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A major scientific review has found insufficient evidence to establish whether medical cannabis effectively treats insomnia, challenging growing interest in cannabis-based products as a sleep aid.
Researchers reviewed nine clinical trials involving 537 adults aged 18 to 76 and found that medical cannabis produced little or no meaningful improvement in sleep quality, sleep duration, satisfaction with sleep or daytime functioning.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Cochrane Associate Centre at Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires and the University of Manitoba, found that participants taking medical cannabis were also more likely to experience mild side effects, including dizziness and dry mouth.
Eight of the nine trials compared medical cannabis with a placebo, while the remaining study compared it with the antidepressant amitriptyline.
The researchers said the evidence was of low or very low certainty because of small sample sizes, inconsistent findings and potential research bias. Most trials were also short, with the longest lasting only 12 weeks.
“The main message is that the research currently available is not sufficient to reliably answer whether medical cannabis helps people with insomnia,” said lead author Dr Lucia Varela of the University of Manitoba.
She stressed that the findings did not prove medical cannabis was ineffective but showed that reliable conclusions could not yet be drawn.
The researchers called for larger and more rigorous clinical trials to determine its effectiveness and long-term safety before medical cannabis can be recommended as an insomnia treatment.