A peer-reviewed study by researchers at Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) finds that medical cannabis is associated with meaningful improvements in life enjoyment, general activity, and physical wellbeing among chronic pain patients.
Published in Clinical Therapeutics, the study analyzed data from more than 6,000 chronic pain patients enrolled in Minnesota's medical marijuana program between March 2022 and February 2023. Conducted by OCM's Division of Data and Analytics, it focused on patients who participated for at least eight months, measuring outcomes using PEG scores—a standardized measure of pain, enjoyment of life, and general activity. It is a more narrowly tailored follow-up to a broader OCM report published last year.
Among patients with moderate-to-severe PEG scores at enrollment, 55 percent reported at least a 30 percent improvement in life enjoyment within four months of their first purchase. Another 55 percent reported reduced interference with general activity, and 41 percent reported lower pain scores.
The study also examined product preferences. High THC:CBD products were the most commonly purchased across all medical cannabis product categories, with flower the most popular type, followed by vapes and edibles. After adjusting for transaction volume, however, researchers found "there was no significant difference in reduction of PEG scores between purchasing profiles."
"Future research on medical cannabis should determine the frequency of use of different products and administration methods to further investigate how cannabis can be used for effective pain management in patients with chronic pain," the study found.
The broader OCM report released last year showed that nearly a quarter of patients taking other pain relievers reduced their use of those drugs after starting medical cannabis—consistent with research suggesting a substitution effect between marijuana and conventional painkillers.
Separately, Minnesota state data released in April showed that cannabis use among middle and high school students is now lower than at any point in the past decade, countering claims by legalization opponents that adult-use legalization would drive up teen consumption.
