Département des sciences de la santé, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda.
Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal.
Clin J Pain. 2024 Nov 1;40(11):635-645. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000001241.
Cannabis is used by one-third of people living with chronic pain to alleviate their symptoms despite warnings from several organizations regarding its efficacy and safety. We currently know little about self-medication practices (use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes without guidance), mainly since the legalization of recreational cannabis in countries such as Canada has expanded the scope of this phenomenon. This study aimed to describe legal cannabis self-medication for pain relief in people living with chronic pain and to explore perceptions of the effectiveness and safety of cannabis.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed among 73 individuals living with chronic pain and using cannabis (Quebec, Canada). Data collection using telephone interviews occurred in early 2023.
Results indicated that 61.6% of participants reported using cannabis without the guidance of a health care professional (self-medication). Surprisingly, among those, 40.0% held a medical authorization. Overall, 20.6% of study participants were using both medical and legal nonmedical cannabis. Different pathways to self-medication were revealed. Proportion of women versus men participants self-medicating were 58.2% versus 70.6% ( P =0.284). In terms of perceptions, 90.4% of the sample perceived cannabis to be effective for pain management; 72.6% estimated that it posed no or minimal health risk.
Cannabis research is often organized around medical versus nonmedical cannabis but in the real-world, those 2 vessels are connected. Interested parties, including researchers, health care professionals, and funding agencies, need to consider this. Patients using cannabis feel confident in the safety of cannabis, and many of them self-medicate, which calls for action.
尽管有几个组织警告大麻的疗效和安全性，但仍有三分之一的慢性疼痛患者使用大麻来缓解症状。我们目前对自我用药（未经指导使用大麻用于治疗目的）的做法知之甚少，主要是因为加拿大等国家娱乐用大麻合法化扩大了这种现象的范围。本研究旨在描述慢性疼痛患者为缓解疼痛而合法使用大麻，并探讨对大麻疗效和安全性的看法。
2023 年初，在魁北克省（加拿大）使用大麻的 73 名慢性疼痛患者中进行了一项横断面描述性研究。通过电话访谈进行数据收集。
结果表明，61.6%的参与者报告在没有医疗保健专业人员指导的情况下使用大麻（自我用药）。令人惊讶的是，其中 40.0%的人持有医疗授权。总体而言，20.6%的研究参与者同时使用医用和合法非医用大麻。揭示了不同的自我用药途径。自我用药的女性参与者与男性参与者的比例分别为 58.2%和 70.6%（P=0.284）。就看法而言，90.4%的样本认为大麻对疼痛管理有效；72.6%的人估计它没有或几乎没有健康风险。
大麻研究通常围绕医用大麻和非医用大麻组织，但在现实世界中，这两者是相互关联的。包括研究人员、医疗保健专业人员和资助机构在内的利益相关者都需要考虑这一点。使用大麻的患者对大麻的安全性有信心，他们中的许多人自我用药，这需要采取行动。
