Primary Submission Category: Interventions/Programs
Introducing the Michigan Veterans Cannabis (MiVetsCan) program: a community-based participatory research model to assess the effectiveness of cannabis products on chronic pain symptoms among Veterans
Authors: Kevin Boehnke, Vivian Kurtz, Laura Thomas, Catherine Klida, Jennifer Eckersley, Mia Railing, Tiffany Lopez, Riley Wegryn-Jones, Gabrielle Bowyer, Audrey Jackson, M. Arie Shaw, Maria Silveira, Avinash Hosanagar, Victoria Powell, Evangelos Litinas, Tristin Smith, Anne Arewasikpork, Poonam Purohit, John Scott, Daniel Kruger, Anna Kratz, Daniel Whibley, Kelley Kidwell, David Williams, Daniel Clauw, Amy Bohnert, Rachel Bergmans,
Presenting Author: Kevin Boehnke*
Chronic pain affects up to 30% of U.S. Veterans. Many Veterans seek and advocate for alternative treatments for pain management, including cannabis products. In 2018, the voters of the State of Michigan passed the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, which set aside funding to conduct clinical trials focused on understanding whether cannabis may help treat medical conditions present among Veterans and prevent Veteran suicide. Supported by these funds, the University of Michigan MIVetsCan program has engaged with Veterans throughout the research process. Veteran engagement has included eliciting advice on study designs before funding, using qualitative efforts to understand Veterans’ perspectives and concerns about cannabis, and establishing a community advisory board of Veterans, clinicians, and researchers to develop Veteran-appropriate research materials and recruitment methods. This program consists of two clinical trials (n=468 each), supported by a newly developed registry of Veterans with chronic pain who are currently using or interested in using cannabis products for pain management. The first trial assesses whether oral cannabidiol (CBD) improves chronic pain symptoms compared with placebo. The second trial is a health coaching intervention informed by motivational interviewing principles and the cannabis literature that focuses on optimizing Veterans’ use of medical cannabis products for pain symptoms. We previously completed a pilot (n=22) of the coaching intervention, which demonstrated statistically significant decreases in pain intensity and pain interference. Both of these virtually conducted trials are currently recruiting and are open to Veterans experiencing chronic pain who reside in any state with legal adult-use cannabis. These trials address key gaps in the cannabis and pain literature, and the registry will act as a platform for future research meant to improve Veteran health.