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Marijuana frequently used illegally to treat spinal pain
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SAN DIEGO — A large number of people who experience chronic spinal pain sufferers reportedly use marijuana to treat their pain; however, the majority of users do not have a prescription for the drug, a speaker here said.
According to Michael A. Finn, MD, marijuana offered “moderate” or “great” relief for chronic spinal pain in 89% of patients in their study.
“Most patients using marijuana reported alleviation of pain symptoms with tolerable side effects,” Finn said.
Michael A. Finn
A total of 184 patients with chronic spinal pain were included in the study, among whom, 35 reported they used marijuana for their pain. Only 45.5% of the users had a legal prescription for the drug, with 73% of these prescriptions issued for spine pain.
The majority of users said they took narcotics to manage their pain, Finn said, with 81% saying marijuana worked as well as or better than the other pain medications.
Fourteen percent of the patients reported negative side effects, such as depressed moods, paranoia and memory problems, according to Finn. Among these patients, 43% considered the side effects to be significant. – by Robert Linnehan
Reference:
Lindley EM, et al. Paper #439. Presented at: International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Annual Meeting. April 15-17, 2015; San Diego.
Disclosure: Finn reports he is a consultant for K2M.