Heavy Pot Use Linked to Mental Problems, Even After Quitting

By Rich Holmes

Marijuana dependence goes hand in hand with poor mental health, and problems may persist long after stopping the drug, according to Canadian researchers.

Nearly half of people who have been or are now dependent on pot have some form of mental illness or dependence on another substance, according to a report this month in the journal Advances in Preventative Medicine. That compares with 8% of people with no history of pot dependence have mental illness or another drug or alcohol addiction.

Lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson said the study doesn't answer which came first, marijuana dependence or mental illness, nor does it prove heavy pot use causes mental problems, but it does show a strong link.

"Not everyone that uses pot is going to develop mental health problems," she said. Fuller-Thomson is director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto.

Her team analyzed data from more than 20,000 respondents to a 2012 Canadian health survey. Of those, 336 said they had a history of marijuana dependence.

Among them, 35% had depression lasting two weeks or more and 27% had generalized anxiety -- excessive worry that is difficult to control. Of those who were never dependent on pot, 11% had major depression and 9% had anxiety.

Dr. Jill Williams, head of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Addiction Psychiatry, reviewed the findings and said heavy pot use is associated with such problems as a lack of achievement and possibly a slight lowering of IQ. Users who self-medicate may increase their existing psychiatric problems, she added.

"THC [the ingredient in marijuana that gets users high] may be making things worse -- specifically, psychosis," said Williams, who is also director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J.

She said the number of marijuana-dependent users seemed very low -- 336 of 20,777 respondents. That's a mere 1.6%, which may be due to the voluntary nature of a survey and people lying about their pot use.

The study cited 2012 data showing that 1.3% of Canadians age 15 or older have been dependent upon marijuana.

Still, research in this area is valuable and more is needed, Williams said. "We really need to follow people over time," she said.

The researchers found half of pot users quit within six years of becoming dependent, and the likelihood of quitting increases with each decade of life.

And there was good news for women: They were twice as likely as men to quit successfully, have a positive outlook and be free of any mental illness, Fuller-Thomson said.

"We hadn't really anticipated that," she said.

She said women might have better success than men because they are more apt to seek social support and therapy.

"Women are more likely to discontinue use with pregnancy and [pot use] interfering with parenting," Fuller-Thomson said.

People who had no history of depression were also nearly twice as likely to stop using pot, the study found. Self-medicating with pot may make it harder for users with depression to quit, the researchers said.

Marijuana dependence seems to cast "a long shadow" over users' lives even after they quit using it, Fuller-Thomson said.

While 72% of respondents with a history of dependence were no longer dependent, 47% had major psychiatric disorders or another addiction and 57% were in poor mental health. That compared to 8% and 26%, respectively, of respondents with no history of pot dependence.

"Age may play a part," Williams said. "The younger you start, there's multiple risks."

Fuller-Thomson said she was concerned that legalization of pot will worsen mental health problems, especially among teens and young adults. Most users start as teens, and marijuana can harm the developing brain.

"My kids have to walk by three shops selling marijuana on their way to high school," she said. "We're now doing this very dangerous experiment on adolescents and young adults."

Pot has increased in strength over the past 20 years, Williams said, while the public has become more accepting of it.

"There's a mismatch," she said. "Use is going up, but risk perception is going down."

More information

For more marijuana's effect on the brain, visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

SOURCES: Esme Fuller-Thomson, Ph.D., director, Institute for Life Course and Aging, University of Toronto, Canada; Jill Williams, M.D., director, Division of Addiction Psychiatry, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., and chairwoman, Council on Addiction Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association; Anxiety and Depression Association of America; Advances in Preventative Medicine, April 15, 2020

There’s a new deadline for Mexico’s marijuana legalization

By Yucatan Times

Mexico has once again delayed the legalization of marijuana and hemp. The potential future of the measure is now more anticipated than ever. The decision (originally set for April 30) was postponed due to the pandemic.

They pressed pause on the process of legalization, missing the deadline originally set by Mexico’s supreme court. Because of this delay, “lawmakers have to pass a legalization bill during their next scheduled legislative session, which runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15,” according to Hemp Industry Daily.

