Daily cannabis use lowers odds of using illicit opioids among people who have chronic pain

published on November 19, 2019 in UBC News

For those using illicit opioids to manage their chronic pain, cannabis may be a beneficial – and a less dangerous – alternative, according to new research from the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU).

Researchers from the BCCSU and University of British Columbia (UBC) interviewed more than 1,100 people at highest risk of opioid overdose in Vancouver between 2014 and 2017 who reported substance use and major or chronic pain. They found that daily cannabis use was associated with significantly lower odds of daily illicit opioid use, suggesting people are replacing opioids with cannabis to manage their pain.

The study was published today in a special issue of PLOS Medicine on substance dependence…

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