Does CBD work well for easing chronic, arthritis, and other kinds of pain? In a recent study, online cannabis industry news outlet American Marijuana looked at 1,453 Americans who use CBD for pain relief – 966 regular users and 485 non-regular users – to see how well it performed compared to opioids. Specifically, it looked at its effectiveness, advantages, potential downsides, and practitioner’s perception towards the application of CBD for pain relief.

How is CBD Used in Pain Management?

• 60% of CBD consumers use it to treat Chronic pain, followed by Migraine pain (34%), Arthritis pain (28%), and Cancer treatment pain (3%).
• Smoking/Vaping is the most common CBD administration method with 41%, followed by Topical (32%), Tincture/Oil (31%), Edibles (27%), Capsules (26%), Sublingual (9%).
• 55% of participants don’t use THC for pain relief.

CBD Efficiency in Pain Relief

• 53% CBD consumers use it as their ONLY pain relief medication.
• 32% don’t feel any tolerance to CBD despite long-time consumption.
• 44% NEVER experience any side effects.

CBD vs. OPIOIDS

Among 259 participants who regularly used opioids before CBD, opioids usage changes after using CBD – 97% use fewer opioids after using CBD. Among them:

• 15% entirely quit opioids to use ONLY CBD for pain relief.
• 70% have tried other medications to replace opioids but ending up relying mostly on CBD to treat pain.

Opioids Withdrawal Symptoms after Using CBD

• 73% said that their opioid withdrawal symptoms eased after they used CBD. Half of them believe it thanks to CBD effects.
• Only 3% didn’t see opioids withdrawal symptoms relieved after using CBD.​

Can CBD Replace Opioids?

• 84% believe CBD can replace opioids. According to those supporting CBD as an alternative to opioids, the two biggest advantages of CBD compared to opioids are:
• CBD has fewer/less dangerous side effects (36%).
• CBD is not addictive (35%).

Perception of Practitioners on CBD for Pain Relief

• 44% of CBD consumers’ practitioner support using CBD for pain relief while only 9% are against it.
• Surprisingly, 31% of CBD consumers don’t tell their practitioners about their CBD use for pain.

Blake is editor-in-chief at AmericanMarijuana.org. For more information, interactive graphics and access to the full study, visit: https://americanmarijuana.org/cbd-for-pain-survey/.