CBD Helped Relieve Chronic Pain In More Than 98% Of Patients, Newly Published Study Finds

OG Article

April 16, 2025

Ben Adlin

The marijuana component CBD can help patients manage chronic pain even at low dosages, making it “a promising alternative to conventional pain management strategies,” according to new research.

The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Cureus, drew from responses to a survey posted on social media and in multiple medical clinics. Key findings, authors wrote, “are that the use of cannabinoids is positively associated with decreased chronic pain, even at low dosages (<100 mg).”

Most patients reported no side effects, while those who did reported only mild effects, the report says. No severe side effects were reported.

“These findings suggest that CBD may serve as a promising alternative to conventional pain management strategies,” the study concludes. “We believe these data point the way for new and continued avenues of research that can better optimize treatment regimens and help patients with chronic pain.”

The survey included 121 adults aged 21 and older who self-reported as having chronic pain, defined as pain lasting six months or longer. Questions involved demographics, patients’ perceptions of CBD’s effectiveness, dosage, frequency of use and side effects.

Authors wrote that they set out “to further explore this topic and add to the literature with the aim of asking chronic pain patients who use CBD for pain relief about their perceived benefits and side effects of CBD.”

Respondents were an average age of 37 years, and 61.2 percent were male. Most—100 people—said their pain had lasted two years or longer, while 21 said their pain had lasted 23 months or less.

As for causes of pain, the most common were arthritis (15.7 percent), disc herniation (14.9 percent), fibromyalgia (7.4 percent), headache or migraine (6.6 percent) and neuropathy (6.6 percent). Participants could select multiple responses.

Subjects were asked to rate their baseline level of chronic pain before CBD use on a scale from 1 to 10, as well as their pain level after beginning treatment.

“The average baseline level of chronic pain across participants before CBD was 5.4 ± 1.8,” the report says, “which decreased to 2.6 ± 1.7 (p < 0.0001, n = 121) after CBD, which is a decrease of 2.8 ± 1.7.”

Improvement was reported by 98.3 percent of subjects, while the remainder (1.7 percent, or two participants) reported no improvement at all. Three subjects “reported complete resolution of their baseline chronic pain after CBD,” according to the research.

Asked how many times per day they used CBD, most reported using once (26.4 percent) or three times (24.0 percent) per day. The maximum frequency was 10 times per day, a response given by 5.8 percent of participants.

Individual doses varied widely, but the most common (33.9 percent of respondents) was between 50 mg and 100 mg. After that was sub-50 mg doses (22.3 percent). Four respondents (3.3 percent) said doses were more than 1 gram (1,000 mg).

A majority of respondents (55.4 percent) reported no side effects. Among the side effects that were reported—all of which were mild—drowsiness or fatigue were most common, at 29.8 percent. Another 5 percent reported diarrhea, followed by headaches and cramping each at 2.5 percent.

Findings concerning the wide range of conditions among survey respondents, authors wrote in the new study, “indicate that CBD usage as a treatment for chronic pain is not restricted to the pain management of a few specific causes.”

They further noted that most people used relatively small amounts of CBD at a frequency of three or fewer times per day.

“Hence, it may be inferred that a majority of subjects are able to feel a reduction in chronic pain by administering CBD three or fewer times per day and that administering CBD for pain does not serve as a burden in the schedule of most people,” the report says, adding that “CBD may begin to show efficacy in treating chronic pain at smaller doses for most people.”

The high rate of self-reported efficacy, it continues, may be attributed to its multiple mechanisms of action.”

“CBD provides analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase,” it explains, “inhibiting the production of leukotrienes in polymorphonuclear cells, acting as an allosteric modulator of the mu and delta opioid receptors, and partially activating the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor.”

Authors—from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as Firelands Regional Medical Center and NOMS Healthcare, in Ohio—acknowledged that the anonymous, online nature of the survey was a limitation. “Offering the survey in paper and pencil format, or verbally to consenting patients, would increase the sample size and potentially provide a more robust picture of CBD usage for the management of chronic pain,” they wrote, adding that future research could also validate self-reported results against physicians’ reports or patient records.

“Altogether, these findings may be comforting to individuals concerned about taking pain medication too frequently, at high doses, or about its associated adverse effects,” the study concludes. “While our research is certainly not exhaustive, it is a clear indication that the possibility of great benefit of CBD treatment exists in treating chronic pain. As such, additional research is warranted to explore this topic further.”

Past research has suggested that a variety of cannabinoids—including CBD and others—may help ease pain symptoms. A study published in February, for example, found that marijuana and its cannabinoid components may be useful treatments for various types of chronic pain, in some cases helping to reduce the use of other medications

The paper also said select mixtures of cannabinoids—such as cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabigerol (CBG)—could have other benefits, including minimizing undesirable effects like the psychoactivity of THC.

