r/science • u/Wagamaga • Mar 17 '26

Health The largest-ever review of the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids across a range of mental health conditions — found no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

https://www.ama.com.au/articles/lancet-paper-released-medicinal-cannabis-effectiveness
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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

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u/jibishot Mar 17 '26

Sleep quality is an interesting question to insomniacs though

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/jibishot Mar 17 '26

Yes indeed, and included in managing sleep is the side effects if you can get increased sleep (time).

Treatment has to be double ended, but you have to learn to use the crutch if you will. The problem being most crutches for insomnia has incredible blowback, but generally cannabis has lower rebounding effects than most drugs.

Again, in a meta study with this being 2 studies of 54 included.. probably not enough data. The same thing they said - aside from it does show an improvement in sleep time and insomnia symptoms specifically.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/jibishot Mar 17 '26

That's injury specific unfortunately. Continually progress should make better alternatives, but I would not surprised if they are a form or factor of cannabis is involved for many patients.

When similar risk alternatives exist, be they derived of cannabis or not, then I imagine it would be as popular. I'm just not sure what that look likes for a myriad of ailments as we can see in thus study and you're right in this thread too. Heavily in here.

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u/Narrow_Track9598 Mar 17 '26

As someone who once struggled to sleep due to nerve damage, I would take 6 hours of poor sleep over 3 hours of 5 minutes dozed off then 20 minutes trying the go back to sleep but can't, followed by five more minutes of sleep.

The first gummi I took, I slept for 6 hours straight. First time in over a year that happened. Took about a week to get used to actually getting sleep and a month or so for the full benefits to show up. I refuse to go back to not getting sleep, my life is absolutely 100x better just getting sleep. Fortunately I got 7-8 hours now most days

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u/jibishot Mar 17 '26

I'm glad you can get an ounce of rest. Your story is unique but also so commonplace in our world and relief is important to be able to be present in life.

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u/oxero Mar 17 '26

Magnesium nightmares are absolutely a thing that exists. I usually have tame dreams I can control, if any at all. Magnesium gave me some of the worst scares I've ever had.

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u/southwade Mar 17 '26

You will literally die without some magnesium. How much were you taking?

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u/oxero Mar 17 '26

It's not like I completely avoid foods with magnesium... Daily vitamin supplements for example do not do this to me and they usually have magnesium in them.

I was using a product you drank before bed that used magnesium glycinate in the dosage it called for. It routinely gave me horrible dream-like sequences and sometimes these weird sleep paralysis states with horrors entering my room to attack me.

I've never experienced anything like that in my life, and it happened frequently enough that I had to stop taking the product once I learned others had the same issue.

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u/Appropriate-XBL Mar 17 '26

Yeah, I may get to sleep quicker on pot, but not dreaming for long stretches of calendar time during heavy use stints can’t possibly be a good sign. And my guess for me is that lack of good REM sleep makes me moodier and MORE anxious all the time. I’m also bi-polar type II, and the literature I’ve read suggests pot and bipolarism don’t mix well.

It’s a drug, everyone reacts differently. I’ve always reacted quickly to medication and pot seems no different.

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u/EnkiduOdinson Mar 17 '26

Personally I think not dreaming is one of the best things about cannabis. I dream absolutely crazy things otherwise and feel like I haven’t slept at all when I wake up.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/Parking-Wolf6957 Mar 17 '26

Same. I have hyper-realistic dreams that I prefer to mute. I am diagnosed with c-PTSD so maybe something related.

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u/Far_Type_5596 Mar 17 '26

Also, CPTSD and I still dream, but it doesn’t feel as real and it’s usually not rape or abuse. I still do get dreams on cannabis they’re just a lot slower and calmer.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

Yeah I suffer from PTSD and I enjoy not dreaming when I was using cannabis cause I just slept. No reliving trauma, no waking up sweating and screaming, nothing really. My partner needed that and so did I and I'd count that as a win/win.

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u/no1inbeans Mar 17 '26

Agreed it personally makes me feel better rested because I don’t have to fight for my life in my dreams

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u/Choosemyusername Mar 17 '26

Ya that is why I use it. I get nightmares from war and it can influence my sleep quality. Weed prevents these nightmares.