Before the latest setback, the senate committee approved a legalization bill that came from a consensus between political parties.

According to the Daily, Mexico would be “the world’s most populous country with legalized cannabis regardless of THC content, meaning both marijuana and hemp,” if it in fact passes.

This delay, while frustrating, is not entirely a bad thing; it offers lawmakers time to organize and discuss how they can improve the measure. Even if, or when, the legislation is passed, it will take years to construct and put into place regulations around the growing and selling of cannabis products.

Denver’s Hoban Law Group’s Luis Armendáriz, an attorney in Chihuahua, Mexico offered Hemp Industry Daily’s Ivan Moreno insight on what the bill will bring to the Mexican people.

Homegrown indoor pot plants and leaves. (PHOTO: Thinkstock)

This bill will “legalize, at a federal level, the use of cannabis for all uses-medical, recreational, and industrial. 

It’s going to create an industry in a market that has 130 million people, so that’s one of the appealing parts of this process,” says Armendáriz, who specializes in the hemp and marijuana spheres. “It’s going to create a new agency that’s going to be called the Mexican Cannabis Institute, it’s going to be planned [by] the secretary of the interior. 

This new agency is going to be in charge of supervision, oversight, and more importantly, granting or issuing the licenses, which are going to be five: cultivation, processing or transformation, sale, import/export, and research purposes.”

He also shared specifics as to how much one individual will be able to legally possess.

“In terms of possession, it’s increased from 5 grams to 28 grams; if you have possession between 28 grams to 100 grams you are subject to a fine, but not jail. And over 200 grams, then provisions from the criminal code apply,” he said.

Armendáriz insists that legalizing hemp and marijuana is one of the top four priorities on the list for Mexico’s lawmakers. (Number 1 on the list is amnesty for non-violent drug offenses.)

“Both [are] derived from the president’s intention of changing strategy [for] the war on drugs,” he told Moreno.

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Study: Black people in Myrtle Beach area six times more likely to be arrested for pot

BY ALEX LANG

Black individuals are six times more likely to be arrested in Horry County for marijuana possession than white people, according to the latest study by the ACLU.

The American Civil Liberties Union analyzed data submitted by police agencies to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting system for its report released this week.

The organization determined Horry County ranked third among South Carolina counties with the largest racial disparities in marijuana arrests. There are approximately 2,931 black people arrested per 100,000 black people compared to 431 white individuals for every 100,000 white individuals.

That means black people are 6.8 times more likely to be arrested in Horry County.

Nationally, black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested, according to their study.

Neither Horry County police spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov nor Myrtle Beach Cpl. Thomas Vest responded to questions regarding why blacks are arrested at a higher rate in Horry County, if the departments were aware of the disparity or if any changes are being done to address the issue.

For Horry County police, there was a total of 295 marijuana possession arrests in 2018, according to the data submitted to the FBI. With 2018 being the most recent year of data, of those arrests, 178 were white and 115 were black.

But, there are approximately 290,000 white people and 44,000 black people in Horry County based on the latest U.S. Census data. That means when the rate is figured across 100,000 people of the same race, black people are arrested more often for marijuana possession in the county.

During 2018 in Myrtle Beach, there were 680 black people arrested for marijuana possession and 518 white people arrested. Roughly 4,800 people are black in Myrtle Beach’s 34,000 population, according to the Census data.

Mickey James, head of the Myrtle Beach branch of the NAACP, wasn’t shocked by the findings.

“I don’t think it’s really surprising,” he said.

Mickey said the biggest issue is profiling by police. It is something he said he’s experienced while living in a lower-income area of Myrtle Beach. James said he has been stopped and questioned by officers but has not been arrested.

“That has got to stop,” James said.

While racial profiling must end and better education is needed in police ranks, James said the black community has to do a better job teaching the younger generation that drug use isn’t tolerated and that they are under a microscope.

New Jersey Voters Want Legal, Adult-Use Marijuana - But Not Necessarily For Sale

By The Fresh Toast's Brendan Bures, provided exclusively to Benzinga Cannabis.

