ArticlePain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2021
Cannabis Significantly Reduces the Use of Prescription Opioids and Improves Quality of Life in Authorized Patients: Results of a Large Prospective Study.
Article in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health-related quality of life in patients receiving medicinal cannabis: systematic review and meta-analysis of primary research findings 2015-2025.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Medical Cannabis and Its Efficacy/Effectiveness for the Treatment of Low-Back Pain: a Systematic Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of interventions to reduce long term opioid treatment for chronic non-cancer pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Pooled it
- Cys-loop receptors on cannabinoids: All high?Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Inside the Minds of Professional and Elite Athletes: A Qualitative Exploration of Perspectives on Cannabinoid Use in Contact Sports.Sports health · 2026Article
- Self-reported cannabis use to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms and reductions in opioid use among people who use unregulated opioids: a cross-sectional analysis.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Redefining Recovery: The Expanding Cannabis Landscape and Its Implications for the California Sober Approach in Addiction.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2026Article
- Medical cannabis authorization and opioid milligram equivalents over time in patients with chronic pain: a retrospective analysis.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Perceived impact of medicinal cannabis on pelvic pain and endometriosis related symptoms in Aotearoa New Zealand: an observational cohort study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Observational
- Cannabinoid Therapy for Refractory Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain: Quantification of Somatosensory Alterations (QualST) by 3D Stereophotogrammetry-Two Case Reports.Case reports in dentistry · 2026Article
- From farm to bedside: Potential of medical cannabis in global health.Complementary therapies in medicine · 2025Review
- Chronic intermittent ethanol produces nociception through endocannabinoid-independent mechanisms in mice.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Craving for opioid and cannabis use among adults with chronic pain: Insights from a 30-day ecological momentary assessment study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Cannabis Use in Opioid Maintenance Therapy: Prevalence, Clinical Correlates and Reasons for Use.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Alcohol and cannabis use for pain management: Translational findings of relative risks, benefits, and interactions.Physiology & behavior · 2025Review
- Conceptualizing 'cannabis harm reduction': lessons learned from cannabis compassion clubs and medical dispensaries in British Columbia (Canada).Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Chronic intermittent ethanol produces nociception through endocannabinoid-independent mechanisms in mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The association of medical cannabis use with quality of life in Illinois' opioid alternative pilot program.Journal of epidemiology and population health · 2025Article
- Medical Cannabis for Patients Over Age 50: A Multi-site, Prospective Study of Patterns of Use and Health Outcomes.Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.) · 2025Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis article presents findings from a large prospective examination of Canadian medical cannabis patients, with a focus on the impacts of cannabis on prescription opioid use and quality of life over a 6-month period.
methodsThe Tilray Observational Patient Study took place at 21 medical clinics throughout Canada. This analysis includes 1,145 patients who had at least one postbaseline visit, with follow-up at 1, 3, and 6 months. Instruments included a comprehensive cannabis use inventory, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF), and a detailed prescription drug questionnaire.
resultsParticipants were 57.6% female, with a median age of 52 years. Baseline opioid use was reported by 28% of participants, dropping to 11% at 6 months. Daily opioid use went from 152 mg morphine milligram equivalent (MME) at baseline to 32.2 mg MME at 6 months, a 78% reduction in mean opioid dosage. Similar reductions were also seen in the other four primary prescription drug classes identified by participants, and statistically significant improvements were reported in all four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF.
conclusionsThis study provides an individual-level perspective of cannabis substitution for opioids and other prescription drugs, as well as associated improvement in quality of life over 6 months. The high rate of cannabis use for chronic pain and the subsequent reductions in opioid use suggest that cannabis may play a harm reduction role in the opioid overdose crisis, potentially improving the quality of life of patients and overall public health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.