Public Perception of Marijuana Use for the Treatment of Glaucoma.

The use of marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma has been widely debated amongst ophthalmologists and glaucoma specialists. Recent evidence suggests the majority of ophthalmologists do not support the use of marijuana as active treatment for glaucoma. However, there has been no investigation into understanding the public's direct perception of the efficacy of marijuana in glaucoma treatment. By using Twitter as a tool to understand the public's thoughts, tweets were analyzed over the last two years. Of the 700 tweets analyzed, 72% (n=503) of tweets were in favor of cannabis use in the treatment of glaucoma, while 18% (n=124) were evidently opposed. The majority of those in favor came from accounts of individual users (n=391; 56%) while those that opposed marijuana as a treatment came from accounts of healthcare media, ophthalmologists, and other healthcare workers. The discrepancy between the public and ophthalmologists and other healthcare professionals requires recognition and further action to better educate the public on the role of marijuana in glaucoma treatment.