Skip to main content

Medical Cannabis Laws Seem Not to Have Affected Opioid, Nonopioid Therapy

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 5, 2023 -- Medical cannabis laws seem not to have important effects on the receipt of opioid or nonopioid pain treatment, according to a study published online July 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues examined the effects of state medical cannabis laws on receipt of prescription opioids, nonopioid prescription pain medications, and procedures for chronic noncancer pain using data from 12 states that implemented medical cannabis laws and 17 comparison states. Data were included for 583,820 commercially insured adults with chronic noncancer pain.

The researchers found that relative to the prediction based on what would have happened had the law not been implemented, medical cannabis laws led to an average difference of 0.05 (95 percent confidence interval, −0.12 to 0.21), 0.05 (95 percent confidence interval, −0.13 to 0.23), and −0.17 (95 percent confidence interval, −0.42 to 0.08) percentage points in the proportion of patients receiving any opioid prescription, any nonopioid prescription pain medication, or any chronic pain procedure, respectively, in a given month during the first three years of law implementation.

"The small-in-magnitude effect estimates and narrow confidence bounds rule out an important effect of medical cannabis laws on the chronic noncancer pain treatment outcomes measured, in either direction," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted July 2023

Read this next

Slight Decline Seen in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths

THURSDAY, May 16, 2024 -- New 2023 provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics show the first decline in deaths from drug overdose in the United States since...

American Psychiatric Association, May 4-8

The annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association was held from May 4 to 8 in New York City, drawing participants from around the world, including clinicians...

Number, Size of Seizures of Fentanyl Increasing in the United States

MONDAY, May 13, 2024 -- The number and size of seizures of fentanyl are increasing in the United States, with most seizures occurring in the West, according to a study published...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.