Medical Cannabis Use Patterns for Sleep Disorders in Australia: Results of the Cross-Sectional CAMS-20 Survey

Anastasia Suraev,1– 3 Llewellyn Mills,4,5 Sarah V Abelev,1 Thomas R Arkell,6 Nicholas Lintzeris,4,5,* Iain S McGregor1– 3,* 1The University of Sydney, Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2The University of Sydney, Faculty of Science, School of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 3The University of Sydney, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 4Drug and Alcohol Services, South East Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 5Department of Addiction Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 6Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Iain S McGregor, The University of Sydney, Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, Level 6, Building M02F, 94 Mallett Street Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia, Tel +612 9351 0883, Email iain.mcgregor@sydney.edu.auIntroduction: Sleep disorders are the third most common indication for the prescription of medical cannabis products in Australia, after pain and anxiety. While the use of cannabis for medical purposes is growing in Australia, underlying consumer behaviours and patterns of use, particularly around sleep disorders, are poorly understood.Methods: We conducted a subanalysis of the cross-sectional “Cannabis as Medicine Survey” 2020– 2021 (CAMS-20) (N = 1600), to explore the characteristics of a sample of Australians who were using prescribed and/or illicit medical cannabis to treat a self-reported sleep disorder.Results: When asked to specify up to seven different conditions they were treating with medical cannabis, a total of 1030 (64%) respondents [mean (SD) 44.9 (13.6) years] selected a sleep disorder, with “insomnia disorder” (85.5%), ‘sleep-related movement disorders’ (26%) and ‘sleep-related breathing disorders’ (11.1%) the most common subtypes. Only 165 (16.8%) respondents selected a self-reported sleep disorder as the main health condition being treated. Relative to other health conditions, use of medical cannabis for a self-reported sleep disorder was associated with younger age, increased likelihood of using both prescribed and illicit forms of medical cannabis, inhaled routes of administration, and THC-dominant products. Most respondents reported a reduction in the use of benzodiazepines and alcohol since starting medical cannabis. Binary logistic regression showed that respondents who predominantly used inhaled routes of administration, and concomitant use of medical cannabis for pain, mental health and/or substance use disorder, or a gastrointestinal disorder, were significantly more likely to also use medical cannabis to treat a self-reported sleep disorder.Conclusion: Overall, these results suggest that self-reported sleep disorders are often being treated with medical cannabis alongside other health conditions (often pain or a mental health disorder) and that use of inhaled methods, THC-dominant products, and illicit sources of medical cannabis are common among people with self-reported sleep disorders in Australia.Keywords: medical cannabis, THC, CBD, cannabinoid, insomnia, sleep disorders, survey