Abstracts

Rationale: Thousands of studies have shown the value of cannabinoid-based treatments in cancer, epilepsy, pain, and other conditions. By 2020, 33 US states, including some in the South, had legalized medical cannabis, but legalization efforts got stalled in Alabama due to COVID-19 until 2021. The bill under consideration in Alabama targeted specific medical conditions including epilepsy. Polling showed 75% of Alabama voters supporting medical cannabis legalization, but Alabama physicians’ stand was unclear. We partnered with the Medical Association of the State of Alabama to survey its members about support for cannabis legislation. Based on the literature, we hypothesized that the majority of physicians would support legislation, but expected lower support among pediatricians because of concerns about impact of cannabis access on children/youth.

Methods: A structured online questionnaire using Likert-like items was fielded during 2/23-5/1/21. 399 respondents completed the full survey; additional 52 respondents answered questions about legalization but did not finish the survey or provided demographic information. We computed descriptive statistics/percentage distributions of responses about legalization in general and for specific conditions (incl. epilepsy) - by type of cannabis product (FDA-approved cannabidiol [CBD], any CBD, any medical cannabis, and recreational cannabis).

Results: The “completes” were 26-91 years old (median=56 [SD=13]); 65% were male, 85% white, and 2% Hispanic. Regulated CBD had high support among all respondents (77%, n=451; Fig. 1) and, contrary to our hypothesis, even higher among pediatricians (94%, n=50); lower support was noted for other cannabis products but similar for pediatricians and all physicians. 23% of all respondents supported legalization of regulated CBD for epilepsy, compared to 8-12% supporting other cannabis products (Table 1). Epilepsy had less support than terminal illness, chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting, and spasticity.

Conclusions: Support for legal medical cannabis among Alabama physicians is lower than in the general population, but a large majority of physicians support legalization of regulated CBD. Notably, pediatricians are not less supportive than physicians generally. These patterns may reflect growing knowledge and awareness about the benefits of medical cannabis.

Funding: Please list any funding that was received in support of this abstract.: UAB Lister Hill Center for Health Policy Research.