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Healthcare providers want to learn more about how cannabis can be used to treat chronic pain, new research shows, as a growing number of people turn to the drug for relief.
The study, from Rutgers Health and other institutions, surveyed more than 1,600 people with chronic pain and 1,000 physicians in states with medical cannabis programs. Researchers found 71% of patients and 50% of physicians supported federal legalization of medical cannabis.
“Whether or not the evidence is there, people are using cannabis for chronic pain,” said Elizabeth Stone, a faculty member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and lead author of the study. “So, with this survey, we wanted to see where providers were at with that interest. The main takeaway for us is this need for education.”