Check out Higher Learning LV's new Cannabis for Cancer Hub, which offers convenient access to our collection of no-cost Study Summaries and Deep Dives about how cannabis/hemp/marijuana may help some cancer patients.
Cannabis & Codeine
A September 2022 study entitled "The Association Between Cannabis & Codeine Use: A Nationally Representative Cross-sectional Study in Canada" that was published in the Journal of Cannabis Research evaluated "the association between the use of cannabis and codeine."
Cannabis & Codeine Study
Cannabis & Codeine. The design of the research was that of a "cross-sectional study using data from the nationally representative Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (2017)." This survey involved 15,459 respondents (62 percent of whom were male), 3,338 of whom "reported cannabis use within the past year." Thirty-six percent of these cannabis users (955 participants) self-reported that their use was for medical purposes.
"The combined use of opioids and cannabis may benefit chronic non-cancer pain patients due to the fact that marijuana may enhance the pain-relieving powers of opioids."
"Approximately one out of four Canadians aged 15 years and older live with non-cancer chronic pain, a condition for which people may use opioid therapy for adequate pain relief," reported the study. The researchers noted that the chronic use of opioids "warrants caution" due to the risk of negative side effects, including "constipation, hyperalgesia, and the potential for developing an opioid addiction, which may result in the occurrence of an overdose."
The study reported that the combined use of opioids and cannabis may benefit chronic non-cancer pain patients due to the fact that marijuana may enhance the pain-relieving powers of opioids, "thereby decreasing daily opioid intake and risk of opioid-related harm." The research noted that cannabis is being actively explored for treatment of two common disorders: Chronic pain and opioid dependence.
Cannabis & Codeine Study Results
Cannabis & Codeine. The study noted that 22 percent of Canadians reported that they had used cannabis in 2017. Of these, slightly more than one-third (36 percent) employed cannabis "for medical purposes."
The research observed many characteristics and dynamics between cannabis and opioid users. Interestingly, it found "people who used cannabis for medical purposes to be three times more likely to also report codeine use."
"People who used cannabis for medical purposes are three times more likely to also report codeine use."
Likewise, the study found that opioid users were more likely to self-report cannabis use. It found that those who use cannabis at least weekly "was greater among individuals who reported use of codeine (55 percent), in comparison with those who did not report use of codeine (36 percent)."
The research reported that its findings also found that those who report "very good/excellent perceived general health" were less likely to use codeine compared to those who reported their perception of their health to be "fair/poor."
Cannabis & Codeine Study Conclusions
The study's authors declared that their data "adds to the existing body of literature by highlighting the strong positive association between the use of cannabis and codeine, two substances which are widely accessible to patients without prescription and/or healthcare professional supervision."
Those who have used cannabis to treat non-cancer pain are 72% more likely to report use of "codeine-containing products."
They concluded that those who have used cannabis to treat non-cancer pain are 72 percent more likely to report use of "codeine-containing products."
View the original study.
Did you enjoy Understanding Cannabis & Codeine? Are you a cannabis industry professional? Check out Higher Learning LV's Deep Dive Subscription that features dozens of long-form articles based on the latest peer-reviewed scientific research. Priced to accommodate personal and enterprise training budgets.