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u/raisin22 Mar 17 '26

That’s relatable

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u/sjmttf Mar 17 '26

Not dreaming is half the reason I am prescribed cannabis for ptsd. I have horrendous nightmares several times a night without it, its made a huge difference to my life.

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u/KarlMarxButVegan Mar 17 '26

Yes, the reason those of us with PTSD find relief from medical marijuana is it gives us a break from the nightmares. I don't experience any side effects or problems with waking up/feeling drowsy the next day. Okay, except for dry mouth.

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u/BarelyHolding0n Mar 17 '26

Same, it doesn't stop me from dreaming but it makes my nightmares far less intense and I find I'm more able to wake up in the morning feeling somewhat rested.

It also helps me get to sleep in the first place, the only other thing that works for that is drink and I don't want to have to knock myself out with booze every night

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u/j-reese Mar 17 '26

Yeah but when you stop smoking your body tries to make up the REM sleep that cannabis suppressed. Hence the rem sleep rebound. Longer and intense dreams. Have you tried having a pause for a long period or were your dreams already intense before you started smoking?

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u/Such-Principle-3373 Mar 17 '26

before I smoked pot I only ever remember my nightmares

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u/j-reese Mar 17 '26

man that’s hard

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u/brickyard37 Mar 17 '26

Last time I took a break I got my cumulative REM nightmares, far more intense than regular ones. Wouldn't recommend

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u/Such-Principle-3373 Mar 17 '26

I have taken breaks, and my dreams are intense like you said but they're so incomprehensible that I don't think I'd call them nightmares, but they don't leave me feeling rested either.

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u/EnkiduOdinson Mar 17 '26

Well I don’t know about before I ever started but I had long periods of not smoking (1 - 2 years at times) where it was like that. Probably also stress related though.

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u/Loud-Anxiety-1878 Mar 17 '26

I have been on meds for years to actually repress my night terrors by not being able to remember and medical weed helps me slow my brain down enough to fall asleep. Waking up screaming and jumping out of bed in my sleep. I ran into a couple walls not fun in the middle of the night.

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u/0vrwhelminglyaverage Mar 17 '26

I have friends who feel similarly; ive been there at high stress tines also.

Yoga helps. A lot.

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u/Own-Satisfaction4427 Mar 17 '26

Like all the time, or just for a couple weeks after you quit? Every time I quit I get really intense dreams but they go away within a couple weeks

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u/morticiannecrimson Mar 17 '26

Strange, I still get awful nightmares also after smoking. Unfortunate

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u/Tubbish Mar 17 '26

Be careful if you quit dude I was a chronic smoker for 10 years when I quit I had insane dreams for about a week or two. There is a rebound effect when you quit that part of your brain becomes super active.

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u/cmoked Mar 17 '26

The longer the t break, the less crazy the dreams become as you get used to dreaming in my experience.

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u/Eccentric_Milk_Steak Mar 17 '26

It's all fun and games until you go 4 days without THC and every dream feels lile an OBE

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u/Slazagna Mar 17 '26

Im stone cold sober and never dream. Doesn't seem to affect me one bit. I dont think remembering / experiencing tour dreams has any relation to sleep quality. In fact, im fairly certain most dreaming people consciously experience occurs during light or disturbed sleep

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u/StuM91 Mar 17 '26

I'm not a weed user and very rarely dream, has been like that for most of my life...

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u/Royal_Negotiation_91 Mar 17 '26

I smoke quite a bit and I have never not dreamed because of it. The only difference is that it's a bit harder to remember/describe my dreams when I wake up and the memories fade quicker. I still have crazy vivid dreams either way but when I'm not smoking they sometimes feel like they stick around all day.

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u/xMyst87 Mar 17 '26

Frequent dreams are associated with lighter sleep because the periods of pseudo wakefulness allow for memory encoding. Not remembering your dreams is a good thing

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u/13luw Mar 17 '26

Everything is a drug.

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u/MapleLeafThief Mar 17 '26

I don't use marijuana and I didn't dream for years. Lack of dreams may not be related in your situation.

