By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Nearly a third of U.S. adults (31%) with chronic pain have used cannabis as an analgesic, according to a new survey that found over half of those who used cannabis said it enabled them to decrease their use of opioid medication and other pain therapies.

The survey findings, published JAMA Network Open, involved 1,724 people with chronic non-cancer pain who live in the 36 states (and Washington DC) that have legalized medical marijuana.

Unlike other studies that only focused on cannabis reducing opioid use, this survey found that over half of pain sufferers using cannabis also reduced or stop using non-opioid prescription pain relievers and over-the-counter analgesics. Many respondents also reported decreasing their use of physical therapy (39%), cognitive behavioral therapy (26%) and meditation (19%).  

“Most persons who used cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain reported substituting cannabis in place of other pain medications including prescription opioids,” wrote lead author Mark Bicket, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan School of Medicine.

“The high degree of substitution of cannabis with both opioid and nonopioid treatment emphasizes the importance of research to clarify the effectiveness and potential adverse consequences of cannabis for chronic pain. Our results suggest that state cannabis laws have enabled access to cannabis as an analgesic treatment despite knowledge gaps in use as a medical treatment for pain.”

The survey did not ask whether respondents smoked, vaped or ingested cannabis products, so there’s no way to tell which method was more effective at reducing pain. Nevertheless, it adds to a growing body of evidence that cannabis reduces pain and helps pain sufferers decrease their use of medications and other therapies.  

“Cannabis has established efficacy in the treatment of multiple conditions, including chronic pain, and it possesses a safety profile that is either comparable or superior to other controlled substances,” said Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, a marijuana advocacy group.

“So it is no wonder that those with legal access to it are substituting cannabis in lieu of other, potentially less effective and more harmful substances. As legal access continues to expand, one would expect the cannabis substitution effect to grow even more pronounced in the future.”

Several previous studies have also found that cannabis users often reduce their use of prescription opioids. A large survey conducted last year found that most medical marijuana users either stopped (42%) or reduced (37%) their use of opioids. A small number were also able to stop using psychiatric medications for anxiety, depression and PTSD.  

Another recent study at Cornell University found that legalization of recreational marijuana in 11 states led to significantly reduced prescribing for Medicaid patients for a broad range of medications used to treat pain, depression, anxiety, seizures and other health conditions.

A 2021 Harris Poll found that twice as many Americans are using cannabis or CBD to manage their pain than opioids.