Are Canadian Cannabis Dispensaries Counselling Pregnant Women Appropriately?

ABSTRACT

Our objective was to examine the recommendations that Canadian dispensary employees are giving to women regarding cannabis use for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) since the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2018. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study of licensed cannabis dispensaries in 2019, wherein a mystery caller stated they were 8 weeks pregnant and experiencing nausea and vomiting and asked for recommendations about cannabis. Our research was modeled after the primary study done in Colorado by Dickson and colleagues in 2018. An overwhelming majority of dispensaries (93%) in our study recommended against the use of a cannabis product for NVP, which contrasted significantly to the findings of the Colorado study, in which 70% of dispensaries recommended a cannabis product. These findings suggest that Canadian dispensary employees have been adequately educated about the dangers of cannabis use during pregnancy and are helpful from a public health lens.