Can marijuana use make injuries more painful?
- Scientists analyzed information from approximately 260 patients who were injured as a result of a traffic accident.
- It was proven that people who used marijuana regularly or recreationally suffered from greater pain and their recovery was more complicated.
Marijuana use can affect how much pain a person experiences and the dosage of pain medication needed for traumatic injuries, such as those from a car accident.
Study
The study found that after traumatic injury, marijuana users reported higher levels of pain and needed higher doses of pain opiates compared to patients who did not use marijuana.
Researchers emphasized that the findings are preliminary and more studies are needed to confirm the results. But if the results are confirmed, the study could be used in pain treatment for marijuana users – a population that may grow due to increased legalization of this drug, researchers claim.
The findings suggest that "marijuana users deserve special attention when selecting the dosage and frequency of narcotics," said study lead Kristin Salottolo, a clinical epidemiologist in the trauma research department at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado.
The study was published on June 19 in the journal Safety of Patients in Surgery
Marijuana and Pain
Researchers began the study after treating trauma patients in Colorado who commonly used marijuana and were found to poorly tolerate pain and require higher than normal amounts of narcotics," Salottolo told Live Science. "We wanted to find out if this assumption was true."
Scientists from the study analyzed information from approximately 260 people who were involved in a traffic accident and admitted to trauma centers in Colorado and Texas between January and April 2016.
Of these patients, 21% (54 patients) reported marijuana use recently or tested positive for drugs, and 6% (16 patients) reported using cannabis daily or almost daily. Marijuana use was reported 4 times more frequently in Colorado, where the drug is legal for medical and recreational purposes, compared to Texas, where marijuana is illegal for any purpose.
About 9% of participants tested positive for prescription drugs or "street" drugs, including amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates.
Patients who used marijuana, but not other drugs, consumed an average of 7.6 milligrams of opioid medications, compared to 5.6 milligrams for patients who did not use marijuana or other drugs.
Moreover, when asked to report their pain level on a scale from 0 to 10 (with 0 being the lowest pain and 10 being the worst), marijuana users had an average daily pain score of 4.9 compared to non-marijuana users who had 4.2.
These effects were less pronounced in patients who used other drugs or medications in addition to cannabis, the study found.
More Awareness
Dr. Anne Wagner, medical director of UCHealth Burn Center in Aurora, Colorado, who was not involved in the study, agreed with the findings. Wagner and her colleagues also conducted research on burn patients after discovering that those who are dependent marijuana users require much higher doses of opiates compared to patients who do not use marijuana.
"Using higher doses of pain medication can lead to a number of other problems – for example, it means that marijuana users often end up with longer hospitalizations than non-users. We want to avoid massive doses of narcotics for non-users," Wagner told Live Science. "Additionally, marijuana users may experience nausea or vomiting, which can interfere with proper nutrition and recovery," Wagner added.
The findings may initially be surprising, as some studies suggest that marijuana use can relieve certain types of pain, such as chronic pain. However, Wagner noted that marijuana is a solution only if patients use it legally as a medication. At the federal level, it remains illegal, and hospitals usually cannot allow it to patients.
Wagner said more studies are needed to determine how to better treat trauma patients who are marijuana users, including whether a drug called dronabinol, which contains a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can help alleviate symptoms in dependent patients and at what dosages it works best.
She also adds that greater awareness is needed about the potential effects of marijuana on trauma patients. "I think many people think marijuana is harmless. I don't think they realize... how much it affects their recovery."
The researchers noted that their findings are significantly limited because the study was relatively small and retrospective, meaning it analyzed data previously collected. Scientists plan a more extensive study examining the relationship between marijuana use, pain, and opiate use in trauma patients.
Sources:
Rettner, Rachael. "Could Marijuana Use Make Injuries More Painful?" LiveScience, Purch, 19 June 2018, www.livescience.com/62851-marijuana-trauma-injury-recovery.html.
Author:
Rachael Rettner