Medical Students’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Beliefs about Medical Cannabis: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Jacobs, Robin J.; Colon, Jessica; Kane, Michael N.

doi:10.7759/cureus.28336

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Specifically, greater self-assessed knowledge of psilocybin, more concern for possible negative effects from its use, and greater belief in the decriminalization of psilocybin for both recreational and therapeutic use were significant predictors of more positive attitudes about psilocybin in this sample of pharmacy students. Findings from this study support reports from previous studies with healthcare students regarding psilocybin-assisted therapy and medical cannabis [25,[32][33][34]. This study also offers some insight into how pharmacy students think and feel about psilocybin as a treatment option, which could affect pharmacy education, and how psychedelic medications may be introduced into clinical settings in the future.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The researchers of the current study have published reports about the perceptions of both medical cannabis and psilocybin-assisted therapy among medical students [25,[32][33][34]. However, little is known about pharmacy students' attitudes toward psilocybin, including their personal experiences with it.…”

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The PSPP was developed by the researchers and contained 41 items that investigated medical students' attitudes toward psilocybin. The items for this instrument were adapted from the authors' previous study about medical students' attitudes toward cannabis [32][33][34] and a follow-up study on their attitudes toward psilocybin [25]. The researchers developed the instruments after reviewing recent and relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals as well as anecdotal reports from health professions educators.…”

Section: Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predictors of Pharmacy Students' Attitudes About the Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin

Bhuiya,

Jacobs,

Wang

et al. 2023

Cureus

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BackgroundPsilocybin has been studied for its potential therapeutic benefits, particularly for the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. While more research is needed as psilocybin-assisted therapy becomes more prevalent, future pharmacists will probably be involved at some level. At present, pharmacists receive minimal training on psilocybin, and little is known about their attitudes toward its use for medical purposes. Findings from recent clinical studies have attempted to establish the safety and medical efficacy of psilocybin, leading to an increased interest in therapeutic psilocybin use in the United States. This study aimed to assess if self-assessed knowledge of psilocybin, concerns about adverse effects, and opinions about legalization will make statistically significant contributions to pharmacy students' attitudes about psilocybin use in practice. MethodsPharmacy students' self-assessed knowledge, concern for potential adverse effects, and perceptions of psilocybin were investigated using a cross-sectional survey study design. Data were collected from March 13 to April 7, 2023, from a convenience sample of 161 pharmacy students enrolled in an accredited pharmacy school in the southern region of the United States using a 41-item anonymous quantitative survey developed by the researchers that contained validated scales. The survey was delivered electronically. Multiple regression modeling was conducted to determine if self-assessed knowledge, concerns for adverse effects, and opinions about legalization would predict pharmacy students' attitudes about therapy-assisted psilocybin use. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the authors' university. ResultsThe mean age of the 161 participants was 24 years (SD = 2.981; range 20-40 years). Twenty (12.4%) participants reported previous use of psilocybin for recreational purposes and two (1.2%) reported having used it therapeutically. Many (n =121; 75.2%) of the participants believed that psilocybin should be decriminalized for therapeutic use, but only 54 (33.5%) thought it should be decriminalized for recreational use. A multiple linear regression model predicting "attitudes about psilocybin" (dependent variable) produced significant results: (F(4, 122) = 40.575, p < 0.001), with an R2 = 0.571 (adjusted R2 = 0.557). Greater "self-assessed knowledge about psilocybin," less "concern about possible negative effects," greater "belief in the decriminalization of psilocybin for recreational use," and greater "belief in the decriminalization of psilocybin for therapeutic use" (all independent variables) were associated with more positive perceptions about medical psilocybin. The percentage of variance in the scores accounted for by the model was 57%. ConclusionsPharmacy students may lack information and training regarding psilocybin and report a desire to learn more about it. Their attitudes about medical psilocybin may be driven by this desire to learn in addition to concerns about ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Predictors of Pharmacy Students' Attitudes About the Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin

Bhuiya,

Jacobs,

Wang

et al. 2023

Cureus

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…The survey used Likert-type items with a six-point response scale (1=strongly agree to 6=strongly disagree), categorical items, and yes/no questions. Many of the items were adapted from various published studies, mostly regarding the use of medical cannabis as no measures specific to medical psilocybin could be found [7,[24][25][26][27][28][29]. The content areas assessed are delineated below.…”

Section: The Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Medical Students’ Perceptions of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Use in Medical Practice

