In 2014, over a one-month period, Twitter produced over 15 times as many pro-cannabis tweets as anti-cannabis ones .This trend of pro-cannabis information outweighing the anti-cannabis information online should contribute to a shift of cannabis attitudes in a more positive direction. Even so, there remains a gap between cannabis attitudes in the media and realized patient stigmas . As a result, public cannabis education efforts which emphasize the current scientific understanding and evidence for medical cannabis use are vital to meeting patient needs.Participants indicated strong support for patient access to medical cannabis in the scenario questions before viewing the educational lectures; and the support increased after viewing them. This support, though, was observed even when participants did not indicate a pro-medical cannabis stance in the absence of a personal patient scenario; participants seemed to be objectively opposed to medical cannabis grow system, but then supported it when provided with a personalized clinical need for it.
This is not dissimilar to research on individuals changing their attitudes toward LGTBQ rights and public policy when a friend or family member comes out as gay.Currently, there is a knowledge gap among health care providers as there is no standardized curriculum for medical cannabis across nursing or medical schools in the United States . Consequently, patient demand for medical cannabis vastly outweighs the number of qualified practitioners who have been properly educated about it . Research has shown that two-thirds of medical school curriculum deans believed that their graduates were “not at all” prepared to recommend medical cannabis to patients .This is especially troubling given the patient need of and clinical evidence for cannabis as a viable alternative to opioid use . The disconnect between medical cannabis patients and their providers’ understanding of medical cannabis contributes to significant treatment issues. A recent study in Michigan found that only 21% of medical cannabis patients were comfortable with their primary care physician’s ability to incorporate medical cannabis as a treatment option .
As medical cannabis legality continues to expand throughout the United States, it is essential that further research and education efforts go beyond public education and target healthcare professionals to ensure that they can be knowledgeable and comfortable recommending medical cannabis to patients and further reduce stigmas associated with this treatment option .The strengths of this study included presenting balanced information with both the benefits and risks of cannabis and focusing on the most relevant clinical applications. There were, though, some weaknesses. The study results may not be generalizable to the national population because of its lack of variety of participants from more politically conservative areas. A large portion of the sample size comprised individuals from the state of California,where the use of medical cannabis has been legalized since 1996.Though this sample over represents California, with full access to medical and recreational marijuana grow system, given the relative populations of the states with full access to cannabis versus the states with no access, the sample does not vary from the country’s population . Further, recent research demonstrated that states’ legal status of cannabis is not a predictor of resident’s attitudes on cannabis .
The sample contained a larger percentage than the national averages of participants who identified as White or female. There was also a high dropout rate; this likely was due to the requirement of watching nearly 1.5 h of educational sessions, a large commitment with only the potential for as mall monetary reward.Additionally, researchers were unable to verify if participants viewed the educational lectures. With there being no researcher monitoring the participants, any number of external factors could have prevented the participants from finishing, and those that did claim to finish the videos could have falsified their level of completion. However, a review of the videos on the primary author’s YouTube account showed that each video had been viewed more than 125 times. This is more than the total number of participants in the study. Though this does not confirm specific participant’s viewing of the education lectures, it supports engagement from the participants as the videos were only available on the main research website and set to be viewed only to those who had the link . Likewise, the level of participant engagement with the lectures was not verified.