Medical Marijuana Helps People With Arthritis And Other Rheumatic Conditions Reduce Use Of Opioids And Other Medications, Study Shows

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 primary reasons for substitution were fewer adverse effects, better symptom management, and concerns about withdrawal symptoms,” says the study, published this month by the American College of Rheumatology. “Substitution was associated with THC use and significantly higher symptom improvements (including pain, sleep, anxiety, and joint stiffness) than nonsubstitution.”

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.”

Data for the study came from an online, anonymous survey of adult residents of the United States and Canada, which was advertised on social media and through email contact lists of the Arthritis Foundation and Arthritis Society Canada. Of 1,727 completed surveys, 763 respondents said they currently used cannabis, while 655 said they’d never used marijuana and 268 said they’d used but since discontinued. Researchers analyzed responses of only those who said they were current cannabis users.

“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%),” the report says.

“Reasons for substitution were better symptom management and harm reduction, such as fewer adverse effects.”

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.”

Researchers noted that among respondents who used marijuana, “inhalation was the most common method of administration, with all the attendant risks of respiratory disease and aggravation of an inflammatory condition. However, given the immediate pharmacokinetic effect of inhaled MC, this administration method may be most satisfactory for people seeking rapid symptom relief, especially for pain.”

They also noted that THC-containing products were the most commonly used, writing that it’s “plausible that some individuals may require cannabis products containing at least some THC for effective pain management, a point that should be explored in future studies.”

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.”

“This pattern of use,” authors wrote, “supports the notion of daily continuous symptoms that need continuous management.”

The study notes that so far, “only a handful of observational studies have investigated MC use among people with rheumatic conditions, a group that may have unique challenges owing to age, substantial use of concomitant medications, and high symptom burden.”

Nevertheless, more and more research suggests that some patients with a variety of conditions use medical marijuana as a substitute for other medications.

A recent study in the Journal of Nurse Practitioners, for example, found that medical marijuana was associated with reduced prescription drug use and improved well-being and symptom intensity among adults with anxiety, depression, insomnia and chronic pain.

“Prescription medication use decreased significantly after medical cannabis use,” that report said. “Health characteristics and symptom intensity improved significantly after medical cannabis use.”

A separate study of more than 500 military veterans published last year found that more than 90 percent who used medical marijuana said it improved their quality of life. Many also reported used cannabis as an alternative to over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Other research published this year found that older people who use medical marijuana “experience considerable improvement in health and well-being” and that access to cannabis moderately reduced opioid prescriptions—a result indicated by several other studies in recent years.

And earlier this summer, a new federally funded study found that marijuana helps people with substance misuse disorders stay off opioids or reduce their use, maintain treatment and manage withdrawal symptoms.

Anecdotally, pet owners have also been using cannabinoids for years to treat rheumatic conditions like osteoarthritis in dogs.

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