WHY IT MATTERS: If you are a veteran managing pain, anxiety, or sleep issues alongside a substance use disorder, this research supports having an honest conversation with your care team about whether supervised cannabis use could be a safer part of your recovery plan. CLINICAL OVERVIEW: New research examining veterans with substance use disorders found that many turned to cannabis to manage pain, anxiety, and sleep disturbances during their treatment for non-cannabis-related SUD. This aligns with what we see clinically, where patients often use cannabis as an adjunct or alternative to more harmful substances, particularly opioids and benzodiazepines.
Medical Cannabis at a Crossroads
Medical cannabis is not vanishing, it is being hollowed out. As adult-use markets explode, medical programs quietly wither into card mills, and a federal hemp crackdown threatens the improvised bridge many patients have relied on. At this medical cannabis crossroads, the real question is not whether people will keep using cannabis, but whether they will still have anyone to walk that road with them in a way that truly heals.