Study shows that marijuana is 'significantly associated' with reduced use of unregulated opioids
Observational analyses indicated that some people use cannabis as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical drugs, such as opioid-based pain relievers and sleep medications
A new federally funded study found that marijuana is "significantly" associated with reduced cravings for opioids among people who use it without a prescription, suggesting that expanding access to legal cannabis may provide more people with a safer substitute.
Researchers from the British Columbia Center on Substance Use and UCLA interviewed 205 people who use marijuana and opioids without a prescription from December 2019 to November 2021, aiming to test the theory that marijuana represents an effective harm reduction tool amid the overdose crisis.
The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, found that 58% of participants reported that their motivation for using marijuana was to reduce cravings for opioids. And a multivariate analysis showed that cannabis use "was significantly associated with self-reported reductions in opioid use."
The researchers stated that, to their knowledge, this represents the first study of its kind to specifically investigate "intentional cannabis use outcomes for managing opioid cravings" among those using pain relievers that they may be obtaining from the illicit market, which comes with the risk of acquiring contaminated products.
Learn how marijuana can reduce cravings for opioids
“These findings indicate that using cannabis to manage opioid cravings is a predominant motivation for cannabis use among [people using unregulated opioids] and is associated with self-reported reductions in opioid use during periods of cannabis use,” the study authors wrote. “Increasing the accessibility of cannabis products for therapeutic use may be a useful complementary strategy to mitigate exposure to unregulated opioids and associated harms during the current drug toxicity crisis.”
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded the study. One of the seven authors of the study revealed that he is a professor supported by Canopy Growth to research cannabis science at the University of British Columbia.
This is one of the latest studies in a large body of scientific literature suggesting that marijuana may serve as a substitute for legal and illegal substances and prescription medications.
Marijuana vs opioids
A study published last month linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications, for example.
Another study published by the American Medical Association (AMA) in February found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for more than a month had significant reductions in prescribed opioids.
The AMA also released research showing that about one in three chronic pain patients reports using cannabis as a treatment option, and most of this group used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.
State-level legalization of marijuana is also associated with significant reductions in the prescription of the opioid codeine specifically, according to a study that leveraged data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
A study released last year also found that giving people legal access to medical cannabis can help patients reduce opioid pain reliever use or stop using it altogether, without compromising quality of life.
There is no shortage of anecdotal reports, data-based studies, and observational analyses indicating that some people use cannabis as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical drugs, such as opioid-based pain relievers and sleep medications.