Despite heightened consumer interest in cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), little is known about public perceptions regarding their medical use and potential for abuse, particularly relative to commonly used medications. Using data from 1,050 U.S. adult respondents from a national survey conducted in 2019, this study found that more than half of respondents perceived CBD, THC, hemp, and marijuana as having medical use. They also perceived the potential for abuse of CBD, THC, hemp, and marijuana as significantly less than potential for abuse of commonly prescribed anti-anxiety and pain medications. At the nexus of medical use and potential abuse, public perceptions classified CBD and hemp as similar to over-the-counter pain relief medications such as Advil and Tylenol and did not classify marijuana as a Schedule I substance. Slightly more than 20% of respondents reported having consumed CBD and/or THC. CBD was consumed more than THC to reduce pain while THC was consumed more than CBD for recreation. There were no differences in the types of medications they were replacing with CBD and THC.

尽管消费者对大麻素如大麻二酚（CBD）和四氢大麻酚（THC）的兴趣增强，但公众对其药物用途和滥用可能性的认识知之甚少，特别是相对于常用药物而言。使用2019年进行的全国调查的1,050位美国成年受访者的数据，这项研究发现，超过一半的受访者认为CBD，THC，大麻和大麻具有医疗用途。他们还认为，滥用CBD，THC，大麻和大麻的可能性大大低于滥用通常规定的抗焦虑和止痛药物的可能性。在医疗和潜在滥用之间，公众的看法将CBD和大麻归类为类似于非处方镇痛药物（如Advil和Tylenol），并且没有将大麻归为附表I物质。略超过20％的受访者表示已食用CBD和/或THC。CBD比THC消耗更多的东西来减轻疼痛，而THC比CBD消耗更多的娱乐时间。他们用CBD和THC替代的药物类型没有差异。