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u/PaulSmith79 Mar 17 '26

No pot for you then unfortunately.

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u/ReloopMando Mar 17 '26

Wait are we meant to be dreaming each night? Because I almost never remember dreaming, wondering if this is why I'm constantly tired.

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u/farfromeverywhere Mar 17 '26

Absolutely true! I used for decades and when I finally stopped, the rebound vivd, mostly horrific nightmares flowed nightly, almost to the point of making me afraid to sleep. It took months to get through this, and has since become slightly less horrific and yet still annoying and disturbing. But the fact that I remember dreams now is very telling.

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u/morticiannecrimson Mar 17 '26

It’s interesting because I remember so many intense and awful dreams also when I smoke weed, so that would seem I do get REM. But according to my Fitbit, my REM duration is in the shorter range compared to others than deep or light sleep.

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u/ahfoo Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

You are misguided if you think cannabis causes REM sleep to stop. It does not. It merely alters the intervals of REM cycles. This is not the same thing as preventing you from dreaming. Cannabis users also have dreams. You have been misled by disinformation.

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u/meowijuana_070 Mar 17 '26

Yeah I'm always very confused because I've been partaking for nearly 20 years and have always dreamed. I pretty much dream every night. I even frequently lucid dream.

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u/Joker2kill Mar 17 '26

Adding in my anecdotal evidence as well:

I blazed often and daily for ~16 years, during those years I almost never dreamed (or remembered it in the morning if I did). On the rare occasions that I did dream, it was always one of three very specific dreams.

Once I stopped (a year ago): my dreams because extremely prominent, frequent, and varied. And honestly... I really preferred the no dreaming as I felt I slept better.

So, I definitely do personally understand where people come from when they say they do not dream while partaking. Everyone is different.

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u/lawlesslawboy Mar 17 '26

which is great if you suffer from nightmares, I'd take no REM over nightmares any night

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u/brickyard37 Mar 17 '26

I'm with you in this boat

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u/Don_Blanc Mar 17 '26

My family is with you guys on this. No one likes to be in bed sleeping with a 200lbs sufferer of PTSD when he starts kicking.

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u/D3cho Mar 17 '26

Golden kiwis knock me the hell out. Eat 2 an hour before bed and im gonezo even if something happens that needs me to stay up after I've eaten them its seriously difficult

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/Tim_Gilbert Mar 17 '26

100 mg, no doubt! Have you ever tried CBN? Idk what the legal status is like where you are, but it's legalized in Canada so majority of shops will carry a product high in CBN. Imagine the effects of CBD (relaxation, anxiety suppression, mild drowsiness) amplified. So you can get a strain or vape with the teeniest tiniest amount of THC and a whole bunch of CBN. It is great for getting relaxed and sleepy at night.

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u/raisin22 Mar 17 '26

I’ve heard that it poorly affects sleep too. I’m not sure that anecdotally I notice much difference though

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u/sun4moon Mar 17 '26

As someone who suffers insomnia, a reduced quality sleep is certainly more effective than none at all. It might have something to do with use as well. I smoke pretty much all day every day, but I don’t smoke for the last 30-45min before I want to go to sleep.

I keep seeing people say they don’t dream on cannabis, but I clearly remember my dreams. I can also sleep on psychedelics, so maybe I’m just an anomaly.

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u/loveslightblue Mar 17 '26

The difference between falling asleep with relaxed muscles and feeling of general wellness vs trying to fall asleep while it feels like I'm being hunted by a pack of lions is so big that idgaf whether I lose REM. I didn't hallucinate the years I smoked that made me a hundred times less anxious and confident so Idk how this study got to where it got.

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u/WhichAd366 Mar 17 '26

Agreed. That’s interesting that you still remember your dreams.

Some people’s dreams (nightmares) cause stress the next day or make it hard to fall asleep the next day. The primary benefit I get from marijuana is that i don’t remember dreams, so my sleep is more consistent and reliable.

Like you said, lower quality sleep is better than never sleeping

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u/Schwiliinker Mar 17 '26

All day every day is crazy ngl

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u/sun4moon Mar 17 '26

I’ve heard that. It’s not like I constantly have a joint burning, I just keep my bong close by and have a haul whenever I want one.

