Patients Are Largely ‘Comfortable’ With Their Doctors Using Marijuana Outside Of Work, Study Shows

A survey of people’s attitudes about doctors’ away-from-work use of cannabis and other drugs finds that “more patients were comfortable with their physician using marijuana outside of work than not,” while even more were okay with their healthcare providers’ use of medical cannabis.

The research, published in the Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online, polled 388 people at four outpatient orthopedic surgery clinics in Pennsylvania, where marijuana currently is legal only for medical use. Respondents were typically older, with a mean age of 55, and more than 95 percent were white. Sixty percent said they’d never used cannabis, and 11 percent reported frequent use.

“At present, the United States is undergoing an unprecedented change at the state level with respect to the legal status of recreational and medical marijuana,” authors noted. “However, at both the federal and state licensure levels, guidance regarding physician medical marijuana usage is not clearly defined.”

In the anonymous survey, participants were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement “I am comfortable with my doctor using the following substance outside of work.”

About 64 percent of patients said they “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed when it came to their doctors drinking alcohol, while about 13 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” disagreed.

As for nicotine, 57 percent of patients were generally comfortable with their doctors’ hypothetical use, while about 16 percent said they weren’t.

“Patients were as comfortable with their physicians using medical marijuana as they were with nicotine.”

Patients were more comfortable with their doctors using marijuana medically than recreationally, the research found. Nearly 56 percent of respondents said they were comfortable with medical use, while 45 percent felt similarly about recreational use. (The published text reported the figure as 47 percent, but authors confirmed to Marijuana Moment that that number was an error.)

Overall, about 25 percent of people strongly or somewhat disagreed with doctors’ recreational marijuana use—compared to about 16 percent for medical marijuana, 16 percent for nicotine and 13 percent for alcohol.

Of all categories, respondents were also most strongly opposed to their doctors using cannabis recreationally, with roughly 19 percent of patients expressing strong disagreement.

Compared to other substances, however, patients were also most uncertain about how they felt around doctors’ cannabis use. About 14 percent said they were unsure about “prescribed” marijuana, while 16.2 percent were unsure about recreational use.

Notably, neither patients’ own past cannabis consumption nor their level of education appeared to significantly affect how they felt about their doctor using marijuana away from work, authors wrote.

“Patients were more likely to agree than disagree with the potential scenario of their physician using recreational marijuana outside of work.”

While the primary aim of the study was to assess patient perspectives on surgeons’ use of cannabis outside of work compared to other substances, the survey also asked participants other questions about marijuana and CBD as part of a treatment plan.

Views among patients were mixed.

“With respect to marijuana, 53% either agreed or strongly agreed that they were open to their physician discussing use as part of a treatment plan,” the paper says. “Forty percent were open to using marijuana as part of a medical treatment plan.”

As for CBD, about 55 percent were open to discussing use as part of treatment.

Regarding both cannabis and CBD specifically, about 20 percent of respondents said they were unsure about how they felt about discussing use as part of a treatment plan.

Authors, from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Geisinger School of Medicine, described the survey responses as showing “high levels of variability with respect to patient perceptions of marijuana use in the clinical setting.”

“These findings reflect the complex nature of marijuana use in our society, both in legality and social acceptance,” they wrote. “Even for CBD, which does not contain any of the psychoactive properties of marijuana, 20% of patients were uncertain if they were open to their doctor discussing CBD use as part of their treatment plan.”

Among the limitations to the new study are what it describes as “the sensitive nature of some of these questions” as well as the possibility that findings from “a single institution in a rural region of Pennsylvania with a homogeneous patient population” may not be generalizable to broader populations.

“In addition, Pennsylvania has legalized medicinal use, but recreational marijuana use remains illegal,” it acknowledges. “This may influence both usage patterns and willingness to respond to questions about illegal drug use.”

Nevertheless, the new study says its findings may allow “comparisons to similarly conducted studies in different geographic regions with varying legal status.”

“In addition, potential changes in state medical board and health care system policies may be guided, in part, by patient perceptions in that region,” it adds. “Thus, there is likely value in understanding local and regional perceptions of marijuana use.”

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, as lawmakers continue to consider proposals that would legalize marijuana for adults broadly, a newly released poll suggests that voters favor a model where cannabis is sold by licensed private businesses, rather than through a system of state-run stores as some legislators have promoted.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) said earlier this month that Democrats are ready to pass a marijuana legalization bill this session but that the party “will need Republican support” to get the job done—adding that it will be a “heavy lift.”

While polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, the policy change has consistently stalled in the legislature, owing in large part to GOP opposition. But not all Republican members are against the reform—and one recently said she felt her party should seize the “opportunity to snatch” the issue from Democrats.

Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)—who announced in December his intent to file a legalization measure alongside House Health Committee Chair Dan Frankel (D)—also recently said the policy would provide for “more responsible usage” of cannabis, compared to the status quo that’s left adults either buying from the illicit market or traveling across state lines to get regulated products.

Separately last month, the Pennsylvania House approved a separate bill sponsored by Frankel that’s meant to strengthen safety standards and oversight of the state’s medical marijuana program as lawmakers work to advance adult-use legalization.

While Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program was enacted nearly a decade ago, lawmakers say the new measure, which now heads to the Senate, is necessary to improve testing compliance, product audits and lab inspections, among other aspects of the industry.

In a video interview released last month, the Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) emphasized that the state is “losing out” to others that have already enacted adult-use legalization, while maintaining a policy that’s enriched the illicit market.

“I think it’s an issue of freedom and liberty. I mean, if folks want to smoke, they should be able to do so in a safe and legal way,” he said. “We should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians are driving to those other states and paying taxes in those other states.”

Pennsylvania’s Republican attorney general recently said he wants to be a “voice for potential public safety risks” of enacting the governor’s proposal—though he said his office would be ready to enforce the new law if lawmakers did vote to pass it.

The state’s agriculture secretary separately told lawmakers that he’s fully confident that his department is in a “really good” position to oversee an adult-use marijuana program if lawmakers act.

Meanwhile, in February, top Pennsylvania police and health officials told lawmakers they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization if the legislature moves forward with the reform—and that they stand ready to work together as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.

Amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, a GOP state senator said prohibition has been a “disaster,” and a regulated sales model for cannabis—similar to how alcohol and tobacco are handled—could serve as an effective alternative.

A Republican Pennsylvania senator also recently defended the push to legalize and regulate marijuana, calling it “the most conservative stance” on the issue.

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