How Medical Cannabis Improved My Insomnia and Sleep Quality
Key takeaways:
Deb Hipp dealt with chronic insomnia and sleep disruption for years.
She tried different types of medical cannabis to help her fall asleep more quickly and improve her sleep quality.
After experimenting with different medical cannabis products, Deb was able to fall asleep faster and sleep through the night.
My Journey is a series of personal essays about what it’s like to cope with a medical condition.
For the last 2 years, I’ve used medical cannabis (also referred to as medical marijuana) to help me fall asleep. Before that, I tried several other methods to help me fall asleep faster without success. I exercised daily and took over-the-counter sleep aids. I tried taking trazodone and clonazepam (Klonopin), prescription medications with off-label uses as sleep aids. Still, it took at least an hour to fall asleep at night.
So I gave medical cannabis a try. Here’s how medical cannabis affected my sleep, the forms of medical cannabis that worked best for me, and what I learned along the way.
After a lifetime of insomnia, I wanted a solution
I’ve wrestled with falling asleep and staying asleep since I was a child. As I grew into my teens, I found it even harder to fall asleep. My mind seemed to be always “on” when I went to bed, no matter how tired I was. Not getting enough sleep made me cranky, anxious, and exhausted.
I worked out regularly and stayed off my phone and laptop for an hour before bedtime. I tried to quiet my thoughts while attempting to fall asleep, usually without success. Once I started overthinking, those thoughts just picked up speed like a train barreling down the track.
I worried that I’d spend the rest of my life being sleep-deprived. And I knew how dangerous sleep deprivation was for my heart, blood pressure, kidneys, and brain health.
A friend suggested I try medical marijuana, also known as medical cannabis, which is legal in my state. But I never took recreational drugs, so I was hesitant to join in on the medical cannabis trend, even as more states legalized it.
While many states have legalized cannabis for medical and recreational use, the FDA has only approved one cannabis-derived medication, Epidiolex, which treats certain seizure disorders.
My first step: Getting a medical cannabis card
Then, one day in 2022, I saw a flier at a coffee shop for a company that helps people get medical cannabis cards. I snapped a photo of it and went home to look up the company.
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Must be 21 years or older to purchase. Cannabis is not recommended for women who are pregnant or nursing or those who are suffering from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Cannabis use may increase risk of falls. Always consult with your doctor before beginning any new medical treatment.
I was running out of options. Could medical cannabis be the answer for a good night’s sleep, I wondered?
I contacted the medical cannabis card company and got an instant reply via email. They set up a video appointment with a doctor who asked about my symptoms. I told him I had anxiety and trouble sleeping, and he told me “you’re approved,” without further questions.
The entire appointment took less than a minute. I paid $120 for the card and $50 to the state agency that approved my application. Within 2 weeks, I had my medical cannabis card.
I found the 1-minute “exam” a bit unsettling. Some people applying for the card may have serious symptoms that need to be addressed by a healthcare professional with different treatments, I thought. Others facing addictive behaviors or substance use disorder may be at risk of further complications.
And I still wondered: Would medical cannabis help me quiet my mind and fall asleep faster, or would this plant-based approach to better sleep disappoint like other methods I’d tried? I headed to nearby medical cannabis dispensaries to find out.
I had fun shopping at cannabis dispensaries
The dispensaries I visited had so many forms of medical cannabis products that it was hard to choose which ones to try first.
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There were gummies, cookies, lollipops, chocolate bars, capsules, and other edibles. I also found oil-based tinctures to apply under the tongue and cannabis-infused drinks. And there were dozens of varieties of “flower,” the buds from the cannabis plant that can be smoked. Though, I wasn’t interested in those options because of concerns about potential lung damage.
I initially bought a package of 10 gummies, which contained 10 mg of THC each. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the primary psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant. It’s the chemical responsible for the high often associated with cannabis use.
Terms to know:
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol): the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, which is responsible for the high often associated with cannabis use
CBD (cannabidiol): a nonintoxicating compound in cannabis, known for its calming effects rather than for causing a high
CBN (cannabinol): a mildly psychoactive compound formed when THC breaks down over time, often used for its supposed sedative properties
Finding the right dosage and strain for sleep
The gummies I chose were indica, a species of cannabis plant known for its calming effects. I started out by taking half a gummy (5 mg of THC) a couple of hours before bedtime. I started to relax within an hour of consuming the gummy. I also had a mild buzz that enhanced my senses and made listening to music more enjoyable. When I went to bed, I fell asleep in about 30 minutes.
I wanted to fall asleep in 10 or 15 minutes, so I eventually upped my dose to 10 mg. At first, a 10 mg gummy got me too high. I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Instead of relaxing, I often felt more anxious.
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I also found that some products seemed more potent than others, even when I was taking the same dose. How I felt after taking the gummies depended a lot on the type of cannabis, not just the dose, I realized. For example, a sativa strain, which people say provides more of a relaxed and happy experience, could also make me anxious. On the other hand, an indica strain, which is supposed to be better for sleep, occasionally caused me to feel slightly hungover the next day. I eventually found that a hybrid of both sativa and indica worked best.
It took a few months to find the products that were most effective. But I now know I like gummies that contain a 1-to-1 ratio of THC and CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a nonintoxicating compound found in the cannabis plant. Unlike THC, CBD does not produce a high.
Medical cannabis has boosted my mood
For me, the CBD in the gummies provides a calming effect to balance out the psychoactive effects of the THC. But I also like a lemonade drink, which I can keep in the fridge and take small doses of at night, that contains THC and a small dose of CBN. CBN, or cannabinol, is a mildly psychoactive compound that forms as THC breaks down over time, known primarily for its potential sedative effects. CBN is a compound from the cannabis plant that may work better for sleep than CBD.
My body has gradually adjusted to a 10 mg dose of THC. It makes me relaxed, not anxious and not too high. When I take a gummy or a serving of the drink with CBN, I wait an hour to go to bed and then fall asleep within just a few minutes. I don’t pass out; I am just relaxed enough to fall asleep fast. And I wake up in a good mood, having had a good night’s sleep.
It’s not for everyone, but for me, it’s worth it
For the first time in my life, I am no longer sleep-deprived. And now that I’ve found a natural way to get enough quality sleep, I feel more positive overall.
I never indulge in medical cannabis during the day because I like to have a clear mind while working and going about my day. But I enjoy my nightly wind-down time after consuming a cannabis gummy or drink.
Admittedly, these products can be pricey. The drink costs $50 and lasts about a week. The gummies run between $20 and $40 for 10. To save money, I watch for specials at nearby dispensaries. And sometimes I add a separate CBD product to my nightly cannabis regimen. The THC-CBD combination also helps me relax even more.
It’s important to keep in mind that medical cannabis may not be for everyone. I’m able to remain at a low dose and keep my medical cannabis use to bedtime. But some people may find it more difficult to limit their use, or it may not affect their sleep habits in the same way. Two years of falling asleep within 15 minutes has trained my mind and body to fall asleep fast.
At some point, I may experiment with winding down without medical cannabis and see how fast I fall asleep. For now, however, I won’t be weeding out cannabis gummies from my bedtime routine anytime soon.
Keep in mind that cannabis is legal in some states for personal and/or medicinal use, but not in others. Cannabis is still illegal under federal law.
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