Most Pain Patients And Doctors Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana And Having Insurance Companies Cover The Cost, AMA Study Shows

A majority of patients with chronic pain and doctors who treat the condition support federally legalizing marijuana for medical use and having insurance companies cover the costs, according to a new federally funded study from the American Medical Association (AMA). Patients also widely support broader adult-use cannabis legalization.

The research letter, published in JAMA Network Open last week, found that 71 percent of chronic pain patients and 59 percent of physicians are in favor of nationally legalizing medical cannabis.

When it comes to adult-use legalization, there’s more of a divide. While 55 percent of chronic pain patients back recreational legalization, 38 percent of doctors said the same.

There was shared majority support for having insurance companies cover medical marijuana, however, with 64 percent of chronic pain patients and 51 percent of physicians on board with that policy change.

Just over half of patients said states with medical cannabis programs should subsidize access to medical cannabis for low-income people, while 31 percent of doctors agreed.

“Cannabis is unique in terms of the complicated policy landscape,” Elizabeth Stone, the lead author of the study at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, said. “Depending on what state you’re in, it could be that medical cannabis is legal, it could be that medical and recreational use are legal, it could be that neither is legal, but some things are decriminalized.”

“Overall, people with chronic pain were more supportive of the policies that would expand access to medical cannabis, and providers were more supportive of the policies that would restrict access to medical cannabis,” she said.

Additionally, about 70 percent of respondents—patients and physicians—said they feel medical schools should require training on cannabis treatment for non-cancer pain.

“I think it points to the need for future guidance around cannabis use and efficacy,” Stone said. “Is it something they should be recommending? If so, are there different considerations for types of products or modes of use or concentration?”

“Currently, there are limitations on the research that can be done on cannabis,” she said. “Opening up those avenues would likely lead to better understanding.”

The research paper says that “people who used cannabis for chronic pain were most in favor of expanding access, while physicians who had not recommended cannabis to people with chronic pain reported the least support.”

The study involved interviews with 1,661 chronic pain patients and 1,000 doctors. It was partly funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

New research in @JAMANetworkOpen from IFH's @elizmstone shows patients w/ chronic pain & those who use cannabis to help the pain are the most supportive of medical cannabis policies, especially compared to physicians. @rutgershealth@RutgersResearchhttps://t.co/QBT0m8R8NJ

— Rutgers Institute for Health (@rutgersifh) October 2, 2024

Meanwhile, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) also recently published a wide-ranging series of scientific reports on marijuana and cancer as part of an effort to better understand “core questions” around patients’ relationship with cannabis—including sourcing, cost, behavioral patterns, patient–provider communications and reasons for use.One of the studies looked specifically at patients who use medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids to treat their cancer-related pain.

Another study published last month found that patients who used medical marijuana for three months improved on a variety of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures, including physical functioning, bodily pain, social functioning, fatigue and general health.

Yet another study last year, published by the American Medical Association, found that the use of medical marijuana was associated with “significant improvements” in quality of life for people with chronic conditions like pain and insomnia—and those effects were “largely sustained” over time.

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