Abstract
Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of foreign students toward the use of medical cannabis (MC) for pain management. Methods: This study uses data collected from 549 foreign students from India (n = 289) and Middle Eastern countries mostly from Egypt, Iran, Syria, and Jordan (n = 260) studying medicine in Russia and Belarus. Data collected from Russian and Belarusian origin medical students (n = 796) were used for comparison purposes. Pearson’s chi-squared and t-test were used to analyze the data. Results: Foreign students’ country of origin and gender statuses do not tend to be correlated with medical student responses toward medical cannabis use. Students from Russia and Belarus who identified as secular, compared to those who were religious, reported more positive attitudes toward medical cannabis and policy change. Conclusions: This study is the first to examine the attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs toward medical cannabis among foreign students from India and Middle Eastern countries studying in Russia and Belarus, two countries who oppose its recreational and medicine use. Indian and Middle Eastern students, as a group, tend to be more supportive of MC than their Russian and Belarusian counterparts. These results may be linked to cultural and historical reasons. This study provides useful information for possible medical and allied health curriculum and education purposes.
Highlights
Cannabis is the most commonly used psychoactive drug worldwide
The purpose of this study was to examine whether country of origin affects medical cannabis knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among foreign medical students studying in Russia and Belarus
When Indian and Middle Eastern students were combined for analysis purposes because of similar survey responses, we found they had more positive attitudes toward medical cannabis (MC) than their counterparts from Russia and Belarus
Summary
Numerous countries maintain a fundamental position against its use grounded in international obligation under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1962, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. In countries such as India and Middle Eastern countries, as well as Russia and Belarus, cannabis is subject to restriction and penalty for medical and recreational use.
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