The article, “Dispensary Staff Perceptions About the Benefits, Risks, and Safety of Cannabis for Medical Purposes,” has been published in SAj.
In this commentary, the authors state that therapeutic use of cannabis is common in the United States (up to 18.7% of Americans aged ≥12), and dispensaries in the US are proliferating rapidly. However, the efficacy profile of medical cannabis is unclear, and customers often rely on dispensary staff for purchasing decisions. The objective was to describe cannabis dispensary staff perceptions of medical cannabis benefits and risks, as well as its safety in high-risk populations.
In the AUTHORS’ OWN WORDS, they relate the importance of their work:
“Not surprisingly, it follows that very few (<3%) dispensary customers use advice from a medical professional to guide their product choice, relying on dispensary staff. Other studies have documented dispensary staff roles in offering recommendations to treat a variety of medical conditions with cannabis products.
The purpose of this study was to conduct a descriptive study to better understand cannabis dispensary staff perceptions of medical cannabis benefits and risks for several medical conditions, as well as its safety in high-risk populations (pregnant individuals, older adults). This study is significant in that our findings provide new knowledge to help medical professionals provide anticipatory guidance to patients about how dispensary staff think about cannabis benefits and risks in the context of available medical evidence. This may have important implications for policy guidance on dispensary staff training, and lead to key next steps (e.g., training development) that improve customer safety and efficacy outcomes.”