Decoding Cannabis: What real patients say about cannabis for chronic pain

Chronic pain affects so many of us here in the UK. 

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is both common and relentless. It's one of the leading reasons people seek long-term medical care, and yet it remains one of the most difficult types of pain to manage effectively.

Over 20 million people in the UK live with an MSK condition - that’s nearly a third of the population. MSK problems now account for around 30% of all GP consultations and are among the most common causes of disability nationwide.

Standard treatments (painkillers, physiotherapy, surgery) can help, but they rarely offer full symptomatic control. For many patients, the side effects of the heavy pharmaceutical options are a burden in themselves - fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues - and, still the pain persists.

While medical cannabis is not a first-line treatment option here in the UK, it is fully legal, and it is already starting to change lives. Not because it's new or exotic, but because it holds the possibility of something potentially more holistically effective.

With legal frameworks evolving and stigma slowly falling away, more patients are beginning to ask a simple question: 

“Can medical cannabis really help with my chronic pain issues?”

Next up in Decoding Cannabis, we turn the microscope to a 2024 Canadian study titled “Understanding the epidemiology and perceived efficacy of cannabis use in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain”.

Real-world patient experiences, captured in data 

This study was carried out at a large orthopaedic clinic in Toronto, Canada. Over a six-month period, researchers surveyed 629 adults living with chronic musculoskeletal pain (defined as muscle, joint, tendon, or bone pain lasting more than three months). What they uncovered isn’t some huge revelation, nor a pure endorsement. But it is definitely worth dissecting. 

Patients were first asked whether they had taken cannabis to manage their pain. If they had, they were then asked how they took it, how effective they found it, and for those who hadn’t tried it, the perceived barriers that exist were queried. 

The survey captured both medical and recreational use, as well as patient-reported outcomes and motivations.

The findings offer a rare window into real-world cannabis use in a clinical pain population. Not through trials or theory, but through the lived experience of those trying to manage day-to-day pain.

Here is what they found…

More patients are turning to cannabis for chronic MSK pain

One of the clearest findings from this study is just how many patients have turned to cannabis to manage their chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, and, how quickly those numbers are rising.

How common is cannabis use for chronic MSK pain?

Out of 629 patients surveyed, 144 (around 23%) reported having taken cannabis at some point specifically for their MSK pain. Nearly three-quarters of those individuals (72%) were actively relying on it at the time of the survey.

This marks a noticeable increase compared to earlier studies, which reported cannabis use rates between 3% and 6% in similar patient populations before medical cannabis was legally available in Canada. 

While those earlier figures may have underrepresented real-world patterns, the contrast suggests that something has clearly shifted, whether in access, attitudes, or both.

Why are more patients turning to medical cannabis?

Cannabis legalisation in Canada in 2018 is likely a major driver. 

Interestingly, a 2019 survey found that nearly one in five Canadians planned to start taking cannabis or increase their cannabis intake following legalisation. A similar trend (while not supported by this exact study) is underway here in the UK right now. The number of medical cannabis patients has increased exponentially over the past 18 months, and that trend continues to strengthen. 

The structure of this particular study may also have contributed to more candid responses. 

Patients completed the survey anonymously, without needing to justify their choices to a clinician. This privacy likely gave a more accurate picture of how many people are actively incorporating cannabis into their pain management strategies.

Taken together, the findings suggest that far more patients in Canada (where recreational cannabis is legal and readily available) are trialling cannabis than clinical records might reflect.

Chronic pain patients in this study turned to cannabis when other treatments failed

Not everyone in the study was turning to cannabis as a first option. In fact, the data suggests the opposite. 

Many of the patients who had incorporated cannabis into their pain management routines had longer, more complex histories of chronic pain. They were more likely to have lived with pain for over five years, to experience it in multiple parts of the body, and to have already tried several classes of medication (often including opioids, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants).

Depression was also more common among this group, as were prior visits to pain specialists. Together, these patterns suggest that cannabis was only entering the picture after other treatments had fallen short.

