BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Neuropathic Pain
Cross-sectional comparison of cannabis use in adults with neuropathic versus non-neuropathic pain
Provisionally accepted
Carl Joshua Laroya1*
Crystal Lederhos Smith1
Ross J Bindler1Michael Mcdonell1Jamie Lewis2
Marian L Wilson1- 1Washington State University, Pullman, United States
- 2Northwest Spine and Pain Medicine, Spokane, United States
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Introduction: Cannabis has been decriminalized by many states and shows promise in treating neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain through its interaction with the endocannabinoid system and anti-inflammatory effects. This study examines differences in cannabis use for adults whose most bothersome chronic pain condition is neuropathic versus non-neuropathic. Materials and Methods: Survey data were collected from adults receiving care at a pain clinic. Participants completed demographic questions and standardized self-report measures (PROMIS Pain Intensity/Interference and the ID-Pain tool). Participants' most bothersome pain condition(s) were categorized as neuropathic or non-neuropathic pain based on ID-Pain scores. Linear regression models assessed differences in frequency and duration of cannabis product use between groups, adjusting for age and sex. Results: A total of 113 individuals were recruited; following exclusions and missing data, 104 participants (61.5% female) were included in analysis. Of these, 36.5% reported neuropathic pain as their most bothersome, and 63.5% reported non-neuropathic pain. Those with neuropathic pain reported significantly more days per month of Tetrahydrocannabinol/Cannabidiol (THC/CBD) combination (b=5.96, p=0.02), Cannabidiol-only (CBD-only) (b=8.82, p=0.03), and Tetrahydrocannabinol-only (THC-only) products (b=7.04, p=0.02). They also used THC-only (b=0.97, p<0.05) and THC/CBD (b=1.09, p<0.01) products more frequently per day. Neuropathic pain was positively associated with pain intensity (b=4.10, p<0.001) and interference (b=4.95, p<0.001). Discussion: Adults whose most bothersome pain condition(s) were neuropathic used cannabis, especially THC and THC/CBD combination products, more frequently than those whose most bothersome pain was non-neuropathic. Participants with neuropathic pain also reported higher levels of pain intensity and interference. Further longitudinal research is needed to confirm
Keywords: neuropathic pain, Chronic Pain, Cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol, Cannabidiol, Pain Management, Cannabis use patterns, PROMIS
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Laroya, Smith, Bindler, Mcdonell, Lewis and Wilson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carl Joshua Laroya
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