Development of cannabis use disorder in medical cannabis users: A 9-month follow-up of a randomized clinical trial testing effects of medical cannabis card ownership.

Background: Evidence for long-term effectiveness of commercial cannabis products used to treat medical symptoms is inconsistent, despite increasingly widespread use.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the effects of using cannabis on self-reported symptoms of pain, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and cannabis use disorder (CUD) after 12 months of use.

Methods: This observational cohort study describes outcomes over 9 months following a 12-week randomized, waitlist-controlled trial (RCT: NCT) in which adults ( = 163) who wished to use cannabis to alleviate insomnia, pain, depression, or anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to obtain a medical marijuana card immediately (immediate card acquisition group) or to delay obtaining a card for 12 weeks delay (delayed card acquisition group).

Randomised, pragmatic, waitlist controlled trial of cannabis added to prescription opioid support on opioid dose reduction and pain in adults with chronic non-cancer pain: study protocol.

Introduction: Chronic, non-cancer pain impacts approximately 50 million adults in the USA (20%), approximately 25% of whom receive chronic prescription opioids for pain despite limited empirical efficacy data and strong dose-related risk for opioid use disorder and opioid overdose. Also despite lack of efficacy data, there are many reports of people using cannabis products to manage chronic pain and replace or reduce chronic opioids. Here we describe the protocol for a randomised trial of the effect of cannabis, when added to a behavioural pain management and prescription opioid taper support programme, on opioid utilisation, pain intensity and pain interference.