Marijuana Use Linked to Symptom Relief and Better Quality of Life in IBD: Study
USA: Researchers have found in a new survey that nearly 70% of inflammatory bowel disease patients who used marijuana did so daily or almost daily for symptom control. Users reported relief from anxiety, joint pain, and nausea/vomiting, along with improved daily functioning and quality of life and reduced opioid analgesic use.
The findings, published in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, highlight patients’ reported experiences with marijuana as a complementary approach to managing symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This chronic condition causes inflammation in the digestive tract and can be associated with persistent pain, hospitalizations, and surgery. The study was conducted by Arvin Daneshmand from the University of Florida’s Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Gainesville, FL, USA, and colleagues.
The researchers aimed to investigate why patients with IBD use marijuana, how frequently they consume it, and their perceptions of its effects on symptoms and quality of life. They conducted an anonymous, 39-question survey using REDCap among 108 participants recruited from the University of Florida’s IBD clinic. The questionnaire covered participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics, marijuana consumption patterns, symptom relief, quality of life, and beliefs about marijuana.
Of the participants, 47.2% were male, and 51.9% were female. Depression or anxiety was reported by 61.1%, while 19.4% had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an equal proportion had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The analysis also found that reasons for marijuana use varied with age and the duration of IBD diagnosis. Younger patients and those with a shorter disease history were more likely to report recreational use, while medical use was more common among middle-aged participants. Combined recreational and medical use was more frequently reported by older patients and those with longer-standing IBD.
The key findings were:
- Nearly 70% of participants reported using marijuana daily or almost daily, with frequent use associated with greater self-reported symptom relief.
- Among daily or near-daily users, 82.1% reported relief from nausea and vomiting, 81% experienced relief from joint pain, and 80% reported improvement in insomnia.
- A total of 87.6% of respondents reported an improvement in quality of life, while 61.3% said marijuana helped them live more independently.
- Overall, 59.3% believed that marijuana had reduced their opioid consumption.
- Patients with a history of bowel surgery had higher odds of reporting marijuana use for more than five years (OR 21.94) and using it at least weekly (OR 11.13).
- Among participants with previous IBD-related hospitalizations, depression or anxiety and diarrhea were associated with higher odds of reporting marijuana use.
Marijuana use was associated with current employment and greater independence, although causality cannot be established.
The study’s limitations include a small, single-center sample, potential positive response bias, high psychiatric comorbidity, and the absence of a non-user comparison group, limiting the generalizability of the findings.
The researchers concluded that marijuana use was associated with self-reported symptom relief, reduced opioid use, and improved quality of life in patients with IBD. They called for further studies with control groups to clarify its effects.
Reference:
Arvin Daneshmand, Karen Yung, Hanzhi Gao, Chelsea Salmon, Nofel Iftikhar, Saroja Devi Rampertab, Angela Kim Pham, Ludmila De Faria, Ellen Mary Zimmermann, Naueen A. Chaudhry; Marijuana Use for Symptom Control in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Patients’ Perceptions and Patterns of Use. Med Cannabis Cannabinoids 1 January 2026; 9 (1): 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1159/000553354
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