Cannabis Education for Health Care Providers
With the recent legalization of cannabis, health providers are increasingly approached by patients for information on recreational and medical cannabis.
This online module is for health providers looking to explore a variety of topics on recreational and medical cannabis, including legal status, types of cannabis, benefits and risks, and evidence-based recommendations. This interactive course will review patient education, screening/treatment of cannabis use disorder, and provide guidance on writing authorizations for medical cannabis with a sample prescription. Learners will also have access to clinical tools such as a cannabis flowchart, evidence summaries, and other resources.
The course is divided into 3 lessons, a Case Study, and Take-Home Resources. The lessons are divided into the following topics:
- Introduction to Medical & Recreational Cannabis
- Primer on Screening & Treating Cannabis Use Disorder
- Authorization of Medical Cannabis
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Define foundational and evidence-based considerations for cannabis use including legal status, pharmacology, and administration routes.
- Discuss the benefits and harms of recreational and medical cannabis with patients.
- Identify patients with cannabis substance use disorder using a trauma-informed approach and apply behavioural and pharmacological treatment, as appropriate.
- Describe the step-by-step approach to writing a sample authorization and provide patient education for the safe initiation and use of medical cannabis.
- Apply comprehensive post-prescription follow-up care including best practices in monitoring, titration, tapering, and withdrawal, as appropriate.
The Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Committee (CACME) to provide CPD credits for physicians. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program (MOC) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by UBC CPD. You may claim a maximum of 1.50 hours (credits are automatically calculated). This one-credit-per-hour Assessment program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by UBC CPD for up to 1.50 Mainpro+® credits. Each physician should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.