NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Medical cannabis reduces chronic pain patients’ opioid use, while improving their quality of life, according to a new survey of Michigan cannabis dispensary patrons.
“They report that when they make that switch they overall feel better,” Dr. Daniel J. Clauw of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, told Reuters Health in a telephone interview.
Opioid analgesics are not effective for everyone with chronic pain, carry the risk of addiction, and cause significant mortality and morbidity, Dr. Clauw and his team note in their report, published online on March 19 in the Journal of Pain.
There is some evidence that medical cannabis might be helpful in reducing chronic pain patients’ opioid use, they add, citing a 2014 study that found mortality from opioid overdose fell about 25%, on average, in states that legalized medical cannabis use.