OBJECTIVES

Cannabis has been approved for medicinal use in Arkansas in late 2016 for certain conditions and diseases. Although sleep disorders are not included in those conditions, there is a notion that cannabis may facilitate sleep onset. This study determined whether current use of cannabis was associated with self-reported prescription drug use for sleep.

METHODS :

This cross-sectional self-reported survey study was conducted in a community sample (UAMS IRB#207440). The survey contained a battery of questions regarding participants’ history of cannabis use (nonuser, used >1 year ago, used ≤1 year), sleep problems (measured by Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]), sleep medications (yes/no), pain (measured by Brief Pain Inventory), depression and anxiety (measured by Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms), and motive of using cannabis (measured by Comprehensive Marijuana Motives Questionnaire) along with demographics. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the association, adjusting for potential confounders, and reported as adjusted odds ratios (95%CI).

RESULTS :

Of 1,261 participants, 316 (25.1%) reported having sleep medications. They were significantly older (47.5±13.1 years) than those (45.5±14.8 years) not having sleep medications. The majority of both groups were females (~70%). Participants who reported having sleep medications had significantly higher ISI (14.6±6.2 vs. 10.3±6.7, p<0.001) and numbers of other prescriptions (1.9±1.0 vs. 1.1±0.9, p<0.001). Current cannabis use was not associated with receiving sleep medications. However, higher motivation of using cannabis for sleep (1.37[1.20-1.59]) was associated with current cannabis use in participants who reported using prescription drugs for sleep at least once a week.

CONCLUSIONS :

The findings show that participants who reported taking sleep medications regularly and perceived that cannabis use may improve their sleep are more likely to use cannabis. Future research is warranted to explore how cannabis affecting sleep in patients with other conditions such as PTSD or chronic pain which may help clinicians better manage sleep problems.