What all physicians need to know about cannabis use and how to talk to our patients about it

11/28/19 • 17 min

Quick Takes: A podcast by physicians, for physicians

With one year of legalized cannabis (and this podcast) under our belts, it’s time to look at the impact that cannabis (and now legal edibles) has had – and how to talk to your patients about their use.

In this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer sits down with Dr. Leslie Buckley, the Chief of the Addictions Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, to discuss the evidence for using cannabis to treat psychiatric disorders (spoiler alert: not much) and how to incorporate motivational interviewing techniques into practice – even in short interviews. We also talk about the problem with edibles and the advantages of CBD over THC.

In this episode, the conversation focused on:

How cannabis use has changed with legalization one year on – and where things might go now that edibles are legal.
What the evidence is for using cannabis in treatment (not much).
Some real-world examples – and excellent techniques – to try when using motivational interviewing with your cannabis patients.
The main interview rounds out with talk about the difference between THC and CDB use.

In this episodes’ bonus content, Double Take, Drs. Gratzer and Buckley enjoy the opportunity to engage in some role-play as they run through a scenario in which Dr. Gratzer plays a young adult who is using cannabis to relieve his anxiety. Listen as Dr. Buckley demonstrates some MI techniques while she interviews him. Episode #7 Double Take

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

With one year of legalized cannabis (and this podcast) under our belts, it’s time to look at the impact that cannabis (and now legal edibles) has had – and how to talk to your patients about their use.

In this episode, the conversation focused on:

How cannabis use has changed with legalization one year on – and where things might go now that edibles are legal.
What the evidence is for using cannabis in treatment (not much).
Some real-world examples – and excellent techniques – to try when using motivational interviewing with your cannabis patients.
The main interview rounds out with talk about the difference between THC and CDB use.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

Previous Episode

7- Double Take: Motivational interviewing for anxiety-related cannabis use (A role-play)

Motivational interviewing for anxiety-related cannabis use (a role-play)

In this episode’s Double Take, Drs. Gratzer and Buckley enjoy the opportunity to engage in some role-play as they run through a scenario in which Dr. Gratzer plays a young adult who is using cannabis to relieve his anxiety. Listen as Dr. Buckley demonstrates some MI techniques while she interviews him.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

Next Episode

What all physicians need to know about telemental health

The world of mental health care delivery is being reshaped.

In this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer sits down with the associate chief in the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems division at CAMH, Dr. Allison Crawford.

Dr. Crawford is an expert on telemental health and in a time when working at home and social distancing are the norm, the need to learn about alternative health care delivery methods is on the rise. Listen to this episode to learn the basics on telemental/virtual mental health and receive some excellent advice on how best to approach starting out in virtual mental health care.

What you will learn:

What telemental health looks like currently and what it is evolving into
- beyond the name change to virtual mental health
- how much easier it is to do with our current technology.
How patients are responding to it
- it goes beyond convenience for some
- they actually rate the quality of virtual care higher than providers.
Some very useful tips for how best to approach starting out in virtual mental health and what you should be aware of
- relationships are still incredibly important – and that can’t be replaced by machines.
How the evolution of technology may impact the use and growth of virtual mental health.