A majority of palliative care and hospice clinicians feel unprepared to discuss medical cannabis with their patients.
Researchers from Harvard University surveyed 123 hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) fellows regarding their familiarity with medical cannabis. About 71% indicated that they were not “sufficiently informed” to counsel patients on its use, according to a recent study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
“Most HPM fellows report formal training in the use of medical cannabis. Over half of trainees reported discussing medical cannabis with patients, but few considered themselves sufficiently informed to make cannabis-related clinical recommendations,” the study authors wrote. “These results suggest both a need for expanded high-quality evidence for medical cannabis in palliative care and for improved formal education for HPM fellows.”
Previous surveys have found similar sentiment among nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals.
Though cannabis remains illegal federally, changes to state laws are making the practice more common. As of April 2023, 38 states, three territories and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, according to the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL).
Currently, close to 3.9 million people in the United States are registered with state governments as medical cannabis patients, the Marijuana Policy Project reported. This is likely a significant undercount of the total users as some states do not have mandatory registries.
