Trying to sleep in constant pain can be difficult. Studies have found a small amount of medical marijuana can help those with chronic neurological pain sleep. Pain may begin from an accident or medical condition that damage the nerves from a faulty signal in the body’s central nervous system. One example is when people experience “phantom limb” when they feel pain from an amputated limb. There are many treatments for pain and sleeplessness, but there are no cures. The Sleep Education Blog reports cognitive-behavioral therapy can help patients manage pain and get to sleep and stay asleep through the night.
The study on medical marijuana and chronic neurological pain appears in the August issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. A group of 23 pain patients smoked three types of medical-grade marijuana with different levels of tetrahydrocannibinol or THC, the chemical compound that creates the “high”. They used potencies that included 2.5%, 6% and 9.4% THC, as well as a placebo. Participants were instructed to smoke the drug three times a day for five days. They didn’t know which type of marijuana they were smoking. After a nine day break they switched potencies. Results showed that patients fell asleep faster and better after they smoked the more potent marijuana. Some experienced side effects which included; headaches, coughing, dizziness and dry eyes.
These studies are the first clinical trials using and finding the benefits of smoking medical marijuana for those suffering from chronic pain and have sleep problems. Most prior studies just used THC extract to test marijuana’s medical effectiveness. Marijuana is general not recommended as a sleep aide as the drug can reduce the amount of time spent in REM sleep and cause the user to become dependent. After using marijuana it can cause a period of insomnia and vivid dreams which will eventually discontinue when sleep cycles return to normal. Marijuana is not considered a “hard drug” and the effects do not last more than a few hours, especially in small doses and it is commonly used by people that lead stressful lives alleviate their anxiety and enable them to become drowsy enough to fall asleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has not released its position on the use of marijuana as a sleep aide.
Medical marijuana is prescribed for those with certain conditions such as; cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, severe nausea or seizures.
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