All told, more than 180 different cannabinoids have now been isolated from the cannabis plant, the report noted, often interacting with different parts of the body. CBD and THC, for example, “have a wide potential for therapeutic effects based on their multiple molecular targets including ion channels, receptors, transporters and enzymes.”

“The two most abundant and studied cannabinoids, THC and CBD, along with an understudied cannabinoid, cannabigerol (CBG), have been shown, in our laboratories, to reduce neuropathic pain in animal models,” authors wrote, recommending that further study “into cannabinoids like THC, CBD and CBG should focus on the optimal therapeutic doses and the effects these cannabinoids can have on the management of chronic neuropathic pain in humans.”

Separate research published earlier this year in the journal Pain found that marijuana was “comparatively more effective than prescription medications” for treating chronic pain after a three-month period, and that many patients reduced their use of opioid painkillers while using cannabis.

The analysis “was able to determine, using causal inference techniques, that use of medical marijuana for chronic pain under medical supervision is at least as effective and potentially more effective in relationship to patients with chronic pain treated by prescription medications (nonopioid or opioid),” said the report, by authors at the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard Medical School and the National Cancer Institute.

A recent federally funded study, meanwhile, found that legalization of marijuana in U.S. states is associated with reduced prescriptions for opioid pain medications among commercially insured adults—indicating a possible substitution effect where patients are choosing to use cannabis instead of prescription drugs to treat pain.

“These results suggest that substitution of cannabis for traditional pain medications increases as the availability of recreational cannabis increases,” authors of that report wrote, noting that there “appears to be a small shift once recreational cannabis becomes legal, but we see stronger results once users can purchase cannabis at recreational dispensaries.”

“Reductions in opioid prescription fills stemming from recreational cannabis legalization may prevent exposure to opioids in patients with pain,” the paper, published in the journal Cannabis, continues, “and lead to decreases in the number of new opioid users, rates of opioid use disorder, and related harms.”

Other recent research also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That study found a “consistent negative relationship” between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. Authors estimated that recreational marijuana legalization “is associated with a decrease of approximately 3.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals.”

“Our findings suggest that broadening recreational marijuana access could help address the opioid epidemic,” that report said. “Previous research largely indicates that marijuana (primarily for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we find it may also successfully reduce overdose deaths.”

“Further, this effect increases with earlier implementation of [recreational marijuana legalization],” it added, “indicating this relationship is relatively consistent over time.”

Another recently published report into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state’s legalization of medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide. Overall, results of the study indicated that “cannabis has a substantial role to play in pain management and the reduction of opioid use,” it said.

Yet another study, published in 2023, linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications. And another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA) last February, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.

About one in three chronic pain patients reported using cannabis as a treatment option, according to a 2023 AMA-published report. Most of that group said they used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.

Other research published that year found that letting people buy CBD legally significantly reduced opioid prescription rates, leading to 6.6 percent to 8.1 percent fewer opioid prescriptions.

A 2022 research paper that analyzed Medicaid data on prescription drugs, meanwhile, found that legalizing marijuana for adult use was associated with “significant reductions” in the use of prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple conditions.

A 2023 report linked state-level medical marijuana legalization to reduced opioid payouts to doctors—another datapoint suggesting that patients use cannabis as an alternative to prescription drugs when given legal access.

Researchers in another study, published last year, looked at opioid prescription and mortality rates in Oregon, finding that nearby access to retail marijuana moderately reduced opioid prescriptions, though they observed no corresponding drop in opioid-related deaths.

Other recent research also indicates that cannabis may be an effective substitute for opioids in terms of pain management.

A report published recently in the journal BMJ Open, for instance, compared medical marijuana and opioids for chronic non-cancer pain and found that cannabis “may be similarly effective and result in fewer discontinuations than opioids,” potentially offering comparable relief with a lower likelihood of adverse effects.

Separate research published found that more than half (57 percent) of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain said cannabis was more effective than other analgesic medications, while 40 percent reported reducing their use of other painkillers since they began using marijuana.

In Minnesota, meanwhile, a state government report this year on chronic pain patients enrolled in the state’s medical marijuana program said recently that participants “are finding a noticeable change in pain relief” within a few months of starting cannabis treatment.

The large-scale study of nearly 10,000 patients also shows that nearly a quarter who were taking other pain relievers reduced the use of those drugs after using medical marijuana.

Another new study on the use of medical marijuana by older patients—age 50 and above—concluded that “cannabis seemed to be a safe and effective treatment” for pain and other conditions.

A separate presentation reviewing research on student athletes’ use of cannabis recently found that marijuana “has demonstrated positive findings as an alternative for pain management among NCAA athletes.”

Yet another study found that 40 percent of military veterans suffering from chronic pain reported using marijuana to treat their symptoms.

Most of them said they use cannabis to deal with pain, mobility and sleep issues, while substantial numbers of veterans also said it helps with PTSD, anxiety and stress. Nearly all participants (98 percent) said healthcare providers should discuss the use of natural products with their patients.