Introduction Attitudes toward medical cannabis are shaped by a number of factors, such as religion, previous use, and political affiliation. Individuals with less supportive beliefs toward cannabis, in general, may be more open to its therapeutic applications in a humanized patient scenario (PS). Methods A modified medical cannabis attitude scale was used to measure participants' attitudes toward medical cannabis. Two humanized patient scenarios were presented to the participants, and their level of agreement with the patient having access to medical cannabis was measured. After the scales were standardized, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test (WSR) was utilized to determine whether a difference between medical cannabis attitudes and approval of medical cannabis use in the humanized PS exists. Results A total of 645 participants completed the full survey and were included in the data analysis. Most participants were supportive of the patients in the humanized scenarios having access to medical cannabis; 76.1% and 75.7% of respondents, in each of the scenarios, selected the highest level of approval. There was a significantly higher approval for medical cannabis with the PS than attitudes toward medical cannabis in general (Z=-17.415, p<0.0005). Conclusion Individuals were more supportive of patient access to medical cannabis when exposed to humanized PS than their general attitudes toward medical cannabis indicated. Applying the results of this current research, a viable plan to reduce the stigma surrounding cannabis is to use patient testimonials in public-facing advocacy efforts regarding medical cannabis.
Keywords: bias; medical cannabis; psychoactive drug; public health; stigma; stigma in health care.
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