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Disclosing cannabis use in the ER doesn't appear to influence whether patients walk out with an opioid prescription. A study of over 3,000 adults treated for acute pain found no significant difference in opioid prescribing rates between cannabis users and non-users at discharge. The findings suggest clinicians aren't factoring cannabis disclosure into their opioid decisions.
Does telling your ER doctor you use cannabis change what pain meds you get sent home with? According to a new study, not really. Researchers analyzed data from 3,159 adults treated at three Southern California emergency departments between 2021 and 2023 for acute painful conditions — including fractures, low back pain, and minor musculoskeletal injuries. About 16% of patients disclosed cannabis use, and the rest were documented as non-users.
The results showed opioids were prescribed at discharge to 27.6% of cannabis disclosers vs. 31.3% of non-users — a difference that wasn't statistically significant after adjusting for demographics, clinical variables, and other factors. Cannabis disclosure also had no bearing on the total or daily morphine milligram equivalents prescribed among those who did receive opioids.
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Why it matters: As cannabis use becomes more widespread, clinicians and researchers have wondered whether it influences opioid prescribing — either as a substitute or a consideration in pain management. This study suggests it currently does neither, raising questions about whether cannabis use should be more actively factored into discharge pain management decisions.
