Objective: The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cannabis use among undergraduate medical students of the University of the Free State (UFS), and the extent of their knowledge about the substance. Method: This cross-sectional study included five year groups of undergraduate medical students. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was used. Results: Of the 643 medical students, 541 (84.1%) completed the questionnaire. In total, 161 (30.9%) students reported that they had ever used cannabis. The percentage of males who had ever used cannabis was twice that of females (relative risk 2.04; 95% CI 1.56; 2.67). Of the cannabis users, less than 12% used it monthly or more often. A fifth (19.5%) of all students stated that they did not know the side effects of cannabis use. Nearly half (45.4%) indicated that they could not name any medicinal (medical) uses. The median knowledge score of students who used cannabis tended to be higher than that of students who did not use cannabis; this was statistically significant only in the third-year group. Conclusions: Medical students generally have a low level of knowledge about cannabis. The reported lifetime prevalence and pattern of cannabis use are similar to those reported in other South African studies published over the past 35 years.

中文翻译：

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南非布隆方丹自由州大学的医学院学生中的大麻使用和知识

目的：该研究旨在调查自由州大学（UFS）的医学专业学生中大麻的使用率以及他们对该物质的了解程度。方法：该横断面研究包括五年制的本科医学生群体。使用了自行管理的匿名调查表。结果：在643名医学生中，有541名（84.1％）完成了调查问卷。总共有161名（30.9％）学生报告他们曾经使用过大麻。曾经使用过大麻的男性比例是女性的两倍（相对风险2.04； 95％CI 1.56； 2.67）。在大麻使用者中，不到12％的人每月或更经常使用大麻。所有学生中有五分之一（19.5％）表示他们不知道使用大麻的副作用。近一半（45。4％）表示他们无法列出任何医学（医学）用途。吸食大麻的学生的平均知识得分往往高于不吸食大麻的学生；这仅在第三年组具有统计学意义。结论：医学生对大麻的了解通常较低。所报告的终生流行程度和使用大麻的方式与过去35年发表的其他南非研究报告的相近。