In a culture where chronic pain and addiction are deeply pervasive, a new study from researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health could offer an alternative solution to mitigating the opioid epidemic. The study, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, observed 204 adults with chronic pain that had been prescribed opioids along with being new cardholders for New York’s medical marijuana program. Ultimately, researchers observed cohesive links between medical cannabis use and a decline in an overall reliance on opioids when it came to managing chronic pain. Over an 18-month period, average daily opioid use fell by roughly 22%.
“Our findings indicate that medical cannabis, when dispensed through a pharmacist-supervised system, can relieve chronic pain while also meaningfully reducing patients’ reliance on prescription opioids. Supervised use of medical cannabis could be an important tool in combating the opioid crisis,” the study’s lead author, Deepika E. Slawek, M.D., M.S, explained in a recent press release. Dr. Slawek is also an associate professor of medicine at Einstein, and an internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist at Montefiore.
While a reduction rate of 22% may not seem significant to all, Dr. Slawek believes otherwise. “Those changes may seem small, but gradual reductions in opioid use are safer and more sustainable for people managing chronic pain than stopping suddenly,” Dr. Slawek said.
According to the study’s senior author, chief of the division of general internal medicine at Montefiore Einstein, and professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Julia Arnsten, M.D., M.P.H., the study could pave the way for policy change.
“This research adds to the growing body of evidence supporting a medicalized model of cannabis use, where pharmacists are actively involved in dispensaries and cannabis is treated like other prescription drugs. We hope these findings will lead to new policies encouraging the effective management of chronic pain through the use of regulated substances.”