A content analysis of internet information sources on medical cannabis

Abstract

Background Medical cannabis users report that their knowledge regarding cannabis is predominantly from their own personal experiences and the Internet. Objective We summarize and describe information found through Internet searches on medical cannabis in English language websites. Methods We used terms related to medical cannabis in the Google search engine between November and December 2019. Resulting websites were catalogued and coded for content, including mentions of health and medical conditions, pharmacology, dosage, harmful or adverse effects, harm reduction techniques, cautions or warnings, products for sale, and credentials. Results We coded 344 web pages on 179 unique websites. Cannabis was mentioned for the treatment of 151 different medical and health conditions, only four of the twenty most frequently mentioned conditions have received substantial empirical support for cannabis or cannabinoid treatment. Information content varied widely across sites, only a small proportion of sites included information on pharmacology, dosage, risks, and other aspects that are requirements for pharmaceutical drugs. Information provided was only moderately related to conclusions in the emerging scientific literature. Conclusions Given the rise in cannabis use within the U.S. and the reliance on the Internet as a source of information, considerable efforts are needed to provide accurate on-line cannabis education to minimize harms and maximize benefits for individuals and society.

Industrial hemp as an agricultural crop in Ghana

“…Local jargons such as “ntampi,” “abonsam tawa” (which means devil’s tobacco), and “wee Ghana” were also searched on Google and Google Scholar. The search method is similar to that of Kruger et al ( 2020 ) and Zembroski ( 2011 ). The search terms on Google were to identify general information from non-academic publications, blogs, news articles to academic publications, and books about cannabis.…”

Online information on medical cannabis is not always aligned with scientific evidence and may raise unrealistic expectations

“…A 2017 survey has shown that 38.5% of US adults have searched for health information online (Finney Rutten et al, 2019 ), and the quality of the information available has been an active area of research. It is therefore expected that, with the development of medicinal products based on cannabis and their legalization in many countries, many patients will look online for information on their efficacy and availability (Kruger et al, 2020 ; Kruger et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Recent studies have analyzed the information available online on medical cannabis in general (Kruger et al, 2020 ) or for specific indications such as glaucoma. (Jia et al, 2021 ) A study by Jia et al found that 24% of the webpages returned by Google (and 59% of YouTube videos) had a positive stance on the use of medical cannabis in glaucoma (Jia et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The frequency with which specific indications are mentioned in the analyzed webpages is discussed in the context of the evidence available on Cochrane and the assessment of the evidence strength. We also referred to the level of evidence for the use of medical cannabis products in the report of the US National Academy of Sciences (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017 ), to allow reference to the study on online information on cannabis by Kruger et al (Kruger et al, 2020 )…”

Association of Tetrahydrocannabinol Content and Price in Herbal Cannabis Products Offered by Dispensaries in California: A Purview of Consumers/Patients

“…We chose the largest cannabis market in the world, California (26), to test the hypothesis that higher THC content in cannabis dispensary products is positively correlated with higher prices, and that this correlation is not altered by major product attributes. We focus on the online market because online advertising is a major marketing strategy for cannabis (27)(28)(29).…”