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Opioid Initiation in Older Patients with Chronic Pain Who Received Authorized Cannabis Prescription.

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Title: Opioid Initiation in Older Patients with Chronic Pain Who Received Authorized Cannabis Prescription.
Authors: Fontaine, Emilie (AUTHOR), El-Mourad, Jihane (AUTHOR), Dubois, Cerina (AUTHOR), Eurich, Dean T. (AUTHOR), Dyck, Jason R. B. (AUTHOR), Hanlon, John G. (AUTHOR), Zongo, Arsene (AUTHOR)
Source: Substance Use & Misuse. 2026, Vol. 61 Issue 6, p918-929. 12p.
Subjects: Poisson distribution, Chronic pain, Research funding, Logistic regression analysis, Probability theory, Retrospective studies, Descriptive statistics, Inhalation administration, Longitudinal method, Opioid analgesics, Medical records, Acquisition of data, Electronic health records, Drugs, Data analysis software, Confidence intervals, Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics), Old age
Geographic Terms: Ontario
Abstract: Background: Cannabis is being increasingly used to treat chronic pain, with studies suggesting that concurrent use with opioids may reduce the need for opioid medications. However, specific to opioid-naïve patients, the effects of cannabis exposure on opioid initiation are not well known. Objective: To assess the association between the authorized prescription of cannabis and opioid initiation in older patients with chronic pain. Study design: We conducted a cohort study of Ontario patients aged 66 years and older with chronic pain, without a dispensation of opioids in the past year. Patients who received an authorized prescription of cannabis between 2014 and 2019 were compared with population-based controls. Clinical data combined with Ontario medical administrative data were used to conduct the analyses. The study outcome was defined as opioid dispensations covering ≥90 days in the year following the authorized prescription of cannabis. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to minimize confounding, and weighted Poisson regressions were used to calculate risk ratios. Results: In total, 3427 exposed patients and 12006 controls were included. The rates of the outcome (i.e., initiating opioid covering ≥90 days) were 1.84 and 1.19/100 person-years, respectively, in the exposed and the controls. The adjusted risk ratio (RR) was 1.54 (95% CI: 1.07–2.23). The risk was significant in male patients (RR: 1.82 (1.09–3.04)) and non-significant in females (RR: 1.35 (0.84–2.17). Conclusion: Results suggest that opioid-naïve older patients with chronic pain, initiating medical cannabis, were at higher risk of opioid initiation in the year following cannabis prescription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Substance Use & Misuse is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Opioid Initiation in Older Patients with Chronic Pain Who Received Authorized Cannabis Prescription.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fontaine%2C+Emilie%22">Fontaine, Emilie</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22El-Mourad%2C+Jihane%22">El-Mourad, Jihane</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dubois%2C+Cerina%22">Dubois, Cerina</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Eurich%2C+Dean+T%2E%22">Eurich, Dean T.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dyck%2C+Jason+R%2E+B%2E%22">Dyck, Jason R. B.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hanlon%2C+John+G%2E%22">Hanlon, John G.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zongo%2C+Arsene%22">Zongo, Arsene</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Substance+Use+%26+Misuse%22">Substance Use & Misuse</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 61 Issue 6, p918-929. 12p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Poisson+distribution%22">Poisson distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chronic+pain%22">Chronic pain</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Logistic+regression+analysis%22">Logistic regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Probability+theory%22">Probability theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Retrospective+studies%22">Retrospective studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inhalation+administration%22">Inhalation administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+method%22">Longitudinal method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Opioid+analgesics%22">Opioid analgesics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+records%22">Medical records</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acquisition+of+data%22">Acquisition of data</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electronic+health+records%22">Electronic health records</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Drugs%22">Drugs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sensitivity+%26+specificity+%28Statistics%29%22">Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Old+age%22">Old age</searchLink>
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  Data: Background: Cannabis is being increasingly used to treat chronic pain, with studies suggesting that concurrent use with opioids may reduce the need for opioid medications. However, specific to opioid-naïve patients, the effects of cannabis exposure on opioid initiation are not well known. Objective: To assess the association between the authorized prescription of cannabis and opioid initiation in older patients with chronic pain. Study design: We conducted a cohort study of Ontario patients aged 66 years and older with chronic pain, without a dispensation of opioids in the past year. Patients who received an authorized prescription of cannabis between 2014 and 2019 were compared with population-based controls. Clinical data combined with Ontario medical administrative data were used to conduct the analyses. The study outcome was defined as opioid dispensations covering ≥90 days in the year following the authorized prescription of cannabis. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to minimize confounding, and weighted Poisson regressions were used to calculate risk ratios. Results: In total, 3427 exposed patients and 12006 controls were included. The rates of the outcome (i.e., initiating opioid covering ≥90 days) were 1.84 and 1.19/100 person-years, respectively, in the exposed and the controls. The adjusted risk ratio (RR) was 1.54 (95% CI: 1.07–2.23). The risk was significant in male patients (RR: 1.82 (1.09–3.04)) and non-significant in females (RR: 1.35 (0.84–2.17). Conclusion: Results suggest that opioid-naïve older patients with chronic pain, initiating medical cannabis, were at higher risk of opioid initiation in the year following cannabis prescription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Substance Use & Misuse is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=192656636
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/10826084.2025.2586250
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 918
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Poisson distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chronic pain
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Logistic regression analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Probability theory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Retrospective studies
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      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Inhalation administration
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      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal method
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      – SubjectFull: Opioid analgesics
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      – SubjectFull: Old age
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      – SubjectFull: Ontario
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      – TitleFull: Opioid Initiation in Older Patients with Chronic Pain Who Received Authorized Cannabis Prescription.
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              Text: 2026
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