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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV0316

Mental health professionals’ knowledge and attitudes toward medical cannabis

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TOWARD MEDICAL CANNABIS

Among Tunisian psychiatry residents, knowledge of the adverse effects of cannabis was markedly greater than knowledge of its therapeutic effects, the internet was the main source of information, and approximately half of the participants supported legalization.

The study aimed to examine knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors regarding medical cannabis among Tunisian psychiatry residents; cannabis remains illegal in Tunisia. This analytical cross-sectional study used an anonymous, online, self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and sources of information; while the poster’s methods section mentions 220 residents in psychiatry and child psychiatry, the results section reports a sample of 105 participants. Participants were aged 25 to 34, and 71.4% were women; 40% had previously used cannabis, and 58.1% reported frequently encountering patients who used cannabis. Among therapeutic uses, chronic pain was the most widely recognized (92 participants, 87.6%), followed by muscle spasms (45.7%), cancer (30.5%), nausea and vomiting (27.6%), multiple sclerosis (24.8%), cachexia (13.3%), HIV/AIDS (8.6%), and glaucoma (7.6%). Regarding adverse effects, memory problems were recognized by 69.5%, anxiety by 67.6%, hallucinations by 63.8%, paranoia by 61.9%, tachycardia by 57.1%, depression by 46.7%, and insomnia by 38.1%; the main source of information was the internet (60%), followed by student workshops and conferences (31.4%) and the media (8.6%). Of the participants, 52.4% supported the legalization of medical cannabis, 52.4% reported witnessing stigmatizing attitudes toward patients who used cannabis, 51.4% reported that social stigma negatively affected access to healthcare, and 66.7% reported that patients had difficulty discussing their cannabis use. In the discussion, the finding that only 46.7% reported adequate knowledge of therapeutic effects, compared with 81% for adverse effects, was interpreted as a gap in knowledge of therapeutic uses and attributed to the restrictive legal framework and risk-focused medical education. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the need for evidence-based medical education to improve knowledge among psychiatrists.

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