Six out of 10 New Jersey voters say they will vote ‘yes’ to legalize marijuana this November, but uncertainty remains around regulation and sales.

Momentum to legalize adult-use marijuana in New Jersey has existed before, but the matter will rest in voter ballots this election. According to a new Monmouth University poll, recreational marijuana has majority support in the state.

State lawmakers have attempted multiple bids to legalize cannabis through the legislature over the past couple years, but they failed to gather the necessary votes. Instead, they voted late last year to put legalization forward as a ballot question, which has emerged as the primary political vehicle to end prohibition at the state level.

A Monmouth poll released Thursday found 61% of respondents would approve the ballot question this November. Another 34% plan to vote ‘no’ while 5% said they have no opinion. Support is highest among Democrats (74%) and Independents (64%), but Republican voters (40%) aren’t as keen on legal cannabis.

Photo by SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images

Less than 50% of voters believe allowing the sale of marijuana to adults ages 21 and older through licensed retailers is a good idea. That comes as a surprise as the ballot question with majority approval would accomplish exactly that. But only 30% consider it a bad idea while 22% state they have no opinion. 

“Support for the marijuana ballot measure is widespread in part because many who have no opinion on whether legalization is a good idea figure they might as well vote for it,” Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth’s Polling Institute, said in a statement.

This conflict isn’t anything new in New Jersey. Residents may support legalizing marijuana, just so long as stores don’t appear in their backyard. A 2018 Quinnipiac poll found only 50% of state residents would welcome marijuana stores into their communities, while 45% opposed cannabis sales in their town. More than 50 towns/municipalities have already banned legal cannabis from entering their communities.

Black people are 9 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in these states, ACLU says

ABBY HAGLAGE

The American Civil Liberties Union released a groundbreaking report in 2013 showing that black people were 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. Seven years and 33 medical marijuana laws later, a follow-up from the organization shows racial disparities in marijuana arrests remain mostly unchanged — and in some states, have gotten worse.

Titled “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform,” the report analyzed marijuana possession arrests from 2010 to 2018 using the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Similar to the ACLU’s earlier report, this one concluded that black people are more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar rates of usage, in every single state.

In some states, such as Montana and Kentucky, black people were shown to be more than nine times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. “Racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests exist across the country, in every state, in counties large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, and with large and small black populations,” the ACLU writes in the report.

To see the racial disparities in arrests in your state, visit the ACLU’s data visualizer. Here are three takeaways from the report.

Legalization lowers arrests, but ‘extreme racial disparities’ remain

With marijuana now legal recreationally in 11 states and medically in 33, arrest rates for marijuana possession have decreased 15 percent nationwide. But the drop seems to have disproportionally benefited one demographic. Black people are still more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession nationwide and — as the report notes — “in some states, black people were up to six, eight or almost 10 times more likely to be arrested.”

Some states with legalization laws, such as California and Nevada, saw a decrease in the racial disparity of marijuana arrests, but not all states did. In Maine and Massachusetts — where marijuana is legalized both medically and recreationally — racial disparities actually increased from 2018 than in 2010.

Ezekiel Edwards, director of the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project and lead author of the report, says this is reflective of systemic problems with legalization. “The persistence or in some cases increase in racial disparities is evidence of how the marijuana reform movement has for too long been untethered from racial equity,” says Edwards. “And also [untethered] from wide-scale police reform with regards to law enforcement deployment and actions in communities of color.”

Racial profiling seems to be driving the disparity

Like the 2013 report, this one explored how procedures like stop-and-frisk — in which police search individuals whom they deem suspicious — serve as a vehicle for maintaining racial disparities. Multiple investigations nationwide have exposed how these policies hinge on racial profiling. One analysis of New York City found that 90 percent of stop-and-frisks in 2016 involved people of color; another in Newark, N.J., found that 73 percent of these arrests were people of color.

