ArticlePharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)2025
Medical Cannabis Use and Healthcare Utilization Among Patients with Chronic Pain: A Causal Inference Analysis Using TMLE.
Article in Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- A qualitative study on cannabis use for harm reduction and pain among veterans enrolled in an SUD treatment program.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionChronic pain affects approximately 20% of U.S. adults, imposing significant burdens on individuals and healthcare systems. Medical cannabis has emerged as a potential therapy, yet its impact on healthcare utilization remains unclear.
methodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed administrative data from a telehealth platform providing medical cannabis certifications across 36 U.S. states. Patients were classified as cannabis-exposed if they had used cannabis in the past year, while unexposed patients had no prior cannabis use. Outcomes included self-reported urgent care visits, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and quality of life (QoL), measured using the CDC's Healthy Days measure. Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation with SuperLearner estimated causal effects, adjusting for numerous covariates.
resultsMedical cannabis users exhibited significantly lower healthcare utilization. Specifically, exposure was associated with a 2.0 percentage point reduction in urgent care visits (95% CI: -0.036, -0.004), a 3.2 percentage point reduction in ED visits (95% CI: -0.051, -0.012) and fewer unhealthy days per month (-3.52 days, 95% CI: -4.28, -2.76). Hospitalization rates trended lower but were not statistically significant. Covariate balance and propensity score overlap indicated well-fitting models.
conclusionsMedical cannabis use was associated with reduced healthcare utilization and improved self-reported QoL among chronic pain patients.
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Registered trials
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