OBJECTIVES

: With the legalization movement of marijuana (MJ) across the country, cancer patients are shifting from opioids to MJ for pain management. However, limited data exists on the prevalence, utilization, and characteristics of cancer patients using MJ users compared to opioids. The aim of this study was to compare and analyze the trends and characteristics of cancer patients using MJ and opioids in the United States.

METHODS

: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007 to 2016 datafiles. Self-reported marijuana and opioid use was used to identify the study population. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were used to explore the differences in the characteristics of cancer patients. ICD codes were used to identify opioid prescriptions. Cancer patients were classified based on the type of cancer.

RESULTS

: Out of 2,023 study participants, 1,267 self-reported the use of MJ and 107 used opioids among cancer patients. In addition, 75% of opioid users also used MJ. The majority of cancer types were cervical (20%), breast (14%), and skin (12%). The use of MJ and opioids increased with the increase in age (4%-54% vs 7%-44%, respectively). Of opioid and MJ users, 71% and 67% were women, respectively. Based on race, Whites accounted for 71% of opioid and MJ users. Among and opioid users, people with college degree had the lowest use rates. In terms of trend over time, both opioid and MJ use were fluctuating. However, the use of MJ significantly increased from 2007-2016.

CONCLUSIONS

: The results of this study can inform medical marijuana prescribing behavior. Although, cancer patients’ characteristics varied between marijuana and opioid users, the majority of opioid users were MJ users as well. Further analysis using non self-reported data, larger sample size, or different dataset is needed to better identify the differences between MJ and opioid users.