“Whereas marijuana use by white people has been de facto legal in much of the country, in black and brown communities, police have routinely stopped people, particularly youth — at the park, on the street, in the train, on the bus, at school, near school, by the community center, on the porch, or while driving — searching (usually in vain) for something illegal, and, if they found marijuana, arresting and hauling people to jail,” the report reads. “Such police harassment not only criminalizes people of color for engaging in an activity that white people participate in with relative impunity, it is a means of surveillance and social control counterproductive to public safety and community health.”

Marijuana possession arrests can create lifelong obstacles

Getting arrested for marijuana isn’t simply a mark on someone’s record, it causes what the ACLU deems “collateral consequences.” Among them: loss of driver’s licenses, block on federal financial aid, denial of public benefits, separation of families in the child welfare system, loss of immigration status and bans on participation in the marijuana industry — which is expected to reach $73 billion by 2027.

Edwards says this not only creates “deep and lasting harm to individuals,” but highlights the need for legalization efforts to be more inclusive. “Legalization must be grounded in racial equity and repair,” says Edwards. “If states legalize without redressing the past harms of prohibition, or don’t address the present injuries that arrest and conviction records cause, or without ensuring that communities whose economic health has been compromised by prohibition do not benefit from the business and fiscal benefits, this country will have missed a critical opportunity to right wrongs, level playing fields, and avoid perpetuating other forms of inequality going forward.”

CIA Says People Who Use Marijuana And Other Drugs Aren’t Necessarily ‘Bad’ Or ‘Unworthy

By

 Kyle Jaeger 

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said on Thursday that it doesn’t necessarily believe using illegal drugs makes you a bad person.

The new comments came in response to question submitted as part of its ongoing “Ask Molly” series.

“I would love to join CIA, but I’ve done illegal drugs in the past,” the person, writing under the name “Eager to Serve,” said. They asked whether there’s “any path forward for me at CIA.”

The agency’s reply emphasized that those applying to work there could still get a job if they admit to such activity, as long as they haven’t consumed any illicit substances within the past year.

Given the traditionally harsh position the federal government has taken on illegal drugs and people who consume them, the agency’s response—which pointed out that past substance use “does not immediately disqualify you from working at CIA”—was somewhat surprisingly friendly and open-minded.

CIA acknowledged that the broad anti-drug policy may seem “archaic” at a time when more states are legalizing marijuana, but said it was necessary for national security purposes. Even so, the agency made a point of explaining that it does not consider prior drug use to be a moral failing.

“I’m not asserting that those who have experimented with drugs are in some way bad or unworthy, but a willingness to break federal law to engage in illicit drug use can be used as a measure of someone’s fitness to hold a security clearance,” the post states. “It should be noted that drug use and abuse is one of the most common reasons applicants are denied a security clearance.”

That’s a far cry from the position of President Trump’s former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who as a senator said that “good people don’t smoke marijuana.” 

Speaking of cannabis, the CIA post proactively answered a follow-up question that people might have about whether marijuana is treated the same as other controlled substances if it’s consumed in compliance with state law.

“Marijuana remains illegal under federal law in every state,” the agency said. “CIA is bound by federal law, which prohibits CIA from granting security clearances to unlawful users of controlled substances, including marijuana. State laws do not supersede those of the federal government.”

The agency said it was primarily interested in an applicant’s “candor,” and so the most important thing is that they not lie about previous drug consumption.

“Sincerity and honesty are two traits that CIA values above all else, and for good reason,” CIA said, without a trace of irony. “If an applicant were to be dishonest about their drug use in the application process, even out of fear of rejection, it would be a sign to CIA that the applicant doesn’t exhibit candor. And with the stakes so high, CIA can’t afford to take that chance.”

Of course, some might raise eyebrows at the suggestion that CIA holds such high standards of honesty in relation to drugs considering certain operations it’s been behind—including MK-Ultra, which involved covertly administering LSD in human subjects as part of an effort to develop mind control capabilities.

There have also been allegations that the agency was involved in drug trafficking during the Reagan Administration to fund rebels in the the Iran–Contra affair, as well as on other occasions.

In any case, the new CIA post seemed to suggest that people who have used drugs recently should simply wait a few months before applying.

“Keep the 12 month guidance in mind as you consider submitting an application, and remember to be truthful and forthcoming throughout the application process,” it concluded. “The rest will fall into place.”

