Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33849983›Full record

ArticleCMAJ open

Attitudes toward medical cannabis among family physicians practising in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative research study.

Jeremy Y Ng, Kevin Gilotra, Sana Usman, Yaping Chang, Jason W Busse

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE PATTERNS OF CANADIAN PHYSIATRISTS REGARDING MEDICAL CANNABIS.Journal of rehabilitation medicine. Clinical communications · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jeremy Y NgDepartments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ng, Gilotra, Usman, Chang, Busse) and Anesthesia (Busse), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (Busse); The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Busse), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Kevin GilotraDepartments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ng, Gilotra, Usman, Chang, Busse) and Anesthesia (Busse), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (Busse); The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Busse), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Sana UsmanDepartments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ng, Gilotra, Usman, Chang, Busse) and Anesthesia (Busse), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (Busse); The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Busse), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Yaping ChangDepartments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ng, Gilotra, Usman, Chang, Busse) and Anesthesia (Busse), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (Busse); The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Busse), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Jason W BusseDepartments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Ng, Gilotra, Usman, Chang, Busse) and Anesthesia (Busse), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (Busse); The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Busse), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. bussejw@mcmaster.ca.
Impact · CACentre for Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedical cannabis has been legally available in Canada since 2001, but its benefits and harms remain uncertain. We explored attitudes toward medical cannabis among family physicians practising in Ontario.

methodsBetween January and October 2019, we conducted a qualitative study of Ontario family physicians using semistructured telephone interviews. We applied thematic analysis to interview transcripts and identified representative quotes.

resultsEleven physicians agreed to be interviewed, and 3 themes regarding medical cannabis emerged: reluctance to authorize use, concern over harms and lack of practical knowledge. Participants raised concerns about the limited evidence for, and their lack of education regarding, the therapeutic use of cannabis, particularly the harms associated with neurocognitive development, exacerbation of mental illness and drug interactions in older adults. Some participants thought medical cannabis was overly accessible and questioned their role following legalization of recreational cannabis.

interpretationDespite the increasing availability of medical cannabis, family physicians expressed reluctance to authorize its use because of lack of knowledge and concerns regarding harms. Family physicians may benefit from guidance and education that address concerns they have surrounding medical cannabis.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityMedical MarijuanaMental HealthPhysicians, FamilyPractice Patterns, Physicians'Attitude of Health PersonnelFemaleHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeeds AssessmentOntarioQualitative ResearchRisk AssessmentMedical Marijuana

Identifiers

PMID33849983
PMCPMC8084545
OpenAlexW3153041586

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.