Study on medical marijuana and sleep apnea

Hey again, so I came across another article with potentially interesting implications for people with central sleep apnea and other types of apneas. The study was conducted by a group of scientists at the University of Illinois Department of Medicine. Rats (of course) were used to study the effects that cannabinoids, the chemicals found in marijuana, had on sleep. Delta-9-THC and oleamide were administered in specific doses. The results suggested that the concoction stabilized breathing, blocked serotonin-induced worsening of sleep-apnea, and generally suppressed episodes of sleep apnea in the study rats. The article goes on to comment about how medical marijuana use by patients helps improve their quality of sleep and decrease their perceived fatigue the following day. It doesn't mention if any of those patients had central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, or mixed, if they were cancer patients, or really what types of ailments they had, however. Finally, the article concluded by suggesting that further studies are needed to look at whether cannabis use has any affect on some of the issues associated with central sleep apnea and other forms of apnea like hypertension (high blood pressure), irregular heart beats (atrial fibrillation), or other forms of heart disease.

Studies that use medical marijuana often use a kind of marijuana that has a much lower percentage of THC than what can be found being grown in Canada, California, and other "mom and pop" operations. Although marijuana is illegal, I'm curious if any studies are being done with humans with central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, or other types of sleep disorders, because it's not like it would be dangerous for test subjects if the experiment had proper medical personnel, and it seems as though the benefits of such studies could have profound implications for a lot of people. I'm interested in hearing if anyone with central sleep apnea or other forms of sleep disorders, or anyone who "knows someone" for that matter, has noticed a difference in their sleep the next morning after an evening of marijuana use. I personally have a strong moral backing for medical marijuana use because of all the good things it can do for cancer patients as a substitute for expensive drugs needed post-chemotherapy. A special on the National Geographic channel about marijuana highlighted a lot of what I mentioned, so if it's ever on again and you have some time, give it a view.

Mike M. RN BSN
owner of centralsleepapnea.blogspot.com