Chronic Pain and Cannabis Use Frequency, Intensity, and Severity in Young Adults

Abstract

Background

Cannabis use is common among young adults and is associated with many physical and mental health problems. Persons with chronic pain may be particularly susceptible to using cannabis at high rates, including for analgesic purposes, thus exposing themselves to greater risk of cannabis-related problems. However, little research has examined connections between chronic pain and cannabis use in the young adult population.

Materials and Methods

Participants were young adults from the community who were recruited for a larger health behaviors study. The present sample included 403 persons from this larger sample who reported cannabis use in the past 90 days. Participants completed measures of demographic characteristics, cannabis and alcohol use, and chronic pain.

Results

This young adult sample reported using cannabis on an average of 47.1 of the past 90 days, and 20.1% reported chronic pain. Chronic pain was associated with greater cannabis use frequency (IRR = 1.35, 95%CI 1.15; 1.57, p < 0.001), intensity (IRR = 1.61, 95%CI 1.18; 2.21, p = 0.003), and negative consequences (IRR = 1.23, 95%CI 1.02; 1.48, p < 0.030).

Discussion

In this sample of young adults who use cannabis, chronic pain was significantly associated with frequent, intense cannabis use, as well as more cannabis-related negative consequences. These findings suggest that chronic pain may be a marker for a particularly high-risk pattern of cannabis use in this age group, thus identifying an especially vulnerable subset of young adults who may require heightened research and clinical attention.

Keywords:

• Chronic pain
• cannabis use
• young adults

Disclosure statement

Dr. Stein received compensation from Alkermes, Inc., for reviewing grants for the Young Investigator Research Program. No other authors have conflicts to declare.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare there is no Conflict of Interest in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [R01 AA020509]. NIAAA had no involvement in the study design, the collection, analysis or interpretation of data, the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the article for publication.