Medical Cannabis Users Report Lower Quality of Life Than Non-Users With the Same Conditions
Danish medical cannabis users had significantly lower health-related quality of life scores than non-users with the same diagnoses, likely reflecting that the most severely affected patients turn to cannabis as a last resort.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Among 9,265 Danish patients, medical cannabis users had a QALY score of 0.44 compared to 0.74 for non-users (general adult population: 0.87). Patients with more prescriptions had progressively lower QALY scores.
Key Numbers
9,265 patients surveyed. MC user QALY: 0.44 vs non-user: 0.74 vs adult population: 0.87. Users with 7+ prescriptions scored 0.26-0.32 lower than non-users.
How They Did This
Danish nationwide online survey distributed to 23,846 patients in October 2020. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) measured using EQ-5D-3L. Compared QALY scores across diagnostic groups between MC users and non-users.
Why This Research Matters
The lower quality of life among cannabis users likely reflects confounding by indication: patients with the most severe symptoms are more likely to try medical cannabis. This is important context for interpreting observational cannabis studies.
The Bigger Picture
This study illustrates a classic challenge in medical cannabis research: patients who use it tend to be sicker than those who don't, making it difficult to determine whether cannabis helps or harms quality of life without randomized trials.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design cannot determine direction of association. Confounding by indication likely explains much of the difference. Small numbers when stratified by prescription count.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would longitudinal data show quality of life improvement after starting medical cannabis?
- ?Does confounding by indication fully explain the lower QALY scores?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- MC users QALY 0.44 vs non-users 0.74
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: large nationwide sample with validated quality of life measure, but cross-sectional and likely confounding by indication.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025, with survey data from 2020.
- Original Title:
- Patients' Health-Related Quality of Life and Use of Medicinal Cannabis: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.
- Published In:
- Drugs - real world outcomes, 12(1), 125-133 (2025)
- Authors:
- Rosenbæk, Frederik(3), Wehberg, Sonja(2), Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov(3), Nielsen, Jesper Bo, Søndergaard, Jens
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07525
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does medical cannabis improve quality of life?
This cross-sectional study found medical cannabis users had lower quality of life than non-users with the same conditions. However, this likely reflects that patients with the worst symptoms turn to cannabis as a last resort, not that cannabis worsens quality of life.
Why do medical cannabis users report lower quality of life?
Confounding by indication is the likely explanation: patients with the most severe disease are both more likely to use medical cannabis and more likely to have lower quality of life, regardless of treatment.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07525APA
Rosenbæk, Frederik; Wehberg, Sonja; Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov; Nielsen, Jesper Bo; Søndergaard, Jens. (2025). Patients' Health-Related Quality of Life and Use of Medicinal Cannabis: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.. Drugs - real world outcomes, 12(1), 125-133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40801-024-00479-2
MLA
Rosenbæk, Frederik, et al. "Patients' Health-Related Quality of Life and Use of Medicinal Cannabis: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.." Drugs - real world outcomes, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40801-024-00479-2
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Patients' Health-Related Quality of Life and Use of Medicina..." RTHC-07525. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/rosenb-k-2025-patients-healthrelated-quality-of
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.