New research on the use of medical marijuana among people with rheumatic conditions such as arthritis finds that more than 6 in 10 patients who used medical cannabis reported substituting it for other medications, including NSAIDs, opioids, sleep aids and muscle relaxants. Most patients further said that the use of marijuana allowed them to reduce or stop using those medications entirely.
The findings, say authors at the University of Michigan Medical School, McGill University and the University of Buffalo, “suggest that an appreciable number of people with rheumatic diseases substitute medications with [medical cannabis] for symptom management.”
Among 763 participants, 62.5% reported substituting MC products for medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (54.7%), opioids (48.6%), sleep aids (29.6%), and muscle relaxants (25.2%) Among cannabis users, about two-thirds “reported a diagnosis of an inflammatory rheumatic disease, and a similar number reported concomitant conditions, such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and mechanical spinal pain.
Another finding was that “more than half of participants in this survey were using medical cannabis at least daily, with those substituting more likely to be using regularly.”
