Orthopaedic surgery patients who use recreational marijuana have less pre-operative pain

Aims To determine the baseline clinical characteristics of recreational marijuana users undergoing outpatient orthopaedic surgery. We hypothesized that patients who report marijuana use would have worse pain, function, and general health status. Patients and methods Nine-hundred and thirty-seven patients undergoing outpatient orthopaedic surgery were asked to fill out patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools. These PROs included the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS) computer adaptive tests and legacy PROs unique to each patients’ surgical site. Results Forty patients (4.2%) reported marijuana use. Marijuana use was associated with younger age (33 vs. 43 years, p