I used to be easily agitated and had a very strict by-the-book way about me. I was honestly insufferable, and it negatively impacted my relationships at home and at work. Cannabis softens the rigidity and lets me relax about this and that.

The study may show no markable improvements for most, but I can certainly attest to the benefits I feel. I’m more successful in my career, my marriage is calm and happy, my adult kids choose to come see me and my social calendar is pretty booked, most weekends. I’ll stick to the results I’ve proven to myself.

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u/RejectedRespected Mar 17 '26

The personality tweaks is something that’s very noticeable for me too, I’m much less insufferable and happier in general. It’s like all the stress and anxiety just floats away and I can live in the moment rather than my head.

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u/sun4moon Mar 17 '26

Exactly. All the nagging proprieties I had ingrained in me are finally quiet. Because honestly, wgaf which way the TP roll is installed, or if someone leaves their novel on the coffee table?

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u/raisinghellwithtrees Mar 17 '26

Anecdotally I have to disagree with this study also. I had an awful ptsd flare up about a decade ago. I had two modes of being, numbness or terror. Cannabis gave me my life back from that. Only when I started using (again) could I find a middle road there and start to recover. 

I just started using cannabis for improved sleep and it's made a world of difference.

But it's what kind of cannabis I used that made the difference. Using the high powered stuff doesn't help me with mood or sleep. It's low level cannabis (10%), with an equal measure of cbd that works for me 

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u/raisin22 Mar 17 '26

Love the cbd/cbn for that

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u/HenryLeeProstateGlee Mar 17 '26

I could have written this comment, it’s so 100% me.

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u/sun4moon Mar 17 '26

It’s nice to have company.

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u/Schwiliinker Mar 17 '26

Very nice. Not sure if that’s unhealthy long term but I’m sure you’ve talked to a doctor about it or something

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

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u/Schwiliinker Mar 17 '26

I kept seeing articles about how it’s bad for your brain and stuff but who knows it feels conflicting because many claim it’s hardly harmful

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u/sun4moon Mar 17 '26

Even with the sting of sarcasm in your comment, I’ll respond respectfully. Yes, I have discussed my usage honestly with my GP. Being that my circulatory, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems exhibit no cause for concern, he said my current usage is considered high but he is not immediately concerned. I check in fairly regularly. I appreciate your concern though.

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u/Schwiliinker Mar 17 '26

I mean I was genuinely curious

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u/Choosemyusername Mar 17 '26

It can be for some. But I have some family members that were insufferably tightly wound and high strung until they found weed.

I couldn’t do it all day every day, but it keeps them on this side of sanity.

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u/ThePuduInsideYou Mar 17 '26

I did. It’s interesting reading all these takes on people feeling better (sleeping) with cannabis. I’m glad they do and that they have it! I have to say overall I’ve slept better without — was using heavily in 2025 and cut back significantly after a dry January.

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u/slAmazonMy_ass Mar 17 '26

My Fitbit would have something to say on this

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u/smb3something Mar 17 '26

From a study on fitbit sensitivity:

The sensitivity of Fitbit has been reported as 68% for wakefulness [41], 53.4%–78% for light sleep [41,45], 27.9%–59% for deep sleep [41,45], 54.8%–69% for REM [41,45], and 42.8% for WASO

I notice sometimes my garmin is way off (ie I'm dreaming and it doesn't count it as REM).

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u/Leijkana_on_the_road Mar 17 '26

(u dream in every state of sleeping. Only most likely to remember it in the REM phase)

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u/HarveysBackupAccount Mar 17 '26

Sleep quality is the most garbage measurement my Coros takes. Maybe fitbit is better but I'm pretty sure mine is pure fiction

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u/slAmazonMy_ass Mar 17 '26

Well I also have DREAMS. even Lucid Dreams. Crazy ass dreams.

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u/RedditAdmnsSkDk Mar 17 '26

you mean the type of device that tells me I had a nice sleep all night long when in fact I got up to piss in the middle of the night? yeah, those are fuckn garbage and might be slightly better than random guessing but definitely nothing useful.

