TY - JOUR
T1 - Dispensary Staff Perceptions About the Benefits, Risks, and Safety of Cannabis for Medical Purposes
AU - Bulls, Hailey W.
AU - Althouse, Andrew D.
AU - Feldman, Robert
AU - Arnsten, Julia H.
AU - Liebschutz, Jane M.
AU - Nugent, Shannon M.
AU - Orris, Steven R.
AU - Rohac, Rebecca
AU - Slawek, Deepika E.
AU - Starrels, Joanna L.
AU - Morasco, Benjamin J.
AU - Kansagara, Devan
AU - Merlin, Jessica S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by The Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction (AMERSA), Inc.
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Background: Therapeutic use of cannabis is common in the United States (up to 18.7% of Americans aged ≥12), and dispensaries in the US are proliferating rapidly. However, the efficacy profile of medical cannabis is unclear, and customers often rely on dispensary staff for purchasing decisions. The objective was to describe cannabis dispensary staff perceptions of medical cannabis benefits and risks, as well as its safety in high-risk populations. Methods: Online Survey study conducted using Qualtrics from February 13, 2020 to October 2, 2020 with a national sample of dispensary staff who reportedinteracting with customers in a cannabis dispensary selling tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products. Participants were queried about benefits (“helpfulness”) and risks (“worry”) about cannabis for a variety of medical conditions, and safety in older adults and pregnant women on a five-point Likert scale. These results were then collapsed into three categories including “neutral” (3/5). “I don’t know” (uncertainty) was a response option for helpfulness and safety. Results: Participants (n = 434) were from 29 states and included patient-facing dispensary staff (40%); managers (32%); pharmacists (13%); and physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants (5%). Over 80% of participants perceived cannabis as helpful for post-traumatic stress disorder (88.7%), epilepsy (85.3%) and cancer (83.4%). Generally, participants were not concerned about potential cannabis risks, including increased use of illicit drugs (76.3%), decreases in intelligence (74.4%), disrupted sleep (71.7%), and new/worsening health problems from medical cannabis use (70.7%). Cannabis was considered safe in older adults by 81.3% of participants, though there was much less consensus on safety in pregnancy. Conclusions: Cannabis dispensary staff generally view medical cannabis as beneficial and low-risk. However, improvements in dispensary staff training, an increased role for certifying clinicians, and interventions to reduce dispensary staff concerns (e.g., cost, judgment) may improve evidence-based staff recommendations to patients seeking medical cannabis.
AB - Background: Therapeutic use of cannabis is common in the United States (up to 18.7% of Americans aged ≥12), and dispensaries in the US are proliferating rapidly. However, the efficacy profile of medical cannabis is unclear, and customers often rely on dispensary staff for purchasing decisions. The objective was to describe cannabis dispensary staff perceptions of medical cannabis benefits and risks, as well as its safety in high-risk populations. Methods: Online Survey study conducted using Qualtrics from February 13, 2020 to October 2, 2020 with a national sample of dispensary staff who reportedinteracting with customers in a cannabis dispensary selling tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products. Participants were queried about benefits (“helpfulness”) and risks (“worry”) about cannabis for a variety of medical conditions, and safety in older adults and pregnant women on a five-point Likert scale. These results were then collapsed into three categories including “neutral” (3/5). “I don’t know” (uncertainty) was a response option for helpfulness and safety. Results: Participants (n = 434) were from 29 states and included patient-facing dispensary staff (40%); managers (32%); pharmacists (13%); and physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants (5%). Over 80% of participants perceived cannabis as helpful for post-traumatic stress disorder (88.7%), epilepsy (85.3%) and cancer (83.4%). Generally, participants were not concerned about potential cannabis risks, including increased use of illicit drugs (76.3%), decreases in intelligence (74.4%), disrupted sleep (71.7%), and new/worsening health problems from medical cannabis use (70.7%). Cannabis was considered safe in older adults by 81.3% of participants, though there was much less consensus on safety in pregnancy. Conclusions: Cannabis dispensary staff generally view medical cannabis as beneficial and low-risk. However, improvements in dispensary staff training, an increased role for certifying clinicians, and interventions to reduce dispensary staff concerns (e.g., cost, judgment) may improve evidence-based staff recommendations to patients seeking medical cannabis.
KW - cannabis
KW - dispensary
KW - medical marijuana
KW - surveys and questionnaires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173566828&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85173566828&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/08897077231186677
DO - 10.1177/08897077231186677
M3 - Article
C2 - 37706479
AN - SCOPUS:85173566828
SN - 0889-7077
VL - 44
SP - 226
EP - 234
JO - Substance Abuse
JF - Substance Abuse
IS - 3
ER -