Crowley Des, Collins Claire, Delargy Ide, Laird Eamon, Van Hout Marie Claire
Irish College of General Practitioners, Dublin, Ireland.
School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Harm Reduct J. 2017 Jan 13;14(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s12954-016-0129-7.
Governmental debate in Ireland on the de facto decriminalisation of cannabis and legalisation for medical use is ongoing. A cannabis-based medicinal product (Sativex®) has recently been granted market authorisation in Ireland. This unique study aimed to investigate Irish general practitioner (GP) attitudes toward decriminalisation of cannabis and assess levels of support for use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP).
General practitioners in the Irish College of General Practitioner (ICGP) database were invited to complete an online survey. Anonymous data yielded descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages) to summarise participant demographic information and agreement with attitudinal statements. Chi-square tests and multi-nominal logistic regression were included.
The response rate was 15% (n = 565) which is similar to other Irish national GP attitudinal surveys. Over half of Irish GPs did not support the decriminalisation of cannabis (56.8%). In terms of gender, a significantly higher proportion of males compared with females (40.6 vs. 15%; p < 0.0001) agreed or strongly agreed with this drug policy approach. A higher percentage of GPs with advanced addiction specialist training (level 2) agreed/strongly agreed that cannabis should be decriminalised (54.1 vs. 31.5%; p = 0.021). Over 80% of both genders supported the view that cannabis use has a significant effect on patients' mental health and increases the risk of schizophrenia (77.3%). Over half of Irish GPs supported the legalisation of cannabis for medical use (58.6%). A higher percentage of those who were level 1-trained (trained in addiction treatment but not to an advanced level) agreed/strongly agreed cannabis should be legalised for medical use (p = 0.003). Over 60% agreed that cannabis can have a role in palliative care, pain management and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). In the regression response predicator analysis, females were 66.2% less likely to agree that cannabis should be decriminalised, 42.5% less likely to agree that cannabis should be legalised for medical use and 59.8 and 37.6% less likely to agree that cannabis has a role in palliative care and in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (respectively) than males.
The majority of Irish GPs do not support the present Irish governmental drug policy of decriminalisation of cannabis but do support the legalisation of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Male GPs and those with higher levels of addiction training are more likely to support a more liberal drug policy approach to cannabis for personal use. A clear majority of GPs expressed significant concerns regarding both the mental and physical health risks of cannabis use. Ongoing research into the health and other effects of drug policy changes on cannabis use is required.
爱尔兰政府关于大麻事实上的非刑事化以及医疗用途合法化的辩论正在进行。一种基于大麻的医药产品（萨替维克斯®）最近在爱尔兰获得了市场授权。这项独特的研究旨在调查爱尔兰全科医生（GP）对大麻非刑事化的态度，并评估对大麻用于治疗目的（CTP）的支持程度。
邀请爱尔兰全科医生学院（ICGP）数据库中的全科医生完成一项在线调查。匿名数据产生描述性统计（频率、百分比），以总结参与者的人口统计学信息以及对态度陈述的认同情况。纳入了卡方检验和多项逻辑回归分析。
回复率为15%（n = 565），这与爱尔兰其他全国性全科医生态度调查相似。超过一半的爱尔兰全科医生不支持大麻非刑事化（56.8%）。在性别方面，同意或强烈同意这种毒品政策方法的男性比例明显高于女性（40.6%对15%；p < 0.0001）。接受过高级成瘾专家培训（2级）的全科医生中，同意/强烈同意大麻应非刑事化的比例更高（54.1%对31.5%；p = 0.021）。超过80%的男性和女性都支持大麻使用对患者心理健康有重大影响并增加精神分裂症风险的观点（77.3%）。超过一半的爱尔兰全科医生支持大麻用于医疗用途合法化（58.6%）。接受过1级培训（接受过成瘾治疗培训但未达到高级水平）的人中，同意/强烈同意大麻应医疗用途合法化的比例更高（p = 0.003）。超过60%的人同意大麻可在姑息治疗、疼痛管理和多发性硬化症（MS）治疗中发挥作用。在回归反应预测分析中，与男性相比，女性同意大麻应非刑事化的可能性降低66.2%，同意大麻应医疗用途合法化的可能性降低42.5%，同意大麻在姑息治疗和多发性硬化症治疗中发挥作用的可能性分别降低59.8%和37.6%。
大多数爱尔兰全科医生不支持爱尔兰政府目前关于大麻非刑事化的毒品政策，但支持大麻用于治疗目的合法化。男性全科医生和成瘾培训水平较高的人更有可能支持对个人使用大麻采取更宽松的毒品政策方法。绝大多数全科医生对大麻使用的身心健康风险都表达了重大担忧。需要对毒品政策变化对大麻使用的健康和其他影响进行持续研究。