Wang¹,

Sun²,

Nava³

et al. 2023

Cureus

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BackgroundPsilocybin use, along with other psychedelics, has seen an increased interest among professionals in the medical community due to its potential therapeutic benefits for psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders (SUD), and palliative care. While it is certain that more research is necessary as psychedelicassisted therapy becomes more prevalent, it will most likely be future physicians at the forefront of this neoteric care. Currently, physicians receive minimal training because of psilocybin's contextual information and its current enlistment as a Schedule 1 drug per the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedule 1 drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. As a rule, formal education on psilocybin is not included in medical school curricula, and very little is known about how medical students perceive it. The aim of this study was thus to assess current medical students' perceptions of their knowledge, concern for possible negative effects, and perceptions about medical psilocybin to provide a deeper understanding of which factors may predict their overall perceptions of its future therapeutic use. MethodsMedical students' knowledge, concern for potential adverse effects, and perceptions of medical psilocybin were investigated using a cross-sectional survey study design. Data were collected in January 2023 from a convenience sample of United States medical students in years one to four of their program using a 41-item anonymous quantitative online survey. Multivariate linear regression modeling was performed to determine if perceived knowledge and beliefs about legalization would predict medical students' attitudes about psilocybin use for therapeutic purposes. ResultsTwo hundred and thirteen medical students completed the survey. Seventy-three percent (n=155) were osteopathic medical students (OMS), and 27% (n=58) were allopathic medical students (MDS). Regression modeling produced a statistically significant equation: (F(3, 13) = 78.858, p < .001), with an R 2 = 0.573 (adjusted R 2 = 0.567), indicating that greater (perceived) knowledge about medical psilocybin, less concern for its possible adverse effects, and greater belief in the legalization of psilocybin for recreational use significantly contributed to positive perceptions of psilocybin use in medical practice. ConclusionsIn this sample, medical students with greater self-assessment of their knowledge about medical psilocybin, less concern for its potential adverse effects, and more positive views about recreational psilocybin legalization predicted positive attitudes about its medical use. Interestingly, although some participants had positive perceptions about the legalization of psilocybin for medical use, endorsing its legalization for recreation was related to greater positive attitudes toward medical psilocybin in general, a finding that appears to be somewhat counterintuitive. More research is warranted to further explore medical trainees' ...

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“…According to recent studies, young adults have a positive perception of CBD despite having limited knowledge of its evidence base or regulation [ 26 ]. Several studies have shown that the pharmacological knowledge of pharmacists, physicians, students, patients, and recreational users in other countries is insufficient regarding cannabis and cannabinoid-derived drugs [ 12 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. This study aimed to analyze the attitudes and knowledge of physicians, pharmacists, and students in Croatia about the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoid-derived medicines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and Attitudes of Cannabidiol in Croatia among Students, Physicians, and Pharmacists

Batinic,

Curkovic,

Bukic

et al. 2023

Pharmacy

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Due to cannabidiol’s health benefits and absence of serious side effects, its use is constantly growing. This is a survey-based cross-sectional study that was conducted to determine Croatian pharmacists’, physicians’, and students’ knowledge and attitudes about cannabidiol (CBD). Two questionnaires were created, one for students and the other for physicians and pharmacists. Our participants (in total 874: 473 students and 401 physicians and pharmacists) generally had positive attitudes towards CBD therapy as approximately 60% of them believe that CBD treatment is generally efficacious. Participants had positive attitudes toward the therapeutic value of CBD, especially pharmacists and pharmacy students (63.8% and 72.2%, respectively). Pharmacists were significantly more convinced that CBD could reduce the use of opioids prescribed for chronic pain (p < 0.05). Only 17.5% of students had read scientific papers about CBD, compared to a significantly higher percentage of physicians and pharmacists (43.0% and 47.8%, respectively) (p < 0.05). This study revealed a gap in knowledge regarding CBD, since 89.3% of pharmacists and physicians, as well as 84.8% of students, believe they need more education about CBD. We conclude that it is important to improve the educational curricula so that medical professionals can recommend CBD use to their patients when needed.

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Medical Students’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Beliefs about Medical Cannabis: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Cited by 5 publications

References 52 publications

Predictors of Pharmacy Students' Attitudes About the Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin

Predictors of Pharmacy Students' Attitudes About the Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin

Predictors of Medical Students’ Perceptions of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Use in Medical Practice

Knowledge and Attitudes of Cannabidiol in Croatia among Students, Physicians, and Pharmacists

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