Open AccessMarijuana Use Among Persons Living with Chronic Pain: A Qualitative Study
Author(s) -
Verlin Joseph,
Deepthi S. Varma,
Xinguang Chen,
Roger B. Fillingim,
Diana J. Wilkie,
Robert Lorin Cook
Publication year - 2022
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.26828/cannabis.2022.01.000.27
Subject(s) - chronic pain , medical prescription , medicine , pain medicine , addiction , qualitative research , psychiatry , physical therapy , family medicine , nursing , social science , anesthesiology , sociology
Chronic pain is presently the most expensive disease condition in the United States; with roughly 1 in 5 Americans currently reporting chronic pain. Traditionally, clinicians and patients have utilized prescription medications to manage chronic pain, however, attitudes towards standardized prescription treatment have waned due to a number of factors including the recent opioid epidemic. Consequently, attitudes towards marijuana use as an alternative pain therapy have continued to grow with 36 states approving use for medical purposes. Clinical trials have reported lower pain severity scores among participants receiving marijuana for pain compared to participants in the control arms. However, little is known regarding the psychological/physiological mechanisms by which marijuana provides relief for chronic pain. Research is also needed to identify how current marijuana users developed optimal patterns (i.e. dose, frequency, and quantity) of use for chronic pain. We sought to address these scientific gaps by conducting semi-structured interviews among community members. Participants (N=13) were eligible for participation if they reported having any pain during the previous 3 months and if they reported past 30-day marijuana use. The interviews lasted approximately 60 minutes following a semi-structured interview guide over Zoom telecommunications. Each interview was subsequently transcribed and then analyzed using Atlas T.I. A summary of each code was developed and key themes regarding marijuana use and pain were summarized. Multiple themes emerged including mechanism of pain relief (physical, mental, or both), patterns of marijuana use for pain relief, other benefits of marijuana use, comparisons to prescription drug use, descriptions of pain, and side effects of marijuana use. Our analysis identified several themes that add to the growing literature concerning marijuana use for chronic pain. These qualitative data indicate current marijuana users’ favorable opinions towards using marijuana as an alternative pain therapy. As legislation legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes continues to expand, qualitative studies are needed to examine the extent to which marijuana use is effective in managing pain.