Loading study record…
Medical Cannabis is very safe and a viable option for pain relief to improve patients and their family's quality of life. However, medical cannabis is not covered by insurance and is an out of pocket expense. This has been a barrier to some patients trying medical cannabis as an alternative. Recruitment and inclusion/exclusion criteria: Potential participants will be recruited from an outpatient chronic pain clinic. 40 patients who have agreed to attempt wean down on opioid medication and have a diagnosis which qualifies them for medical marijuana will be selected for the study. In these selected patients, cost of the treatment was the main barrier for starting medical cannabis. Each participant will undergo a urine drug screen, a pain assessment using the visual analog scale and pain quality will be assessed using the Short Form-36 health related quality, prior to receiving medical cannabis. Each patient will have an individualized plan for weaning off their opioids which is their standard care plan. The patient will go to the select medical cannabis dispensary. The patient will be followed up monthly for five months by physician and will assess the patient's pain levels and Medical Cannabis doses and opioid doses monthly. The investigators will also note the patient side effects, tolerance and any decrease in symptoms. At five months the physician will recheck a urine drug screen, current pain level and readminister the Short form-36 health related quality. The Medical Cannabis doses and strains will be noted.
Locally preserved from ClinicalTrials.govOpen ClinicalTrials.govlast source update 2026-05-20
What this record can show
Results are reported by the registry submitter and preserved exactly. They are not independent verification or a treatment recommendation.
Registry facts
Opioid use for pain has increased drastically over last decade with disastrous results that lead to an epidemic of overdoses and deaths in the United States. Philadelphia has been described as "ground zero" in the opiate epidemic of overdoses and deaths in the United States. Some initial clinical experience shows that medical marijuana can potentially assist patients suffering from certain serious medical conditions by alleviating pain and improving quality of life, allowing them to discontinue opiates. Medical Cannabis is very safe and a viable option for pain relief to improve patients and their family's quality of life. The medical marijuana law in Pennsylvania was passed in 2016 with the hope that this might alleviate the opiate crisis. The opioid death rate in Pennsylvania was 37.9 per 100,000 people. However, medical cannabis is not covered by insurance and is an out of pocket expense. This has been a barrier to some patients trying medical cannabis as an alternative. This can create a disparity in care of chronic pain patients. Methods: Recruitment and inclusion/exclusion criteria: Potential participants will be recruited from an outpatient chronic pain clinic. 40 patients who have agreed to attempt wean down on opioid medication and have a diagnosis which qualifies them for medical marijuana will be selected for the study. In these selected patients cost of the treatment was the main barrier for starting medical cannabis. Each participant will undergo a urine drug screen, a pain assessment using the visual analog scale and pain quality will be assessed using the Short Form-36 health related quality, which measures sensory, affective and evaluative dimensions of pain prior to receiving medical cannabis and then at 5 months. Each patient will be evaluated by a physician who is certified to evaluate patients for Medical Cannabis. If the patient qualifies for Medical Cannabis the next step is for the patient to register on the state of Pennsylvania medical marijuana website. Medical conditions that qualify patient in the states of Pennsylvania for medical marijuana are Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Cancer, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, Neurodegenerative diseases, neuropathies, chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin. After the patient registers the physician will also certify them on the website. After the patients are certified they will apply for medical marijuana card. Once the patient receives a medical marijuana card the patient will start an opioid weaning plan. Each patient will have an individualized plan for weaning off their opioids which is their standard care plan. The patient will go to the select medical cannabis dispensary and will be able to choose their medical cannabis product. The Curaleaf medical cannabis dispensary will have a list of patients and participants will be able to choose from the cannabis products. The patient will be followed up monthly for five months by physician and will assess the patient's pain levels and Medical Cannabis doses and opioid doses monthly. The investigators will also note the patient side effects, tolerance and any decrease in symptoms. At five months the physician will recheck a urine drug screen, current pain level and readminister the Short form-36 health related quality. The Medical Cannabis doses and strains will be noted.
Linked local records
Local links use governed condition terms or exact source-reported intervention names. They are navigation candidates, not efficacy claims.
Interventions
We will monitor patient response to medical marijuana as opioid alternative. This will be given to patient who otherwise could not get intervention secondary to cost. We want to show that medical marijuana is a safer alternative to opioids in this population of patients
Medical cannabisSource-reported results
Results are reported by the registry submitter and preserved exactly. They are not independent verification or a treatment recommendation.
The Numeric Rating Scale is measured from Zero which is equivalent to no pain to 10 which indicates the worst possible pain.
| Group | N | Value | Spread / interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic Opioid Pain Patients Were Cost Was Barrier to Trying Medical Marijuana | 29 | -1.5 | -2 to -1.1 |
Total daily opioid dose was converted to Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) using standard opioid conversion tables. The value reported represents the mean change in daily MME from baseline to 5 months. Negative values indicate a reduction in opioid use.
| Group | N | Value | Spread / interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic Opioid Pain Patients Were Cost Was Barrier to Trying Medical Marijuana | 29 | -30.6 | -33 to -17 |
| Milestone | Chronic Opioid Pain Patients Were Cost Was Barrier to Trying Medical Marijuana |
|---|---|
| STARTED | 29 |
| COMPLETED | 29 |
| NOT COMPLETED | 0 |
Eligibility
Chronic pain patient on long term opioids who failed to wean off in the past. Patients have no contraindication to medical cannabis and qualify to try as an alternative to opioids.
primary outcomes
Time frame: From enrollment monthly until the end of treatment at 5 months
The Numeric Rating Scale is measured from Zero which is equivalent to no pain to 10 which indicates the worst possible pain.
Time frame: From Baseline to 5 months
Total daily opioid dose was converted to Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) using standard opioid conversion tables. The value reported represents the mean change in daily MME from baseline to 5 months. Negative values indicate a reduction in opioid use.
Publications
No exact PMID-linked public article is currently readable locally.