Exploring medicinal cannabis use INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY (HEALTH PROFESSIONALS) New Zealanders have been using cannabis for medicinal purposes for many decades, both legally in the form of approved medicines and illegally as herbal cannabis. However, little is known about how they use it, for what conditions, what advice they seek from medical professionals, sources of information about therapeutic benefits, sources of supply and their perceptions of therapy benefits and unwanted side effects. There are also important questions about how health professionals advise medicinal cannabis users and to what extent they will engage with the new medicinal cannabis regime which has been implemented since April 2020. My name is Dr Marta Rychert and I am a Researcher at SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, Massey University. This study aims to improve understanding of the medicinal cannabis landscape in New Zealand. I will interview 25 current medicinal cannabis users and 25 health professionals about their experiences and beliefs about medicinal cannabis use. You are invited to take part in this research. Your participation will involve an interview about (I) your professional experiences with medicinal cannabis use in your medical practice, (II) beliefs about the use of cannabis as a medicine, (III) knowledge of potential benefits and harms of use of medicinal cannabis in your patients, and (IV) the awareness of the ongoing medicinal cannabis law reform. The estimated time of an interview is 40 minutes and I would like to conduct it face-to-face. Participation by Zoom/Skype is possible if you live outside Auckland. The interview will be confidential and your name will not be disclosed. Information identifying individual participants will be redacted. What will happen with the data? Findings of the project will be published in a peer-reviewed academic publication. Interviews will be sound recorded and transcribed to assure accuracy of information. Data will be available only to researchers involved in this study, and not disclosed to any third parties. Transcripts and recordings will be stored securely in electronic form for a period of five years and then disposed of. Participant’s rights You are under no obligation to accept this invitation. If you decide to participate, you have the right to: • decline to answer any question without providing reasons; • withdraw from the study up to two weeks after completion of the interview; • ask any questions about the study at any time during participation; • provide information on the understanding that your name will not be used unless you give express permission to the researcher; • be only referred to in the results as a generic professional category (e.g. GP, oncologist, cannabis clinician); • be given access to a summary of the project findings when it is concluded; findings will be published at http://shore.ac.nz • ask for the recorder to be turned off at any time during the interview. If you have any questions about the project, please contact research team by e-mail or phone: Lead Researcher: Dr Marta Rychert m.rychert@massey.ac.nz Mob: 021 423 697
Co-researchers: Associate Professor Chris Wilkins c.wilkins@massey.ac.nz Vinuli Withanarachchie V.Withanarachchie@massey.ac.nz
This project has been reviewed and approved by the Massey University Human Ethics Committee: Southern A, Application 18/85. If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research, please contact Dr Lesley Batten, Chair, Massey University Human Ethics Committee: Southern A, telephone + 646 356 9099 x 85094, email humanethicsoutha@massey.ac.nz .
SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, College of Health, Te Runanga, Wananga, Hauora me te Paekaka P O Box 6137, Wellesley Street, Auckland, New Zealand. Tel: +64 9 366 6136. shore@massey.ac.nz; www.shore.ac.nz