Over eight in ten US healthcare professionals acknowledge cannabis’ therapeutic efficacy and an even greater percentage say that it should be legal for medical purposes, according to survey data published in the Journal of Cannabis Research.
Eight hundred and seventy-nine healthcare professionals – including mental health professionals, registered nurses, and physicians – participated in the survey.
Consistent with prior surveys, “most respondents (>85 percent), regardless of their role in healthcare, believed cannabis to have legitimate therapeutic uses and had patients who used cannabis. Furthermore, most participants were supportive of legal access to medical cannabis, open to using it in their own practice, and interested in receiving further training to do so.”
Overall, 95 percent of respondents expressed support for the legal medical use of cannabis and 74 percent said that they personally would recommend cannabis therapy to their patients. Eighty-nine percent of respondents acknowledging having patients who are current cannabis consumers.
Despite cannabis’ growing favorability among healthcare professionals, less than one-third of participants acknowledged having received “formal clinical training” regarding how to “integrate medical cannabis into their practice” – a finding that is also consistent with other surveys of healthcare providers.
Commenting on the survey data, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “The use and efficacy of medical cannabis is now widely accepted among healthcare professionals. As more physicians, nurses, and others integrate medical cannabis into their clinical practices, it is vital that medical associations, institutions, and educational curricula similarly incorporate and embrace cannabis as a mainstream and established therapeutic option for patients.”
The full text of the study, “Knowledge, attitudes, and concerns about medical cannabis among US healthcare professionals,” appears in the Journal of Cannabis Research. Additional information appears in the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Health Clinicians’ Attitudes Toward Cannabis.’
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