A study co-authored by several California researchers suggests that many staffers at medical marijuana dispensaries may not have received much, if any, training for their jobs, according to Live Science.
Other marijuana research & a look at budtending
Year in weed: The five most important medical marijuana research studies of 2016
Cannabist Show: He’s calling 2016 ‘The year of the bad budtender’; He’s a marijuana money man
Scientists confirm what you always suspected: Cannabis is the ultimate aphrodisiac
Weed news and interviews: Get podcasts of The Cannabist Show.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Watch The Cannabist Show.
The small study, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, found that 30 out 55 staff members surveyed had received at least some formal training for their current jobs.
Twenty percent of those surveyed reported receiving medical training on the health effects of marijuana, and 13 percent said they had been trained on the science of cannabis. Staffers were surveyed at both medical and nonmedical dispensaries in California, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, four other states and the District of Columbia.
Lead study author Nancy Haug, a professor of addiction medicine at Palo Alto University, told Live Science that some staff members made recommendations that weren’t accurate or appropriate for clients’ medical conditions.
The study also reported that almost two in three staffers reported not receiving any training in customer service, business, medicine or science, but 94 percent had provided advice to customers, including recommending specific strains of cannabis for particular ailments and symptoms.
—-