Medical Cannabis Linked to Meaningful Pain-Related Improvements in Large Minnesota Study
- The study of over 6,000 chronic pain patients in Minnesota's medical cannabis program found significant improvements within four months, with over half reporting at least a 30% reduction in pain-related interference with life enjoyment and general activity.
- Approximately 40.8% of patients saw at least a 30% improvement in pain intensity, and nearly 20% maintained clinically significant pain relief for an additional four months.
- Flower was the most popular product (77.9%), followed by edibles (71.1%) and vape products (60.4%), with high-THC items being the most commonly purchased across all categories.
- No significant differences in pain improvement were found between different cannabis product profiles, highlighting the complexity of real-world use compared to controlled clinical trials and indicating a need for further research on usage patterns and dosage.
A study published today in Clinical Therapeutics found that many chronic pain patients enrolled in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program reported meaningful improvements within four months of making their first purchase.
Researchers from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management examined more than 6,000 patients certified for chronic or intractable pain who enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program between March 2022 and February 2023 and continued purchasing medical cannabis for at least eight months. Patients completed self-evaluations before each purchase, including the PEG scale, which measures pain intensity, interference with enjoyment of life and interference with general activity.
Among patients who reported moderate-to-severe symptoms at enrollment, 54.9% reported at least a 30% improvement in pain’s interference with life enjoyment within four months. Another 54.7% reported the same level of improvement in general activity interference, while 40.8% reported at least a 30% improvement in pain scores. The study also found that 19.8% of patients achieved and maintained a clinically significant pain-score improvement for at least four additional months.
Flower was the most commonly purchased product, with 77.9% of patients buying it during their first four months in the program. Enteral products such as gummies, pills and capsules were purchased by 71.1% of patients, while 60.4% purchased vape products. High-THC products were the most commonly purchased across product categories.
Researchers grouped patients into five purchasing profiles, including those who primarily bought high-THC flower, high-THC vapes, high-THC edibles, balanced THC:CBD edibles or mixed flower products. After adjusting for the number of medical cannabis purchasing transactions, the study found no significant difference in PEG score improvements between product profiles.
The authors said the findings show that patients in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program reported reduced pain-related interference with daily life after beginning medical cannabis, while also highlighting the complexity of real-world cannabis use compared to clinical trials that typically examine a single product type or dosage. They noted that future research should examine frequency of use, timing, dosage and administration methods to better understand how cannabis may be used for chronic pain management.