“We want what's best for patients.” nurse leaders’ attitudes about medical cannabis: A qualitative study

Background The majority of states have legalized medical cannabis. Nurse leaders must be prepared for an increase in patients’ use of the drug across all care settings. Objectives To explore nurse leaders’ attitudes towards, knowledge of, and experiences with medical cannabis. Design : Descriptive qualitative study design. Participants 28 nurse leaders—19 in four focus groups of 3-7 participants and another 9 in interviews. Methods Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews and focus groups of nurse leaders about their attitudes towards and experiences with patients’ use of medical cannabis. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes. Results Four major themes were identified: overwhelming support for legalized medical cannabis; importance of overcoming the stereotype of a gateway drug; problematic mismatch between federal and state cannabis policies; and nursing needs to be move involved. Conclusions There was strong support for legalized medical cannabis to meet patients’ needs; yet, respondents reported little discussion about or education regarding medical cannabis among nurses. Inconsistent federal and state cannabis policies were viewed as especially problematic and in need of alignment.