Study: Cannabis dispensaries not properly training workers

A new study shows that cannabis dispensaries are not properly training workers, and staff members had doled out incorrect advice to medical marijuana patients.

Researchers found that only 55% of the 55 dispensary workers they surveyed received any kind of formal training for their jobs, according to LiveScience. And only 20% had been trained on the health benefits of cannabis.

The study surveyed workers in Colorado, California, Arizona, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine. The researchers included both medical and nonmedical dispensary staffers.

The researchers found that some recommendations were wrong or inappropriate for treating medical conditions, including 13% of workers who were recommending high-THC cannabis strains to treat anxiety. Another 7% were recommending THC, instead of CBD, to treat epilepsy.

Study author Nancy Haug, a professor of addiction medicine at Palo Alto University in California, said the findings underscore that dispensaries need to train their staff member, according to LiveScience. She added the training should be based on current scientific literature involving marijuana.