Attitudes and Knowledge of Israeli Ultra-Orthodox and Religious Jewish Nursing Students Toward the Use of Medical Cannabis

There has been a sharp increase in recent years in the use of medical cannabis in Israel. However, little is known about the attitudes and knowledge about medical cannabis among nursing students, particularly those from the religious/ultra-Orthodox sector. It is important for nurses to know about medical cannabis because they are at the forefront of care and provide patient guidance. A cross-sectional study sampled 221 religious/ultra-Orthodox nursing students who were studying for a BN or MN degree. Online questionnaires asked for demographic details and tested their attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge regarding the use of medical cannabis. Data analysis was conducted using the Pearson Correlation, t tests for independent samples, unifactorial and multiple regression variance tests to predict positive attitudes toward medical cannabis. The findings show that the attitudes of nursing students from the religious/ultra-Orthodox sector regarding the use of medical cannabis are more negative than those of other nursing students. Participants who had been exposed to medical cannabis expressed more positive attitudes. However, most participants oppose cannabis being made legal for recreational use, believe it is addictive, and show a very low medical cannabis usage rate. A negative connection was also found between degree of religiosity and attitudes toward medical cannabis. The knowledge of religious/ultra-Orthodox nursing students regarding medical cannabis was found to be low, and they supported its inclusion in the curriculum. The findings indicate a need to include medical cannabis in the academic curriculum to increase knowledge about it among healthcare professionals. The research should be extended to a representative sample of additional populations and compare between staff who studied about medical cannabis and those who did not. Depth interviews should be conducted with policy makers to discover what has been done and will be done to train the next generation of students.