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Characteristics of patients with chronic pain accessing treatment with medical cannabis in Washington State
Journal of Opioid Management, 11/03/09

Aggarwal SK et al. – Of 139 patients, 15 (11%) had prior authorizations for MC before seeking care in this clinic. The sample contained 236.4 patient years of authorized MC use. Time of authorized use ranged from 11 days to 8.31 years (median of 1.12 years). Most patients were male (63%) yet female patients averaged 0.18 years longer authorized use. There were no other gender–specific trends or factors. Most patients (n = 123, 88%) had more than one pain syndrome present. Myofascial pain syndrome was the most common diagnosis (n = 114, 82%), followed by neuropathic pain (n = 89, 64%), discogenic back pain (n = 72, 51.7%), and osteoarthritis (n = 37, 26.6%). Other diagnoses included diabetic neuropathy, central pain syndrome, phantom pain, spinal cord injury, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV neuropathy, visceral pain, and malignant pain. In 51 (37%) patients, there were documented instances of major hurdles related to accessing MC, including prior physicians unwilling to authorize use, legal problems related to MC use, and difficulties in finding an affordable and consistent supply of MC.