“Purpose: Opioid use rates have dropped as North American patients gain access to medical cannabis, indicating a harm reduction role, yet health outcomes remain mostly unexplored. This study presents self-reported medical cannabis use, perceptions of health functioning, and changes in opioid pain medication use in Florida medical cannabis patients.
Methods: Patients (n = 2,183) recruited from medical dispensaries across Florida completed a 66-item cross-sectional survey that included demographic, health, and medication usage items, along with items from the Medical Outcomes Survey (SF-36) to assess health functioning before and after cannabis initiation.
Results: Most participants were between the ages of 20 and 70 years of age (95%), over 54% were female, 47% were employed, and most (85%) were white. Commonly reported ailment groups were Pain and Mental Health combined (47.92%), Mental Health (28.86%) or Pain (9.07%). Health domains of bodily pain, physical functioning, and social functioning improved while limitations due to physical and emotional problems were unchanged. Most patients rated medical cannabis as being important to their quality of life. Many (60.98%) reported using pain medications prior to medical cannabis, 93.36% of these reported a change in pain medication after medical cannabis. The majority of participants (79%) reported either cessation or reduction in pain medication use following initiation of medical cannabis and 11.47% described improved functioning.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that some medical cannabis patients decreased opioid use without harming quality of life or health functioning, soon after the legalization of medical cannabis. The public health implications of medical cannabis as an alternative pain medication are discussed.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36168127/
“In conclusion, some patients may reduce or even cease use of OBPM upon access to medical cannabis, potentially without harming quality of life or health functioning. This is suggestive of the harm reduction role and opioid-sparing effects of medical cannabis in a quality-controlled and regulated medical-use only state. Given the great individual and societal costs associated with the opioid crisis (Florence et al., 2021; National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d.), the public health implications of these findings are important to consider.”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10826084.2022.2107673