As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I evaluate patients with difficulty sleeping all the time.   Their complaints many times have one of two characteristics; difficulty falling asleep or frequent awakenings without the ability to fall back asleep.   Typically they have been to their primary care physicians who prescribe drugs such as Ambien or Lunesta.   Other times if anxiety or stress is the cause for their insomnia they are given benzodiazepines such as Xanax or Valium to help them sleep.  Trazodone , an anti-depressant, is another common medication prescribed for sleep.    

The common theme that I hear regarding these medications is that, although they help patients fall and stay asleep, they feel completely groggy and tired the following day.  This then makes them less motivated and productive at work and also affects their relationships.  The other issue is the side effects of many of these drugs.  For example, benzodiazapenes can be highly addictive and often patients develop a tolerance and dependence.  I always discuss with patients that you have to weight the benefits and risks of any treatment a doctor recommends.

Cannabis (marijuana) is an extremely effective sleep aid.   It’s advantages is that patients will get a restful sleep and not wake up feeling groggy.   It is not toxic to any of the major organ systems and has very few side effects.   Patients can simply vaporize*** a small amount 30-60 minutes before lying down.   Usually within 10-15 minutes they will be enough sedation to fall asleep adequately.  As far as a particular strain, cannabis falls into two general categories, indicas and sativas.   Indica strains tend to be better for sleep because they have a lower concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) are more of a sedative.  They are not going to produce the intense head high that many sativa strains can cause.   Indicas tend to be more of a “body high”.   They are also great for chronic pain.  Many of our pain patients who can not fall asleep as a result of not being to get in a comfortable position do really well with indicas.

If you would like to be evaluated by a physician to see if you may benefit from using cannabis please feel free to visit our website at www.MCSoCal.com and pre-qualify for free.   Dr. Sean Breen is medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California and treats patients at his offices in Long Beach and Irvine.

***Vaporizers allow patients to inhale the medication without having to smoke it.  It is the preferable way to medicate for ALL patients.  For more info visit www.MCSoCal.com