Chronic pain and mental health are the main reasons that people use medical cannabis, said Philippe Lucas, vice-president of global patient research and access for Tilray Inc., speaking at the first National Indigenous Cannabis and Hemp Conference in Calgary last week.
Of the roughly 2,000 patients who were surveyed last year, 57 per cent said they used cannabis for chronic pain, while 49 per cent said they used it for anxiety. Additionally, 46 per cent said it was for insomnia, 46 per cent said it was for stress, 38 per cent said for depression and 24 per cent for headaches. Patients had the option to state more than one reason.
“In Canada, patients overwhelmingly state mental health as a reason for using cannabis,” said Mr. Lucas, citing the Tilray Patient Survey 2017.
This is one reason that Tilray is now studying cannabis use in post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
Nearly 75 per cent said they use cannabis daily, with average use at 1.5 grams per day.
The survey also showed that medical cannabis is increasingly substituting other substances, with 458 patients reporting they substituted cannabis for a total of 610 opioid medications. Additionally, 513 said they substituted cannabis for alcohol while 405 substituted it for tobacco, the survey showed.