FBI also has an anti-drug employment policy—something that a former top official said creates hiring problems that prevent the agency from accepting potentially talented candidates. In 2014, then-Director James Comey suggested that he wanted to loosen FBI employment policies on marijuana, as potential skilled workers were being passed over due to the requirement.

But so far, the policy remains in place. In fact, FBI recently said that agents can’t even used hemp-derived CBD, despite it having been legalized as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The agency did say the CBD ban is currently under review, however.

Despite marijuana legalization Black people still more likely to get arrested

• Roz Edward

ATLANTA –Today the American Civil Liberties Union released a new report that showed Black people are three times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in Georgia despite comparable national marijuana usage rates. Although the total number of people arrested for marijuana possession has decreased in the past decade, nationally, law enforcement still made 6.1 million such arrests over that period, and the racial disparities in arrest rates remain in every state.

The report, A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform, details marijuana possession arrests from 2010 to 2018, and updates our unprecedented national report published in 2013, The War on Marijuana in Black and White. The disturbing findings of this new research show that despite several states having reformed marijuana policy over the last decade, far too much has remained unchanged when it comes to racial disparities in arrests.

Key findings include:
Law enforcement made more than 6.1 million marijuana-related arrests form 2010-2018. In 2018 alone, there were almost 700,000 marijuana arrests, which accounted for more than 43 percent of all drug arrests. In 2018, law enforcement made more marijuana arrests than for all violent crimes combined.

Despite legalization in a number of states, it is not clear that marijuana arrests are trending downward nationally. Arrest rates have actually risen in the past few years, with almost 100,000 more arrests in 2018 than 2015.

In every state, and in over 96 percent of the counties examined, Black people were much more likely to be arrested than white people for marijuana possession. Overall, these disparities have not improved. On average, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates.

In 10 states, Blacks were more than five times more likely to be arrested.

In states that legalized marijuana, arrest rates decreased after legalization, however racial disparities still remained.

A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform comes at a time when the criminal legal system is overwhelmed by the public health crisis presented by COVID-19 that demands expedited decarcercal action to safeguard the lives of those incarcerated in and employed by jails and prisons. The reforms recommended in this report provide a roadmap for reducing marijuana arrests and criminalization as governors, prosecutors, judges, and other stakeholders across the country grapple with the harms presented by the public health crisis and take steps to release people from jails and prisons.

“Georgia continues to aggressively enforce marijuana laws, disproportionately impacting Black communities,” said Christopher Bruce, political director of the ACLU of Georgia.

“Criminalizing people who use marijuana needlessly entangles hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal legal system every year at a tremendous individual and societal cost. As a matter of racial justice and sound public health policy, every state in the country must legalize marijuana with racial equity at the foundation of such reform,” Ezekiel Edwards, director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the ACLU and one of the primary authors of the report.

To combat the racial disparities rampant in marijuana-related arrests, the ACLU is calling not only for an end to racialized policing, but also for full legalization of marijuana use and possession and specific measures to ensure legalization efforts are grounded in racial justice.

As a matter of racial justice and sound public health policy, every state in the nation must legalize marijuana with racial equity at the foundation of such reform.

How To Use Marijuana To Help You Fall Asleep

By: Brendan Bures

Photo by Acharaporn Kamornboonyarush via Pexels

Research suggests marijuana can help you fall asleep, but habitual use could lead to some problems.

Between 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders or intermittent sleep issues, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Around 30 to 40% of us will develop insomnia at some point in our lives as well. Sleep problems don’t just impact work performance and stress management. Drowsy driving results in 1,500 deaths and 100,000 car crashes each year.

Suffice to say, plenty of us need a good night’s sleep. Americans spent $41 billion on sleep aids and remedies last year, and projections from Consumer Reports expect the sleep assistance economy to reach $52 billion in 2020. What might surprise you? None of that money includes money spent on marijuana as a sleep aid.

