysis of patient perceptions in Louisiana,” appears in Substance Use & Misuse. Additional information on cannabis substitution is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.’