Knowledge of Cannabinoids among Patients, Physicians, and Pharmacists

Objective: Many patients hold false beliefs about cannabinoids. We evaluated their related beliefs and we also surveyed physicians and pharmacists about their opinions regarding cannabinoids.

Materials and Method

Study 1: 42 patients (mean age 39.1 years, SD=12.6, range 18 to 67) in urban methadone/suboxone clinics were surveyed via questionnaire about their use of cannabis and their knowledge of its potential medical applications and of its positive and negative properties.

Study 2: We recruited 53 professionals (37 physicians and 16 pharmacists) to compare the utility and adverse side-effects of cannabinoids to those of other frequent non-opioid medications for pain, epilepsy, insomnia, and for loss of appetite in HIV positive patients.

Results (both studies): Two‑thirds (66.7%) of our patients reported using cannabis (71.4% of users via smoking, 46.4% in food, 28.6% as drops). The users knew significantly more (t=2.1, df=39, p=.043) legitimate medical applications of cannabis (mean=4.7, SD=2.9) than non‑users (mean=2.1, SD=1.7). Most frequently listed medical applications were epilepsy (73.2%), cancer (70.7%), pain (65.9%), and arthritis (53.7%). However, only 52.4% of patients correctly attributed “drug induced psychosis” to tetrahydrocannabinol rather than to other cannabis constituents. Some erroneously attributed their “high” to cannabidiol (14.3%).

The MDs and pharmacists who volunteered for our survey rated cannabinoids as being more free of adverse side-effects than some other commonly prescribed non-opioid medications for pain, insomnia, and for loss of appetite in HIV patients. Their ratings of cannabinoids for epilepsy were also relatively favourable.

Conclusions: Patients need expert therapeutic guidance from their physicians and pharmacists to properly benefit from cannabinoids.

Keywords: insomnia, pain, epilepsy, cannabis, cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinol, pharmacotherapy.