“It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York
Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care but it is unknown how it impacted the lives of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain. Objective To understand the experiences of individuals from the Bronx, NY, who had chronic pain and were certified to use medical cannabis du...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cannabis Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-023-00180-1 |
| _version_ | 1826879080975302656 |
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| author | Yuval Zolotov Jacinta Lomba Megan Ghiroli Mariya Masyukova Julia H. Arnsten Joanna L. Starrels Jonathan Ross Chinazo O. Cunningham Deepika E. Slawek |
| author_facet | Yuval Zolotov Jacinta Lomba Megan Ghiroli Mariya Masyukova Julia H. Arnsten Joanna L. Starrels Jonathan Ross Chinazo O. Cunningham Deepika E. Slawek |
| author_sort | Yuval Zolotov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care but it is unknown how it impacted the lives of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain. Objective To understand the experiences of individuals from the Bronx, NY, who had chronic pain and were certified to use medical cannabis during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted 1:1 semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews from March through May 2020 with a convenience sample of 14 individuals enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study. We purposively recruited participants with both frequent and infrequent patterns of cannabis use. Interviews addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life, symptoms, medical cannabis purchase, and use. We conducted a thematic analysis, with a codebook approach, to identify and describe prominent themes. Results Participants’ median age was 49 years, nine were female, four were Hispanic, four were non-Hispanic White, and four were non-Hispanic Black. We identified three themes: (1) disrupted access to health services, (2) disrupted access to medical cannabis due to the pandemic, and (3) mixed impact of chronic pain on social isolation and mental health. Due to increased barriers to health care in general and to medical cannabis specifically, participants reduced medical cannabis use, stopped use, or substituted medical cannabis with unregulated cannabis. Living with chronic pain both prepared participants for the pandemic and made the pandemic more difficult. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic amplified pre-existing challenges and barriers to care, including to medical cannabis, among people with chronic pain. Understanding pandemic-era barriers may inform policies in ongoing and future public health emergencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:52:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0b421e48585944dfb7c4e02176d9b078 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2522-5782 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-17T01:51:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cannabis Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-0b421e48585944dfb7c4e02176d9b0782025-01-12T12:38:13ZengBMCJournal of Cannabis Research2522-57822023-03-015111010.1186/s42238-023-00180-1“It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New YorkYuval Zolotov0Jacinta Lomba1Megan Ghiroli2Mariya Masyukova3Julia H. Arnsten4Joanna L. Starrels5Jonathan Ross6Chinazo O. Cunningham7Deepika E. Slawek8Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDepartment of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of MedicineAbstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care but it is unknown how it impacted the lives of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain. Objective To understand the experiences of individuals from the Bronx, NY, who had chronic pain and were certified to use medical cannabis during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted 1:1 semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews from March through May 2020 with a convenience sample of 14 individuals enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study. We purposively recruited participants with both frequent and infrequent patterns of cannabis use. Interviews addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life, symptoms, medical cannabis purchase, and use. We conducted a thematic analysis, with a codebook approach, to identify and describe prominent themes. Results Participants’ median age was 49 years, nine were female, four were Hispanic, four were non-Hispanic White, and four were non-Hispanic Black. We identified three themes: (1) disrupted access to health services, (2) disrupted access to medical cannabis due to the pandemic, and (3) mixed impact of chronic pain on social isolation and mental health. Due to increased barriers to health care in general and to medical cannabis specifically, participants reduced medical cannabis use, stopped use, or substituted medical cannabis with unregulated cannabis. Living with chronic pain both prepared participants for the pandemic and made the pandemic more difficult. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic amplified pre-existing challenges and barriers to care, including to medical cannabis, among people with chronic pain. Understanding pandemic-era barriers may inform policies in ongoing and future public health emergencies.https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-023-00180-1Medical cannabisMedical marijuanaChronic painCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Yuval Zolotov Jacinta Lomba Megan Ghiroli Mariya Masyukova Julia H. Arnsten Joanna L. Starrels Jonathan Ross Chinazo O. Cunningham Deepika E. Slawek “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York Journal of Cannabis Research Medical cannabis Medical marijuana Chronic pain COVID-19 |
| title | “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York |
| title_full | “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York |
| title_fullStr | “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York |
| title_full_unstemmed | “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York |
| title_short | “It doesn’t make any sense to even try”: the disruptive impact of COVID-19’s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in New York |
| title_sort | it doesn t make any sense to even try the disruptive impact of covid 19 s first wave on people with chronic pain using medical cannabis in new york |
| topic | Medical cannabis Medical marijuana Chronic pain COVID-19 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-023-00180-1 |
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