Among 555 vocational students at one northeastern Thai institution, 55.0% had low cannabis knowledge and 48.8% had low cannabis health literacy. Knowledge level was not significantly associated with health-literacy level, suggesting that factual education alone may be insufficient.
Key findings
- Mean knowledge was 7.23/15 and mean health literacy 41.72/75; their categorical association was not significant (p=0.134). Adjusted associations with cannabis-use experience included other substance use (OR 4.115), prior cannabis education (3.683), male sex (2.621), Year 2 (1.733) and family-relationship quality (1.558).
Why this matters globally
Adolescent exposure is a common issue in jurisdictions changing cannabis policy. The study supports curricula that teach source appraisal, decision-making, communication and digital literacy rather than factual recall alone.
Thai researcher contribution
Researchers from Ubon Ratchathani University and Sappasithiprasong Hospital generated evidence for vocational students, a group less often represented than general-track students in Thai public-health research.
Limitations to consider
A 20.9% response rate at one institution creates selection and generalizability concerns. Substance use is self-reported, temporal ordering is unclear, and odds ratios are associations rather than causal effects; the direction and coding of family relationship quality require careful interpretation.