Medical Cannabis in Serbia: The Survey of Knowledge and Attitudes in an Urban Adult Population

ABSTRACT

There are some indices in which legalization 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 Center. 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 recognized. 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 legalization of medical cannabis (median 5 out of 5) and negative towards legalization 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 legalization of medical cannabis was positive, while the attitude towards legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes was negative.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitude
• cannabis
• knowledge
• medical
• public

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Karen E. Moeller and Barbara Woods, who kindly gave permission for use of their questionnaire.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

The study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (grant no. 175087).

Supplemental Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (grant no. 175087).