A quantitative study investigating LJMU students attitudes towards cannabis

Abstract

This dissertation presents a quantitative analysis of the attitude, knowledge, and beliefs of Liverpool John Moores University students towards cannabis. Over the past decade, cannabis use has become increasingly normalized among young adults in the UK leading to an emerging public health concern. An online survey was distributed using convenience sample with 29 students recruited. Participant attitudes toward the government policy of legalising cannabis were supportive (86.2% for medicinal cannabis) with 68.9% of the participants supporting the idea that recreational cannabis should be legalized in the UK. When the prevalence of cannabis was measured, men were more likely to use than women. Conversely though women were more supportive for the legalisation of cannabis. Over eight in ten (82.7%) of the study sample were aware of the cannabis components with 48.2% being from the Faculty of Health, with the results demonstrating that the students from health backgrounds are more likely to be knowledgeable regarding cannabis when compared to other student cohorts. When the prevalence of use was assessed among different age groups, the students who were aged between 18 and 24 years of age were found to more likely to use cannabis, as well as having been previously offered.

Further research on factors influencing attitude toward cannabis is needed to understand how different cultures, religion and environments influence the behaviour, perception, and attitudes towards cannabis use. The researcher also suggests that the government should develop an evaluation approach to examine the effectiveness of the drug policy that are already implemented.