3-22-2025 12:20pm

Study Shows 40% of Veterans In Chronic Pain Use Cannabis

Information released from a new study titled
Natural Product Use for Chronic Pain: A New Survey of Patterns of Use, Beliefs, Concerns, and Disclosure to Providers based on similar surveys and input from veteran focus groups and subject matter experts, a new brief NP survey was developed for this most recent research on Veterans in chronic pain and cannabis use. The survey was piloted among 52 veterans with chronic pain enrolled in Veterans Health Administration (VA) primary care who endorsed NP use at baseline in a pragmatic trial comparing non-drug pain management approaches.

Most of the veterans surveyed said they use cannabis to deal with pain, mobility and sleep issues, while substantial numbers of veterans also say it helps with PTSD, anxiety and stress. Nearly all participants (98 percent) said healthcare providers should discuss the use of natural products with their patients.

Cannabis and its components including both CBD and THC dominant varieties was the third most common natural product in the survey after vitamin D and multivitamins, the study found.

“Of the 21 (40%) reporting using cannabis products for all indications, most reported using products that had a mix of cannabidiol (CBD, without the psychoactive component) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis),” the report says. “Indications for cannabis among those reporting use were pain or mobility (81%), sleep (62%), PTSD or anxiety (43%), stress (43%), and depression (29%).”

Authors from the University of California, San Francisco, and Yale University noted that the percentage of respondents reporting cannabis use “may represent under-reporting related to the prohibition on cannabis prescribing in the VA as a federal health care system.”

Notably, only about half of respondents overall said they’d discussed natural product use with their healthcare providers. Authors noted, however, that “clinicians and pharmacists generally lack knowledge about NPs, which explains why they may avoid discussions about NPs with their patients.”

The research team also noted that although most natural products are “generally considered safe, some may be mislabeled, contain adulterants, have side-effects or drug/NP interactions, especially in patients (or veterans) with comorbidities prescribed multiple medications.”

The study, which was first noted by the advocacy group NORML, comes amid ongoing efforts by activists and stakeholders to protect veterans’ access to marijuana.

At a joint hearing earlier this month, for example, two veterans service organizations submitted testimony voicing support for expanded access to plant-based medicines, including marijuana and psychedelics as reported by Marijuana Moment.

Research published in 2023 found that more than 90 percent of U.S. military veterans who use medical marijuana reported that it improved their quality of life, with many using cannabis as an alternative to over-the-counter and prescription medications.