Self-medication of pain and discomfort with alcohol and other substances by people with HIV infection and substance use disorder: preliminary findings from a secondary analysis

Self-reported pain severity and use of cannabis and opioids in persons with HIV in an urban primary care setting in Northern California: A cross-sectional study

“…Our definition of unhealthy alcohol use was 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men in a day for 4+ days in the past 30 days, whereas this prior study defined alcohol consumption as either hazardous or nonhazardous as 14 standard drinks per week for men and 9 per week for women. [ 18 ] Pain is one of the most common medical reasons for marijuana use, [ 14 , 19 ] and although our study found a significant relationship, future studies are needed to better understand the use of marijuana for pain in PWH. In addition to understanding how PWH use substances to manage pain, it is important for future studies to address depression and to differentiate between chronic pain and neuropathic pain.…”

“…Given the high burden of pain in PWH and the need for effective pain management, it is important to understand how PWH use substances in the context of pain. [ 14 ] There is some evidence that cannabis may be effective for alleviating pain, and the use of cannabis is likely to continue to increase as a result of legalization of recreational cannabis in California and other states. [ 15 ] In our primary care-based sample, we found that PWH who reported moderate/high pain were more likely to report opioid and cannabis use compared to PWH with none/mild pain.…”