As opioids continue to drive overdose deaths, a new study suggests that making medical cannabis available and affordable can help patients reduce their use of the prescription painkillers.
“Although cannabis has historically been characterized as a potential ‘gateway drug,’ it may also serve as a harm-reduction tool for some patients seeking to reduce reliance on higher-risk opioid medications,” the researchers from University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine found.
The study, a prospective observational trial conducted at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed 29 adults over five months. All had been living with chronic pain for years—a median of 11 years—and all were already taking opioid medications but had struggled to taper them despite other treatments.
The investigation is unique for its focus on cost as a factor in medical marijuana access, with the researchers describing their work as “the first prospective observational study evaluating medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids in a setting where cost was removed as a major barrier.”
Participants were recruited from a university-based outpatient chronic pain clinic and then underwent monthly pain assessments using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS). Researchers measured daily opioid use, measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs).
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