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Cannabinoids Associated With "More Restful Sleep," Study Says |
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Salisbury, United Kingdom: The use of both natural cannabinoids and cannabis extracts are associated with improved sleep in patients with various debilitating illnesses, according to a review of clinical trial data published in the journal Chemistry & Biodiversity.
"Cannabis . has been utilized for [the] treatment of pain and sleep disorders since ancient times," authors wrote. "Modern clinical trials indicate that patients administered cannabis extracts report experiencing "more restful sleep, [an] increase [in] their daytime level of function, and [a] markedly improve[d] . quality of life."
According to available data, of the 2,000 subjects that have been administered cannabis extracts in clinical trials, most "demonstrate marked improvement in subjective sleep parameters."
Trial volunteers have not reported developing tolerance to the drug, even after using it for several years.
Currently, cannabis extracts are available by prescription in Canada under the trade name Sativex. Regulators in Great Britain and Spain have also granted limited regulatory approval for the drug.
Full text of the study, "Cannabis, pain, and sleep: Lessons from therapeutic clinical trials of Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine," appears in the journal Chemistry & Biodiversity, August 21, 2007, Volume 4, Issue 8:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/115806134/ABSTRACT |