What makes someone more likely to try cannabis?

The study identified several factors that increased the likelihood of a patient trialling cannabis for their chronic MSK pain. 

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the strongest predictor was a history of recreational cannabis use, which made patients over 12 times more likely to turn to it for therapeutic reasons. 

In Canada, cannabis has historically been viewed through a slightly more permissive and pragmatic lens than in many other developed countries, especially in recent years. Legalisation in 2018 only formalised what was already, for many, a broadly accepted part of everyday life. Less of a taboo, and more a tool among others for managing discomfort or improving quality of life.

Other factors included a diagnosis of depression, current or past opioid use, and seeking care for spinal pain rather than lower limb conditions.

Longer pain duration also played a role. Patients who had been living with MSK pain for more than five years were significantly more likely to have tried cannabis, as were those with more complex pain patterns involving multiple body regions.

Are conventional pain treatments letting patients down?

These findings raise important questions about the current state of chronic pain care. The patients turning to cannabis were not those with mild or newly diagnosed pain. 

They were people who had already been through a range of conventional treatments, often with limited success.

The discussion section of the study points to cannabis being adopted when standard options failed or when the side effects became intolerable. We are seeing similar patterns here in the UK, with patients often turning to medical cannabis after years of cycling through prescriptions, procedures, and pain clinics.

Learn more: Decoding Cannabis: Why thousands are replacing opioids with cannabis for pain relief. 

Many patients report that cannabis helps with pain, sleep, and anxiety

Although medical cannabis remains a somewhat controversial option within UK clinical practice, the patient-reported outcomes in this study are difficult to ignore. 

A clear majority of those who had trialled it for chronic MSK pain felt it offered meaningful benefits, not just for pain, but for other symptoms that often accompany long-term discomfort.

How effective do patients find cannabis for pain and symptoms?

In this particular study: 

• Nearly two-thirds of patients (64%) described cannabis as “very” or “somewhat” effective for pain relief. 

• Over half (57%) believed it was more effective than the other medications they had been prescribed. 

• For 40% of patients, starting cannabis treatment meant they were able to reduce (or in some cases, completely cut out) other painkilling medications.

But the medical cannabis benefits noted in this study extended far beyond pain:

• 44% of respondents reported better sleep

• 26% noted improvements in anxiety

• 18% said it helped with their headaches

• 15% reported a reduction in depressive symptoms

These secondary effects are often just as impactful for people with long-term pain, where sleep disruption and mood symptoms often reinforce the overall burden of illness.

What side effects should patients be aware of?

Of course, no treatment is without its downsides. 

In this study, the most commonly reported cannabis side effects included dry mouth (43%), fatigue (23%), and a lack of motivation (15%). That said, 39% of patients said they experienced no side effects at all.

Where adverse effects were reported, they were generally mild and manageable. The authors concluded that, for the vast majority of patients, the trade-offs were acceptable, particularly when compared to the well-documented side effects of opioids or certain antidepressants.

Accessing medical cannabis for chronic pain in the UK

While medical cannabis is legal in the UK, access remains limited, particularly for conditions like chronic musculoskeletal pain and arthritis. At present, cannabis-based treatments for these types of severe pain are simply not available through the NHS.

The study authors noted that many patients were self-medicating without formal oversight, often out of necessity. They called for better clinical guidance and improved regulation, and that’s exactly what we offer here at Releaf. The UK medical cannabis sector is highly regulated, and we work within those necessary legal frameworks to ensure all Releaf patients receive safe, evidence-based care.

Releaf is the fastest-growing medical cannabis clinic in the UK, with a world-class clinical team experienced in not only prescribing cannabis for pain, but also mental health issues, sleeping disorders, women's health concerns, neurological conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and more. 

If you’re wondering whether medical cannabis could be right for you (or a loved one), our medical cannabis eligibility checker takes less than 20 seconds to complete and is totally free.