Cannabis Could Reduce Opioid Use in HIV Patients

Cannabis use may be associated with a reduced likelihood of prescription opioid analgesic use among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and chronic pain, a new study suggested.

For their study, the researchers analyzed screening interviews from a convenience sample of patients with HIV and chronic pain. The researchers collected and assessed self-reported information on various factors, such as opioid analgesic use and illicit drug use within the past 30 days. Patients’ current treatments for drug use and HIV were also analyzed.
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Results showed that nearly half of patients had been currently using prescription opioid analgesics (n=372, 47.1%), and an even greater number of patients also engaged in illicit drug use (n=505, 63.9%). The most commonly used illicit substance was cannabis (n=311, 39.4%).

Ultimately, based on findings from multivariate analyses, the researchers found that cannabis use was significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of prescription opioid analgesic use (adjusted odds ratio 0.57).

“Our data suggest that new medical cannabis legislation might reduce the need for opioid analgesics for pain management, which could help to address adverse events associated with opioid analgesic use,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Sohler NL, Starrels JL, Khalid L, et al. Cannabis use is associated with lower odds of prescription opioid analgesic use among HIV-infected individuals with chronic pain [Published online January 17, 2018]. Subst Use Misuse. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1416408.