(182) Pharmacy Students Attitudes Towards Cannabis in a Large, Required Course

Objective : To examine PY3 students' attitudes toward medical and recreational cannabis use among communities, patients, information resources and willingness to learn more.

Methods: Students were introduced to the topic of cannabis use in their required self-care course through a pre-recorded lecture and expert speaker led in-class discussion. At course completion, students were surveyed anonymously about their attitudes and perceptions on the use of cannabis and their ability to counsel patients.

Results: Of 176 students enrolled, 155 consented to participation. Students indicated that their families and communities were likely to have negative attitudes toward use (64%). Students’ negative perceptions on personal use (19%) or patient use (9%) were lower. Students were more supportive/open to legalization for medical (89%) rather than recreational use (76%). Leading sources of education included internet searches (22%), social media (21%), and news (17%) rather than mainstream medical literature (8%). This was combined with a lower confidence level responding to cannabis questions at work (efficacy 46%, safety 49%, dosage forms 55%). The majority (96%) were interested in learning more as a part of the pharmacy curriculum.

Conclusions: The majority of students have neutral or positive attitudes toward Cannabis use by patients, especially for medical indications. Students were interested in learning more on the topic in an academic setting. Some surprising sources of education included social media, news and internet searches rather than medical literature. This raises a concern as the use of cannabis is increasing and pharmacists are being asked questions related to its use and interactions. The answers could be swayed by stigma and public perceptions leading to misinformation for those in our care.