Camille Stewart, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The use of cannabis is expanding in the United States. There is, however, a critical lacking in our understanding of how cannabis and its associated chemical compounds, called cannabinoids, affect patients after surgery. Patients undergoing abdominal surgery have substantial pain after surgery and often experience complications. Since we have found that cannabis is of interest to surgical patients diagnosed with cancer, they represent an ideal population to study. In our planned research, we will measure blood cannabinoid levels in daily cannabis users and non-users who undergo abdominal surgery for the treatment of cancer. Pain levels, pain medication requirements, and post-surgery complications will also be assessed. We think that patients with higher blood levels of cannabinoids will have more pain and need more pain medication after surgery, but that they will have similar rates of post-surgery complications. The information gained from this research will help doctors and patients understand how cannabis use affects patients after surgery and help determine if cannabis use is safe to use around the time of surgery.