New research published in the Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances found that patients who used marijuana required significantly fewer opioids after surgery for a distal radius fracture, while reporting pain control comparable to patients who did not use marijuana.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and examined post-operative opioid use among patients who underwent distal radius fracture fixation, a common surgical procedure used to repair a broken wrist. According to the study, the researchers identified 402 patients for inclusion, including 35 who reported using marijuana.

To better isolate the impact of marijuana use, the researchers performed one-to-one propensity matching between marijuana users and non-users. After matching the two groups, they found that marijuana users required 94 fewer morphine milliequivalents to manage pain after surgery.

Despite receiving fewer opioids, marijuana users reported pain scores similar to those of non-users, suggesting they were able to achieve comparable pain relief with less reliance on prescription painkillers.

The researchers say the findings point to a possible link between marijuana use and reduced opioid requirements in the perioperative setting. They note that research on cannabis use around the time of surgery remains limited, but say the results add to the growing body of evidence indicating marijuana may serve as an alternative or complementary option for pain management in some settings.

The study’s authors conclude that the findings support further investigation into whether marijuana could help reduce opioid use following surgery, particularly as concerns over opioid dependence and overprescribing continue.