Albany, NY: Patients who consume state-authorized medical cannabis products are twice as likely as those who don’t to discontinue their long-term use of prescription opioids, according to data published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
Investigators affiliated with the City University of New York at Albany assessed opioid usage trends over three months in 8,353 chronic pain patients on long-term opioid maintenance. Nearly 5,000 participants consumed authorized medical cannabis products during the study.
Researchers reported that opioid discontinuation rates were “two- to three-fold higher” among those pain patients who received cannabis as compared to those who did not. Patients receiving lower doses of opioids at baseline were more likely to cease their prescription opioid use following cannabis therapy than were those receiving higher doses.
“Receiving medical cannabis was strongly associated with opioid prescription discontinuation among patients with chronic pain and on long-term opioid therapy, especially among patients with prescribed dosages below 90 MME [milligram morphine equivalent],” the study’s authors concluded. “These findings suggest medical cannabis may provide an alternative therapy for some patients with a long history of prescription opioids and facilitate their reduction in opioid use.”
The study’s findings are consistent with those of others reporting that botanical cannabis and cannabis-based preparations are associated with opioid-sparing effects in patients suffering from various types of chronic pain, including postoperative pain, cancer pain, and treatment-resistant lower back pain.
Full text of the study, “Medical cannabis and opioid prescription discontinuation among chronic pain patients on long-term opioid therapy,” appears in the Journal of Addiction Medicine. Additional information on cannabinoids and chronic pain is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Additional information on the opioid-sparing effects of cannabis is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.’