Cannabis use and illicit opioid cessation among people who use drugs living with chronic pain

Introduction

Amidst the opioid overdose crisis, there is interest in cannabis use for pain management and harm reduction. We investigated the relationship between cannabis use and cessation of unregulated opioid use among people who use drugs (PWUD) living with chronic pain.

Method

Data for analyses were collected from three prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada. All cohort participants who completed at least two study visits and reported both pain and unregulated opioid use in the past 6 months were included in the present study. We analysed the association between cannabis use frequency and opioid cessation rates using extended Cox regression models with time-updated covariates.

Results

Between June 2014 and May 2022, 2340 PWUD were initially recruited and of those 1242 PWUD reported chronic pain, use of unregulated opioids and completed at least two follow-up visits. Of these 1242 participants, 764 experienced a cessation event over 1038.2 person-years resulting in a cessation rate of 28.5 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.4–31.9). Daily cannabis use was positively associated with opioid cessation (adjusted hazard ratio 1.40, 95% CI 1.08–1.81; p = 0.011). In the sex-stratified sub-analyses, daily cannabis use was significantly associated with increased rates of opioid cessation among males (adjusted hazard ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.09–2.08; p = 0.014).

Discussion and Conclusions

Participants reporting daily cannabis use exhibited higher rates of cessation compared to less frequent users or non-users. Observed sex-specific differences in cannabis use and opioid cessation suggest potential differences in cannabis use behaviours and effects. Our findings add to the growing evidence supporting the potential benefits of cannabis use among PWUD, underlining the need for further research.