Cannabis and Pain Control After Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Legalization of cannabis increased advertising of its health benefits and the recent opioid epidemic have led to increased cannabis use across North America. Increased use of cannabis in elderly patients has translated to a greater proportion of THAs and TKAs being undertaken on these patients. Cannabis use is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease, which should be carefully assessed prior to surgical intervention. Cannabis users have comparable pain scores and opiate analgesia consumption compared with non-cannabis users following THA and TKA. At present, there is no consensus among studies analyzing inpatient hospital databases as to the effects of cannabis use on postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and risk of revision surgery.