Marijuana Moment: Marijuana Leads To ‘Robust Improvements’ In Lower Back Pain And ‘Near-Total’ Cessation Of Opioids, Study Finds

[Tokeativity]

People with chronic lower back pain who don’t respond to traditional therapies such as opioids experience “large, sustained, and statistically robust improvements” when they switch to inhaled cannabis, according to a new study.

Researchers at Rabin Medical Center in Israel looked at longitudinal data from 241 patients with treatment-resistant lower back pain from 2020 to 2025.

Not only did cannabis “markedly and durably” improve pain symptoms, but that was accompanied by “near-total displacement of opioids, NSAIDs, antidepressants and gabapentinoids,” the study, published in the journal Biomedicines, said.

The authors said they chose to research the efficacy of inhaled or vaporized marijuana “because of its rapid onset, on-demand titratability, and patient preference.”

The THC content in the cannabis used in the study ranged from 4-22 percent, while CBD concentration ranged from 2-22 percent.

“Inhaled cannabis was associated with large, sustained, and statistically robust improvements in pain, disability, and pain interference, accompanied by near-total displacement of opioids, NSAIDs, antidepressants, and gabapentinoids.”

“The within-patient benefit-risk profile…supports consideration of cannabis as a potentially clinically meaningful, opioid-sparing option in patients who have failed multimodal conventional therapy, pending confirmation in randomized comparative trials,” the study concluded.

Researchers stressed that, while promising, the study should be followed up with “randomized comparative trials of inhaled cannabis versus continued multimodal therapy” to ensure that “causal claims can be made.”

“In their absence, and pending such confirmation, these data support consideration of inhaled cannabis as a potentially clinically meaningful, opioid-sparing option for patients who have failed conventional multimodal therapy,” they said.

“Concomitant opioid use fell from 100% at baseline to 4.6% at Year 5 (within-patient absolute risk reduction 95.4%).”

This is far from the only study supporting the efficacy of marijuana in the treatment of pain—nor is it the first to suggest cannabis can serve as a substitute for conventional therapies such as opioids.

In April, for example, a study found that using medical marijuana appears to help people reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleeping aids and antidepressants. They also experience far fewer negative side effects after switching to cannabis from prescription drugs, the study involving more than 3,500 patients determined. 

About one in three Americans who use CBD say they take it as an alternative or supplement to at least one medication—particularly painkillers—according to a federally funded study published in February.

Similarly, another recent federally funded study, published by the American Medical Association (AMA), added more evidence that marijuana can serve as an effective substitute for opioids in chronic pain treatment.

Other AMA-published research has found that legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes is “significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer.”

A separate paper published last year similarly found that medical marijuana legalization is “associated with significant reductions in opioid prescribing.”

In August, meanwhile, Australian researchers published a study showing that marijuana can serve as an effective substitute for opioids in pain management treatment.

Another study published last year in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review found that, among drug users who experience chronic pain, daily cannabis use was linked to a higher likelihood of quitting the use of opioids—especially among men.

Other research also found that legalizing medical cannabis appeared to significantly reduce monetary payments from opioid manufacturers to doctors who specialize in pain, with authors finding “evidence that this decrease is due to medical marijuana becoming available as a substitute” for prescription painkillers.

Further research also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That study found a “consistent negative relationship” between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. Authors estimated that recreational marijuana legalization “is associated with a decrease of approximately 3.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals.”

“Our findings suggest that broadening recreational marijuana access could help address the opioid epidemic,” that report said. “Previous research largely indicates that marijuana (primarily for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we find it may also successfully reduce overdose deaths.”

Another recently published report into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state’s legalization of medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide. Overall, results of the study indicated that “cannabis has a substantial role to play in pain management and the reduction of opioid use,” it said.

The post Marijuana Leads To ‘Robust Improvements’ In Lower Back Pain And ‘Near-Total’ Cessation Of Opioids, Study Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net