A University of Mexico study, published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine, found that purchases for sleep aids dropped after states legalized recreational marijuana. Researchers concluded the negative association between over-the-counter sleep medicine and cannabis access represented a consumer preference for marijuana in medicating for sleep. In addition, scientists discovered in a 2008 study, published in the journal Sleep, that weed with high-THC content decreases the frequency of REM sleep, which is when we dream. Those who consume marijuana before bed tend to dream less. That means you also experience nightmares less, a desired trait for those suffering from night terrors or PTSD symptoms.

Anecdotal evidence abounds for marijuana improving sleeping. But a group of Israeli scientists recently sought to better understand if marijuana could help chronic pain patients get to bed. In the study, published in the medical journal BMJ, about half of participants were medical marijuana users and half were not. They found that in the short term, marijuana quickly helped insomniac participants in the 128-person study fall asleep through the night.

Photo by Ivan Obolensky via Pexels

However, the study also found chronic pain patients could develop a tolerance toward marijuana. This resulted in interrupted sleep and trouble getting to bed on time. For the total group, 24.1% said they were constantly waking up early and unable to fall back asleep while 20.2% reported always struggling to fall asleep. Another 27.2% said they experienced intermittent sleep, or consistently waking up in the middle of the night.

When comparing marijuana users and non-users, the study reported that once marijuana users fell asleep, they generally did not wake up until morning.

“[Medical cannabis] use may have an overall positive effect on maintaining sleep throughout the night in chronic pain patients,” the study concluded. “At the same time, tolerance towards potential sleep-inducing properties of [medical cannabis] may occur with frequent use.”

The scientists behind the study suggested more research is needed to better determine how often and potent of medicine chronic pain patients should receive when it comes to marijuana. It’s also worth noting that daily use of any sleep-inducing medicine is not recommended.

Can Marijuana Improve Sleep? Here's What We Know.

Researchers found that a proprietary CBD-THC blend was able to help chronic insomnia patients fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels via The Fresh Toast

Brendan Bures

In the past week, Google searches for “why am I having weird dreams lately” has quadrupled. It appears the global coronavirus pandemic has caused anxious dreams involving lockdown or other vivid scenarios. But it’s also within reason that you’ve experienced difficulty sleeping since the pandemic started and would like some help falling asleep.

According to new research from Australia, cannabis could provide effective treatment for chronic insomnia patients. Though anecdotal reports have pointed to this possibility, this study represents the first double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to show scientific evidence of the relationship. The study was funded by medical marijuana company Zelira Therapeutic, however, University of Western Australia researchers conducted the study independently.

Research began in 2018 after scientists recruited 23 participants who were considered chronic insomnia patients. Those subjects were then given either an active dose or a placebo for two weeks, given in the form of a cannabis tincture. Single or double doses were permitted, depending on user preference and their severity of symptoms. The active marijuana tincture was a proprietary cannabinoid blend called ZTL-101, with both THC and CBD. Researchers have not disclosed the exact formula at this time.

Scientists measured the sleep quality of subject through multiple channels, including digital sleep trackers, subjective responses, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) — a clinical tool used to register insomnia symptoms.

Among those who’d taken an active marijuana dose, ISI scores dropped by 26% and that reduction was higher for those who’d taken a double tincture dose. Treated participants also slept for more hours, fell asleep quicker, and could fall back to sleep faster after waking than the placebo group. They also reported feeling less fatigued, less stressed, and reported significant improvements in their quality of life.

Image Credit: Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels via The Fresh Toast

“This study represents the most rigorous clinical trial ever undertaken to assess the therapeutic potential of medicinal cannabis to treat the symptoms of chronic insomnia,” lead researcher Peter Eastwood said in a statement. “The fact that ZLT-101 treatment achieved statistically significant, dose responsive improvements across a broad range of key insomnia indices is impressive, particularly given the relatively short two-week dosing window.”

Insomnia affects around 30% of Americans and can pose greater risk factors for those suffering from chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, and mental disorders, like anxiety or depression. A recent study also found that medical marijuana helped chronic pain patients suffering from insomnia sleep through the night. However, the research indicated that chronic pain patients could eventually develop a tolerance to marijuana, which could result in interrupted sleep.