TY - JOUR
T1 - Using cannabis to help you sleep
T2 - Heightened frequency of medical cannabis use among those with PTSD
AU - Bonn-Miller, Marcel O.
AU - Babson, Kimberly A.
AU - Vandrey, Ryan
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by A VA Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D) Career Development Award-2 (Bonn-Miller), a donation from the San Francisco Patient and Resource Center (Bonn-Miller), Health Services Research and Development Service funds (Babson), and a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse ( U01-DA031784 ; Vandrey). The funding sources had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
PY - 2014/3/1
Y1 - 2014/3/1
N2 - Background: The use of cannabis for medical purposes is proliferating in the U.S., and PTSD is an explicitly approved condition for accessing medical cannabis in 5 states. Prior research suggests that people with PTSD often use cannabis to help cope with their condition, and that doing so results in more frequent and problematic cannabis use patterns. Specific coping motivations, such as sleep improvement, among medical cannabis users, have not been examined. Methods: The present study evaluated specific coping use motivations, frequency of cannabis and alcohol use, and mental health among a convenience sample of patients (N= 170) at a medical cannabis dispensary in California. Results: Those with high PTSD scores were more likely to use cannabis to improve sleep, and for coping reasons more generally, compared with those with low PTSD scores. Cannabis use frequency was greater among those with high PTSD scores who used for sleep promoting purposes compared with those with low PTSD scores or those who did not use for sleep promoting purposes. Conclusions: Consistent with prior research, this study found increased rates of coping-oriented use of cannabis and greater frequency of cannabis use among medical users with high PTSD scores compared with low PTSD scores. In addition, sleep improvement appears to be a primary motivator for coping-oriented use. Additional research is needed to examine the health consequences of this pattern of cannabis use and whether alternative sleep promoting interventions (e.g. CBT-I) could reduce the reliance on cannabis for adequate sleep among those with PTSD.
AB - Background: The use of cannabis for medical purposes is proliferating in the U.S., and PTSD is an explicitly approved condition for accessing medical cannabis in 5 states. Prior research suggests that people with PTSD often use cannabis to help cope with their condition, and that doing so results in more frequent and problematic cannabis use patterns. Specific coping motivations, such as sleep improvement, among medical cannabis users, have not been examined. Methods: The present study evaluated specific coping use motivations, frequency of cannabis and alcohol use, and mental health among a convenience sample of patients (N= 170) at a medical cannabis dispensary in California. Results: Those with high PTSD scores were more likely to use cannabis to improve sleep, and for coping reasons more generally, compared with those with low PTSD scores. Cannabis use frequency was greater among those with high PTSD scores who used for sleep promoting purposes compared with those with low PTSD scores or those who did not use for sleep promoting purposes. Conclusions: Consistent with prior research, this study found increased rates of coping-oriented use of cannabis and greater frequency of cannabis use among medical users with high PTSD scores compared with low PTSD scores. In addition, sleep improvement appears to be a primary motivator for coping-oriented use. Additional research is needed to examine the health consequences of this pattern of cannabis use and whether alternative sleep promoting interventions (e.g. CBT-I) could reduce the reliance on cannabis for adequate sleep among those with PTSD.
KW - Cannabis
KW - Coping
KW - Medical marijuana
KW - PTSD
KW - Sleep
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.12.008
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.12.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 24412475
AN - SCOPUS:84893803414
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 136
SP - 162
EP - 165
JO - Drug and alcohol dependence
JF - Drug and alcohol dependence
IS - 1
ER -