do about a third of headache-clinic patients use cannabinoids?
“about a third of our patient population are using canabonoids.”
a guest, a headache neurologist said on The Peter Attia Drive, 2026-08-31, at 57:22. hear it in context → the speaker cited: a large outpatient survey study done at the guest's own headache program.
first, the part that holds
the number holds. in the largest published survey of patients at a tertiary headache center, 32.5% of respondents said they were currently using cannabis-based products, so "about a third" is accurate.
what we found when we went and looked
we read the 2024 neurology: clinical practice paper describing a survey of patients at a tertiary headache center in connecticut. the survey went to all 5,400 patients seen from may to august 2022, and 1,373 answered. of those, 446 (32.5%) reported current use of cannabis-based products and 55.7% reported use at some point in the past three years. a smaller 2021 survey at a tertiary headache clinic in calgary found nearly the same figure, with 34.0% of 200 respondents being active cannabinoid users. one caveat: the third is a third of the people who answered (a 25.4% response rate), not a measured third of everyone the clinic sees.
assertion by assertion
| assertion | verdict | what the record says |
|---|---|---|
| in the headache program's survey study, about one third of patients reported using cannabinoids | confirmed | 446 of 1,373 respondents (32.5%) reported current use of cannabis-based products. the products counted included tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol combinations and cannabidiol-only products (20.8% of users preferred cannabidiol-only). this is self-report from respondents only. [1] |
| the source is a large outpatient survey study done at an academic headache program | confirmed | a cross-sectional REDCap survey sent electronically to all 5,400 patients seen at a tertiary headache center over three months in 2022. 1,373 responses were analyzed, and the authors describe it as the largest study of its kind in a clinical headache sample. we did not check whether the speaker is one of the authors, because we do not name individuals. [1] |
| the spoken wording: a third of "our patient population" uses cannabinoids | unverifiable | the response rate was 25.4% (1,373 of 5,400), and the paper had no sociodemographic data to compare responders with nonresponders. the survey can tell us how many respondents use cannabis. it cannot tell us how many of all clinic patients do, and people who use cannabis may have been more or less likely to answer. the authors also say results may not generalize to clinics in other states. [1] |
| the third refers to current use; use in the past three years was higher | confirmed | 55.7% reported cannabis-based product use in the past three years. of those, 58.9% (446/758) were still using at the time of the survey. so the speaker's figure is the narrower of the two available numbers. [1] |
| a separate headache clinic found a similar rate | confirmed | a cross-sectional survey of 200 patients at a tertiary headache clinic in calgary, alberta, found that "active cannabinoid users comprised 34.0% of respondents". about 40% of those users used cannabis on 300 or more days a year. [2] |
both directions
for the speaker: the primary paper reports 32.5% current use among 1,373 respondents, which matches "about a third". the study fits the speaker's description: it is a large outpatient survey at a tertiary headache center and the largest of its kind the authors know of. an independent canadian headache-clinic survey found 34.0% active use, so the figure is not a one-off. the speaker also picked the more conservative number. use in the past three years was 55.7%.
against: only about one in four surveyed patients answered (25.4%), and the paper has no demographic data to show whether responders look like the full clinic. "our patient population" therefore stretches the data a little: the third is measured among respondents, not among everyone the clinic sees. "cannabinoids" is broad. it includes cannabidiol-only products, which about a fifth of users preferred, so the figure does not mean a third of patients use tetrahydrocannabinol-containing cannabis. the center is in a state where cannabis is legal, and the authors say rates may not transfer to clinics elsewhere.
what this cannot say
both studies rely on self-report and recall, and neither confirmed use with tests or records. the u.s. survey was english-only and has no sociodemographic data. both samples come from tertiary referral clinics, which see harder-to-treat patients than general practice or the wider population with headache. on our side, we matched the speaker's description to the published study but did not check whether the speaker is an author, because we do not name individuals. we also did not watch the episode to confirm the exact wording at 57:22.
sources, each one fetched and read
- Characterizing cannabis use and perceived benefit in a tertiary headache center patient sample. Neurology: Clinical Practice, 2024 (PMC10915819). What we read there: the survey was sent to all patients seen within a 3-month period (n = 5,400; may–august 2022), and 1,373 responded (25.4%). "55.7% reporting cannabis-based product use in the past 3 years and 32.5% indicating current use" (446/1,373). limitations listed: no sociodemographic data, findings may not generalize to other states, self-report, english only. Fetched 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10915819
- Cannabinoid use in a tertiary headache clinic: a cross-sectional survey. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, 2021/2022;49(6). doi:10.1017/cjn.2021.215 What we read there: "Active cannabinoid users comprised 34.0% of respondents." 200 patients with any headache disorder at a tertiary headache clinic in calgary, alberta. about 40% of users used cannabis on 300 or more days a year. Fetched 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200). https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0317167121002158/type/journal_article
speakers are described by role, not named. one sentence is quoted under fair use, with attribution and a link to the original at the timestamp; we do not re-host audio or video. nothing on this page is a reason to start, stop or change a medication. if you have the file behind anything marked unverifiable, the research board is where people can answer. adam