Academic League of Cannabis Sciences: an initiative to discuss Medicinal Cannabis

Authors

  • Vitória Macario de Simas Gonçalves Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Filipe Eloi Alves Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Fabrícia Lima Fontes-Dantas Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Guilherme Carneiro Montes Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36489/saudecoletiva.2023v13i88p13357-13372

Keywords:

Medical Cannabis, Scientific dissemination, social media, University extension

Abstract

After the discovery of the endocannabinoid system at the end of the 20th century, the doors were opened for studies on Cannabis in the form of medicinal treatment. Since then, numerous clinical trials have shown that cannabis is effective in treating some medical conditions and there is growing public and political pressure to enact laws that allow its use for medicinal purposes. To promote the dissemination of true and accessible scientific information to society, the State University of Rio de Janeiro organized a university extension project entitled League of Cannabis Sciences (LACICAN). This article aims to report the actions of the university extension project focused on the discussion of Medicinal Cannabis. Different informative materials, with accessible language, were produced and disseminated via social media from April 2022 to July 2023. In addition, LACICAN organized its first cycle of debates on Medicinal Cannabis in 2022 remotely, with renowned speakers in the area. At the end of the event, participants answered an online questionnaire to understand the theoretical knowledge acquired. On our main social media, Instagram®, which already has 32 publications since its creation, with 1699 likes and 254 comments in total. During the cycle of debates, we were able to gather more than 130 subscribers from the Southeast (64%), Northeast (31%) and South (5%) regions of Brazil. Interestingly, 100% of the participants reported that they would recommend the debate cycle to someone in a future edition. In this way, the project seeks to maintain the debate between the university and the community about Medicinal Cannabis, its consumption for medicinal purposes, legislation, and scientific research on the subject that is in progress in Brazil.

References

Touw M. The religious and medicinal uses of Cannabis in China, India and Tibet. J Psychoactive Drugs. 1981;13(1):23-34.

Leal-Galicia P, Betancourt D, Gonzalez-Gonzalez A, Romo-Parra H. [A brief history of marijuana in the western world]. Rev Neurol. 2018;67(4):133-40.

Crocq MA. History of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020;22(3):223-8.

Carlini EA. A história da maconha no Brasil. Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria 2006;55:314-7.

Abrams DI, Guzman M. Cannabis in cancer care. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2015;97(6):575-86.

Mallick-Searle T, St Marie B. Cannabinoids in Pain Treatment: An Overview. Pain Manag Nurs. 2019;20(2):107-12.

Porter BE, Jacobson C. Report of a parent survey of cannabidiol-enriched cannabis use in pediatric treatment-resistant epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2013;29(3):574-7.

Terry AL, Stewart M, Fortin M, Wong ST, Kennedy M, Burge F, et al. Gaps in primary healthcare electronic medical record research and knowledge: findings of a pan-Canadian study. Healthc Policy. 2014;10(1):46-59.

Dakkak H, Brown R, Twynstra J, Charbonneau K, Seabrook JA. The perception of pre- and post-natal marijuana exposure on health outcomes: A content analysis of Twitter messages. J Neonatal Perinatal Med. 2018;11(4):409-15.

Published

2023-12-19

How to Cite

Macario de Simas Gonçalves, V., Eloi Alves, F., Lima Fontes-Dantas, F., & Carneiro Montes, G. (2023). Academic League of Cannabis Sciences: an initiative to discuss Medicinal Cannabis. Saúde Coletiva (Barueri), 13(88), 13357–13372. https://doi.org/10.36489/saudecoletiva.2023v13i88p13357-13372

Issue

Section

Artigos Cientí­ficos