Nursing Students’ Attitudes and Knowledge of Medical and Recreational Cannabis Use: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND: Health care providers lack education and experience surrounding medical and recreational cannabis use and the contribution it may have in health care. There is an immediate need for nursing education to incorporate structured learning opportunities that prepare nurses to care for patients using medical cannabis and address concerns related to recreational cannabis use. AIM: The purpose of this review is to synthesize and appraise the literature on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards medical and recreational cannabis. Additionally, it will identify the teaching methods, tools, or instruments used to measure nursing students' knowledge and attitudes. METHODS: An integrative review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines examined eight studies. RESULTS: The studies were conducted in the United States, Canada, Greece, Chile, Spain, Cyprus, and Israel. Six were descriptive cross-sectional studies. Nursing students overwhelmingly reported feeling unprepared and lacking confidence in caring for patients who use cannabis. Seven studies identified gaps in cannabis-related knowledge and mismatches between formal education and students' desired learning, particularly in cannabis science, therapeutic use, side effects, practice standards, and regulations. Instruments used to measure knowledge and attitudes varied widely, limiting comparisons across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards cannabis is limited. Nursing students report feeling underprepared to care for patients using cannabis, which may indicate insufficient formal education. Future research should explore effective strategies to integrate cannabis education into nursing curricula and assess faculty readiness to incorporate judgment-free cannabis education to support students and patients.