Cannabis-Based Medical Products Aid Primary Insomnia

TUESDAY, Sept. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Insomnia patients taking cannabis-based medicinal products report better quality sleep, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in PLOS Mental Health.

Arushika Aggarwal, from Imperial College London, and colleagues assessed changes in sleep-specific and general patient-reported outcome measures in individuals prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products for insomnia, as well as the incidence of adverse events. The analysis included 124 patients with primary insomnia identified from the U.K. Medical Cannabis Registry.

The researchers found that Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale scores showed improvement from baseline (2.66) to one (5.67), three (5.41), six (4.80), 12 (4.24), and 18 months (3.81). Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scores improved at all time points from baseline to 18 months. For the EuroQol-5 Dimension-5 Level dimensions of usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression, and index values, there were also significant improvements. Eleven people (8.87 percent) reported a total of 112 adverse events, but none were disabling or life-threatening.

“These findings support the potential role of medical cannabis as a medical option where conventional treatments have proven ineffective, though further randomized trials are needed to confirm long-term efficacy,” coauthor Simon Erridge, M.B.B.S., also from Imperial College London, said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to Curaleaf Clinic, a licensed and regulated private clinic with specialist doctors who can prescribe medical cannabis to eligible patients.

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