skip to main content
Language:
Search Limited to: Search Limited to: Resource type Show Results with: Show Results with: Search type Index

Medical cannabis use in Thailand after its legalization: a respondent-driven sample survey

PeerJ (San Francisco, CA), 2022-01, Vol.10, p.e12809-e12809, Article e12809 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

2022 Assanangkornchai et al. ;COPYRIGHT 2022 PeerJ. Ltd. ;2022 Assanangkornchai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. ;2022 Assanangkornchai et al. 2022 Assanangkornchai et al. ;ISSN: 2167-8359 ;EISSN: 2167-8359 ;DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12809 ;PMID: 35047242

Full text available

Citations Cited by
  • Title:
    Medical cannabis use in Thailand after its legalization: a respondent-driven sample survey
  • Author: Assanangkornchai, Sawitri ; Thaikla, Kanittha ; Talek, Muhammadfahmee ; Saingam, Darika
  • Subjects: Addictions ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Anxiety ; Anxiety disorders ; Bills, Legislative ; Cancer therapies ; Cannabinoids ; Cannabis ; Consumers ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data collection ; Dentists ; Drugs ; Endowments ; Epidemiology ; Hallucinogens ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Interviews ; Legalization ; Legislation ; Marketing research ; Medical cannabis ; Medical marijuana ; Medical Marijuana - adverse effects ; Medicine ; Mental Health ; Movement disorders ; Narcotics ; Neurodegenerative diseases ; Parkinson's disease ; Perception ; Physicians ; Psychosis ; Public Health ; Public health policy ; Public relations ; Questionnaires ; Respondent-driven sampling ; Seeds ; Sleep disorders ; Social research ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Thailand - epidemiology
  • Is Part Of: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA), 2022-01, Vol.10, p.e12809-e12809, Article e12809
  • Description: Many countries now allow the consumption of cannabis or cannabinoids for medical purposes with varying approaches concerning products allowed and the regulatory frameworks prevailing their endowment. On 18 February 2019 Thailand passed legislation allowing the use of cannabis for medical purposes. This study aimed to examine patterns and purposes for consumption of medical cannabis, and consumers' perceptions and opinions towards benefits and harms of cannabis and related policies in 2019-2020. A cross-sectional study using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method was conducted in four sites across Thailand. Participants were 485 adults aged 18 years and over, living in the study region, who had used cannabis for medical purposes within the past 12 months. Face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire were used to collect data on (1) demographic characteristics, (2) pattern of consumption, (3) source of information and perception of benefits and harms of medical cannabis, and (4) opinion towards cannabis policies. Data were analyzed using RDS Analyst and presented as percentage and mean with 95% confidence interval (CI). Most participants (84.7%, 95% CI [78.9-90.5]) used an oral form of crude oil extract while 9.2% (95% CI [4.1-14.2]) used the raw form. The most common uses were for treatment of cancers (23.3%, 95% CI [16.1-30.4]), neuropsychiatric symptoms (22.8%, 95% CI [17.5-28.0]), and musculoskeletal pains (21.6%, 95% CI [16.7-26.6]). Illegal sources such as underground traders (54.5%, 95% CI [40.8-68.3]), friends and relatives (12.2%, 95% CI [6.2-18.3]), not-for-profit provider groups (5.2%, 95% CI [0.5-10.9]), and clandestine growers or producers (2.9%, 95% CI [0.6-5.3]) were the main suppliers. Most (>80%) perceived cannabis could treat cancers, chronic pains, insomnia, Parkinson's disease and generalized anxiety disorder. Less than half perceived that cannabis could cause adverse conditions palpitation, panic, memory impairment and schizophrenic-like psychosis. Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the policies regarding permission to use cannabis for medical purposes (95.1%, 95% CI [92.0-98.2]), for the legal sale of medical cannabis products (95.9%, 95% CI [93.7-98.2]), and for people to grow cannabis for medical use (94.2%, 95% CI [91.8-96.5]). However, only two-thirds agreed with policies concerning the sales of cannabis (65.3%, 95% CI [56.9-73.7]) and home-grown cannabis for recreational purposes (61.3%, 95% CI [52.7-69.9]). Our study reports the experiences of consumers of medical cannabis in the first year after its legalization in Thailand. Consumers reported various patterns and indications of consumption that were not supported by scientific evidence, but had positive perception of the results of consumption. These findings highlight ongoing policy challenges for Thailand and can be a lesson to be learned for other countries in the region.
  • Publisher: United States: PeerJ. Ltd
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 2167-8359
    EISSN: 2167-8359
    DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12809
    PMID: 35047242
  • Source: GFMER Free Medical Journals
    MEDLINE
    PubMed Central
    ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
    ProQuest Central
    DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
Back to results list
INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY (84-028) 37 755 057 Feedback
19 Nguyen Huu Tho St. Dist.7, HCM thuvien@tdtu.edu.vn

Copyright © 2017 INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Searching Remote Databases, Please Wait