The researchers aimed to provide population-based evidence of concurrent use of opioids and cannabis among drug users.
A recently published qualitative study (1) found that cannabis may help reduce opioid use among people who inject drugs. Opioid overdose deaths have increased significantly over the past decade, and access to cannabis has also increased. Yet there is limited clinical evidence on cannabis use among populations of people who use opioids and inject drugs. This study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), aimed to contextualize existing data on the factors associated with concurrent cannabis and opioid use.
To gain more insight into this connection, researchers examined data from interviews conducted individually with 30 participants at two community sites in Los Angeles, California. As noted in the study, California is the state with the longest history of legal cannabis. During the in-person interviews, participants were asked about their cannabis and opioid use.
After collecting responses, the role of cannabis in reducing opioid use was described in three overarching themes (1):
- To remain in the “maintenance state” after discontinuation of opioids
- To treat the symptoms of opioid withdrawal
- Reducing opioid use through low barriers to access to cannabis
In addition, 70% of participants reported earning less than $2,100 in the past 30 days and 56.7% reported being homeless in the past three months.
“These findings support the existing literature on co-use of cannabis and opioids in terms of behavior change among vulnerable populations,” the researchers concluded. “Nevertheless, carefully controlled studies examining these associations between cannabis use, intentions, and patterns of use are needed to determine the value of cannabis for opioid-using PWID. Our data provide an initial foundation for future studies examining these associations among PWID experiencing inequities such as housing insecurity and material deprivation.”
reference
- Ganesh, SS., Gould, EE., Conner, BT., Huh, J., Ceasar, RCC., Bluthenthal, RN. “Smoking weed helps you get over the hump”: Cannabis co-use as a contributor to lower opioid use among drug users in Los Angeles, California. Reports of drug and alcohol addiction. 2024DOI: 10.1016/j.dadr.2024.100257.
