P-39 Cross sectional study of the knowledge and attitudes of Medical Cannabis amongst prospective health care professionals in Trinidad and Tobago.

Design and Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire comprising 21 questions to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception of medical Cannabis was distributed via google forms among students at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. Chi-square analysis was used to detect significant associations between demographics and measured variables. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The response rate was 17.6% (n = 388) and the mean age of respondents was 22.88 ± 3.22 years. The three most popular perceived therapeutic benefits of Cannabis were chronic pain (91.2%), anxiety (84.2%) and seizures (71.1%). Identification of the risks associated with the use of Cannabis was low amongst respondents with psychotic symptoms (71.3%), memory problems (66.1) and respiratory symptoms (65.9%) being most commonly identified. Users of Cannabis were able to identify indications and symptoms that can be treated with Cannabis but were less aware of the adverse effects of the drug than non-users (p<0.001). More than three quarters (87.3%) believed they could identify therapeutic uses and adverse effects but only 14.2 % were ready to answer queries from patients. The main source of Cannabis information was the internet and information was lacking in the medical school curriculum.

Conclusion: The majority of students were not able to identify indications and adverse effects of the drug. There is a need to improve training for all prospective medical personnel to cater for the change in legislation status in T&T.