Nurse’s Role in the Medical Utilization of Cannabis Extracts

Abstract

Thailand has announced the Narcotics Act (No. 7) to ease for the medical use of cannabis extracts and research study in 2019. The Ministry of Public Health has authorized medical practitioners—Thai traditional medicine, applied Thai traditional medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, and Indigenous healer under the Thai Traditional Medical Professions Act, to use cannabis extracts as alternative treatment to relieve pain, insomnia, nausea and vomiting deriving from chemotherapy, epilepsy, and pain in terminal stage of cancer patients, resulting in dramatically increased knowledge of cannabis. However, long-term use of cannabis extracts might cause side effects, for instance, cannabis intoxication bringing about agitation, palpitation, shock, and unconscious; risk for accident; risk for harming oneself and others due to the occurrence of psychosis, hallucinations, and paranoid; and the possibility of being addicted to cannabis. Nurses are the largest proportion of healthcare personnel and play essence roles in caring patients using cannabis extracts. Therefore, it is necessary to have knowledge and readiness for nursing practice including screening to assess the necessity and demand for cannabis extracts use, providing health teaching and counseling in accordance with patients’ and family problems and needs, additionally, monitoring and evaluating patients’ risks after getting cannabis extracts treatment to promote patients’ safety and quality of life during being treated with medical cannabis extracts