Numerous studies conducted over the last 8-10 years have consistently shown that chronic pain is the most commonly cited medical condition treated with medical cannabis. As such, we have gotten used to the idea that medical cannabis is mostly a pain treatment. But there are other qualifying conditions for which it is used. Medical cannabis is more than just a pain treatment.

A recently published study conducted by Leafwell, in partnership with Duke University and the University of San Diego, reveals some interesting things about medical cannabis consumption. Chronic pain, PTSD, and anxiety still top the list of qualifying conditions patients list on their medical cannabis card applications. But the study also shows a surprising prevalence of co-occurring conditions.

Patients Across 32 states

To conduct their study, researchers looked at anonymized data taken from the Leafwell platform. The data pertained to more than 81,000 patients scattered across 32 states. To me, that represents a pretty clear cross-section of medical cannabis users nationwide.

The most surprising statistic from the study is that 58.6% of the patient’s report using medical cannabis to treat more than one condition. Co-occurring conditions include the previously mentioned pain, PTSD, and anxiety. But they also include things like insomnia, muscle spasms, multiple sclerosis, and even cancer.

Not surprising was the fact that the majority of patients reporting co-occurring conditions reported pain, PTSD, or insomnia. Some patients reported two or more of the top three conditions as co-occurring.

Treatments Can Be Tricky

So, what can we take away from this? For starters, treating co-occurring conditions can be tricky even outside of the medical cannabis environment. Take a patient being treated for both depression and substance abuse. Doctors need to consider whether one condition leads to the other. And if not, they need to understand how each of the conditions affects the other.

Sometimes treating one co-occurring condition ends up having a positive impact on the other condition. But other times, the two conditions need to be treated separately. It is a balancing act in so many cases.

The same could probably be said about treating co-occurring conditions with medical cannabis. Consider a chronic pain patient who is also suffering from insomnia. It’s quite possible that the insomnia is a direct result of chronic pain that prevents the patient from getting comfortable in bed. By managing his pain, a doctor ultimately helps him sleep better.

On the other hand, you might have a patient who needs treatment for both PTSD and cancer pain. The two are completely unrelated from a medical perspective. Both would typically be treated separately. But medical cannabis might be the perfect dual treatment that addresses both conditions simultaneously.

Pain Is Still the Big One

Although more than half of all medical cannabis patients report co-occurring conditions, pain is still the ‘big one’ listed on most medical cannabis card applications. That’s certainly the case in Utah, where Beehive Farmacy operates two pharmacy locations in Salt Lake City and Brigham City.

The medical marijuana pharmacy Beehive Farmacy personnel say that nearly 85% of the medical cannabis patients in Utah cite chronic pain as their qualifying condition. PTSD is the second most common condition. Small numbers of Utah patients also cite cancer, nausea, and seizure disorders.

The data makes it clear that medical cannabis is not recommended exclusively for pain. More than a dozen other medical conditions are candidates for cannabis treatment. Should we be surprised that so many patients report co-occurring conditions? Probably not. Taken at face value, such reports suggest that we probably don’t know as much about medical cannabis as we think we know.