Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36978185›Full record

ArticleJournal of cannabis research2023

"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.

Yuval Zolotov, Jacinta Lomba, Megan Ghiroli, Mariya Masyukova, Julia H Arnsten, Joanna L Starrels, Jonathan Ross, Chinazo O Cunningham, Deepika E Slawek

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cannabis research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Correction: Competing Interests.Journal of cannabis research · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Yuval ZolotovDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA. yzolotov@montefiore.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5391-7379
Jacinta LombaDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Megan GhiroliDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Mariya MasyukovaDepartment of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Julia H ArnstenDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Joanna L StarrelsDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Jonathan RossDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Chinazo O CunninghamDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Deepika E SlawekDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 3300 Kossuth Ave, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine · US

Funding

Patient and Population Health Outcomes Research SWGP30AI124414 · NIAID · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI HARRIS GOLDSTEIN · 2017 to 2026
$28.3M
Does medical cannabis reduce opioid analgesics in HIV+ and HIV- adults with pain?R01DA044171 · NIDA · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI ARNSTEN, JULIA H. · 2017 to 2021
$3.8M
Minimizing losses from HIV care under universal treatment in RwandaK23MH114752 · NIMH · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI ROSS, JONATHAN · 2017 to 2021
$995k
Mentoring researchers on drug abuse and HIVK24DA036955 · NIDA · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI CUNNINGHAM, CHINAZO · 2014 to 2019
$911k
Mentoring Junior Investigators to Tackle the Opioid EpidemicK24DA046309 · NIDA · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI STARRELS, JOANNA L. · 2018 to 2023
$876k
The impact of medical cannabis on pain and inflammation in people living with HIVK23DA053997 · NIDA · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI SLAWEK, DEEPIKA · 2021 to 2024
$777k
NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI124414NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA053997NIDA NIH HHS K23DA053997NIDA NIH HHS K24 DA036955NIDA NIH HHS K24DA036955NIDA NIH HHS K24 DA046309NIDA NIH HHS K24DA046309NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA044171NIDA NIH HHS R01DA044171NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH114752NIMH NIH HHS K23MH114752
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care but it is unknown how it impacted the lives of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain.

objectiveTo 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.

methodsWe 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.

resultsParticipants' 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.

conclusionThe 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.

Indexed as

Chronic painCOVID-19Medical cannabisMedical marijuana

Identifiers

PMID36978185
PMCPMC10049907
OpenAlexW4361212884

What Socratic holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read2
identifiers read1
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.