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Abstract

Medicinal cannabis use is increasingly becoming more prevalent in pediatrics for a range of conditions, despite limited literature. Our study aimed to characterize prevalence, practices, and attitudes of use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes in pediatrics. Caregivers of a child attending an appointment at BC Children’s Hospital clinics completed our online survey, regardless of whether or not they had experience with medicinal cannabis use for their child. The overall prevalence of medicinal cannabis use in a mixed outpatient and inpatient population was 7.68%. Clinical, demographic, and perspectives data predict who is choosing to administer medicinal cannabis for their child and who would change their decision not to use for their child. Key findings include if the caregiver is concerned about short term side effects contributes to whether or not the parent perceives that cannabis is helping their child. Also, caregivers that consider medicinal cannabis a drug are more likely to obtain medicinal cannabis from their child’s health care provider, while caregivers who personally use cannabis and those that were recommended to use for their child by their family, friends, or community are less likely to obtain medicinal cannabis from their child’s healthcare provider. Parents and caregivers are less likely to obtain from dispensaries if the child has undergone unsuccessful conventional treatment and if their child’s health care provider is aware of use. This study builds an understanding of prevalence of, reasoning for, and practices of pediatric medicinal cannabis use to lead to further research and the development of guidelines for safe and efficacious use, including learning about the contents of cannabis products that parents are administering for their children and conducting clinical trials.