Management of chronic pain is one of the most common reasons for seeking marijuana (cannabis) medicine. However little is known regarding the effects of combining marijuana and prescription pain medicines on the potential for more serious alcohol and other substance involvement.
This article collected data on 273 participants in southwestern Michigan with comparisons on socio-demographics, reason for substance use, pain, functioning, and perceptions of prescription pain medication and marijuana effectiveness.
Prescription users tended to be older with higher levels of pain and lower levels of functioning. Approximately 40% reported combining marijuana with alcohol, but no significant difference was seen between prescription pain medication users and non users.
Combining prescription pain medication and marijuana was not identified as a correlate for more serious forms of alcohol and other drug involvement. Interestingly, prescription pain medication users rated the effectiveness of marijuana as better than prescriptions and displayed a strong desire to reduce prescription usage.
