Medical Cannabis in Serbia: The Survey of Knowledge and Attitudes in an Urban Adult Population.
Abstract
There are some indices that legalisation of medical cannabis in the Republic of Serbia might be considered. The purpose of this research was to assess knowledge and attitudes towards medical cannabis in an urban adult population. This cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2015 and January 2016. A convenience sample of study participants comprised users of the Community Health Centre. A total of 360 adults were invited to participate. Data were collected through an anonymous questionnaire. Most participants (77.1%) answered correctly that cancer was indicative of medical cannabis treatment, while the remaining conditions were less frequently recognised. A total of 42% answered correctly that adverse effects of cannabis were hallucinations and dizziness. Persons who previously used cannabis were more knowledgeable on conditions for medical cannabis treatment (ρ = 0.155; p = 0.006). Study respondents expressed positive attitude towards legalisation of medical cannabis (median 5 out of 5) and negative towards legalisation of recreational cannabis (median 2 out of 5). In conclusion, the adult population in Belgrade had some knowledge of medical cannabis. The overall attitude of our population regarding legalisation of medical cannabis was positive, while the attitude towards legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes was negative.
Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PMID: 28632077 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2017.1292434