About 1 in 12 Cancer Survivors Use Cannabis, Data Suggest

In a study of more than 6 million cancer survivors, about 1 in 12 reported using cannabis, and nearly half of them said they used cannabis for medical reasons. These findings were published in JCO Oncology Practice.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from adults across 23 US states who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System cannabis use module in 2021.

Of the 82,117,772 participants, 6,168,964 (7.5%) had a history of cancer. Cancer survivors were less likely than the general population to use cannabis (8.8% and 12%, respectively). However, among cannabis users, cancer survivors were more likely than the general population to use cannabis for medical reasons (47.3% and 24.2%, respectively).

When the researchers performed a weighted multivariable analysis, they found that several factors were associated with a greater likelihood of cannabis use among cancer survivors, including:

• Being a man (P <.001)
• Being younger than 65 years of age (P <.001)
• Being non-Hispanic Black (P =.013)
• Having poor mental health lasting longer than 2 weeks (P <.001)
• Having poor physical health lasting longer than 2 weeks (P =.032)
• Being a current or former smoker (P <.001 for both)
• Using e-cigarettes (P <.001)
• Having a history of binge drinking (P <.001)
• Not owning a house (P =.048)
• Having a household income below $100,000 (P ≤.005).

An adjusted difference-in-difference analysis of the impact of cannabis legalization revealed a 5.2% increase in cannabis use after state-level legalization. The increase was similar in the general population and among cancer survivors (5.4% and 4.1%, respectively).

“Amid the growing popularity of cannabis, it is perhaps not surprising that clinicians are increasingly accepting its use among cancer survivors,” the researchers wrote. “Nonetheless, the growing acceptance should be balanced with appropriate counseling that can inform decision making among patients interested in cannabis use. Unfortunately, there remains a lack of adequate guidelines for the clinical use of cannabis and many clinicians feel ill equipped to provide recommendations to cancer survivors.”

Disclosures: There was no funding listed for this study. The study authors reported having no conflicts of interest. Please see the original references for complete disclosures.

This article originally appeared on Cancer Therapy Advisor

References:

Rashid Z, Lee GR, Khalil M, et al. Patterns of cannabis use among cancer survivors: Insights from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. JCO Oncol Pract. Published online July 9, 2025. doi:10.1200/OP-25-00121

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