Perception of the risk of medicinal marijuana in postgraduate medical residents

Abstract

Background: Drugs can often cause adverse reactions, and the perception of the risk of prescription drugs could influence prescription behaviour. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of the perception of postgraduate physicians in training of the risk of using medical marijuana, comparing it with their perception of paracetamol and sedatives. A visual analogue scale with ranges from 0 (no risk) to 10 (totally risky) was used. Results: A total of 197 postgraduate students were evaluated; 48 women and 149 men took part, with a mean age 27.8 years. Among the different specialties, there was a difference with regard to the perception of medical marijuana and paracetamol and all perceived a greater risk with sedatives. There was no evidence of a risk perception of marijuana in relation to factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking. Conclusions: There is a difference in the perception of risk of medical marijuana and paracetamol with this perception being greater with sedatives. Regarding specialties, the perception of risk was greater for medical marijuana in general surgery than in urology.