RESEARCH CORNER COLLECTED BY MATT JACKSON, PHD
PILLS TO POT: OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSES OF CANNABIS SUBSTITUTION AMONG MEDICAL CANNABIS USERS WITH CHRONIC PAIN
A survey of patients using medical cannabis to manage chronic pain and how medical use is changing prescription drug use, from the University of Michigan Medical School and published in The Journal of Pain in July 2019.
STUDY FACTS
https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(18)30735-1/fulltext#sec0018
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SURVEY DESIGN: ● Dispensaries and cannabis certification clinics distributed an anonymous, online survey to medical cannabis patients through their databases and social media. ● Researchers asked patients with chronic pain about their health conditions and history using prescription drugs and cannabis. ● 1,321 medical cannabis patients from across the U.S. completed the survey, a nationwide expansion of a smaller 2016 study that surveyed 185 patients in Michigan.1 DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN: ● On average, patients were 50 years of age, 59% were female, 86% had a college degree, and 49% were married. ● 63% had used medical cannabis for over 1 year, and 62% also used prescription pain medicines. ● 20% were from California, 18% from Maine, 10% from Arizona, and 9% from New Hampshire.