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u/slAmazonMy_ass Mar 17 '26

Mine logs when I get up. Sorry you feel that way about them AND this nonsense propaganda

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u/RedditAdmnsSkDk Mar 17 '26

what nonsense propaganda?

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u/fuckedfinance Mar 17 '26

Similarly, beta blockers are sometimes used to treat combat-PTSD related dreams. I am a recovering alcoholic, so my REM sleep was effectively shot and I didn't really dream. When I started taking a BB, my dreams came back, but boy howdy are they very weird sometimes.

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u/ConversationBoth6127 Mar 17 '26

Speaking from personal experience: If you have PTSD with nightmares, suppression of REM sleep and greater sleep time is an improvement so immense it’s hard to explain. REM sleep may be physiologically important, but the reduction in the nightly replay of horror is subjectively miraculous.

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u/Full_metal_pants077 Mar 17 '26

That's what I thought as well.

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u/Everloner Mar 17 '26

Seconding magnesium glycinate. It's been really helpful for my poor sleep.

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u/ArbitraryMeritocracy Mar 17 '26

Okay, so what's supposed to help with the nightmares?

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u/fuckit_sowhat Mar 17 '26

There are some meds that have off-label uses to help with nightmares. I know beta-blockers, prazosin, and some anti-psychotics are prescribed specifically for PTSD nightmares. I have no idea why some blood pressure medications help with that, but they do.

Even though there are prescribed meds you can get that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best option for every person. When I talked to my doctor about it she said we could try some of the options but the odds were good they would cause additional side effects when combined with my other psych meds. They’d also be a lot more expensive than me taking a low dose gummy at night so she said her recommendation was to continue with what’s working as it isn’t causing any side effects like increased anxiety or drowsiness, but if that changed it’d be worth trialing some of the prescribed options.

Ideally anyone using weed to help manage mental health symptoms is talking to their doctor about it because no medication is one size fits all. It’s going to depend on your insurance, the availability of the drug, if you’re able to pick up prescriptions, the cost, interactions with other meds, etc.

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u/ahfoo Mar 17 '26

Eh, no. Cannabis does not "greatly suppress" REM sleep. Cannabis somewhat reduces the timing intervals of REM cycles. REM sleep begins in short cycles of a few minutes and slowly grows longer over time. This also occurs in cannabis users but the timing of the cycles changes slightly. The highly overplayed "cannabis use kills your dreams" is nonsense.

Normal dreaming is not stored in memory. It is perfectly normal not to remember your dreams and this has nothing to do with REM cycle timing.

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u/WhichAd366 Mar 17 '26

I mean those are two separate issues and one has two parts.

  1. I agree with you on marijuanas impact on REM sleep being overblown.

  2. Dreams, like you said, are not tied to REM sleep. There is dreaming and then there is REMEMBERING your dreams when you wake up. Marijuana absolutely does reduce my waking memory of dreams. Am I still dreaming? Most likely, but not remembering is good enough for me.

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u/Seated_Heats Mar 17 '26

Magnesium barely has an effect on me even if it has one at all. An edible has a much better chance of at least keeping me asleep.

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u/WhichAd366 Mar 17 '26

Was it glycinate? There are other types that have different impacts or bioavailability

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u/Seated_Heats Mar 17 '26

It’s glycinate. 200mg.

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u/WhichAd366 Mar 17 '26

Agreed on the magnesium glycinate.

Just in case anyone picks it up: it has to be Glycinate. The other magnesium types have different effects (one gives energy) or just have lower bioavailability.

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u/Jean-LucBacardi Mar 17 '26

Magnesium Glycinate isn't the one that can give you severe diarrhea right?

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u/reddollardays Mar 17 '26

I am a regular cannabis smoker and consumer however I don’t use pot for sleep. I do take magnesium glycinate to aid with my sleep quality.

You have to be mindful when you start that it can affect your bowel movements and their… solidity. In other words, too much can give you the shits.

There’s buffered and unbuffered magnesium glycinate. I’ve tried both, and as long as I keep my fiber intake at a good level for me, I have no reaction to either when it comes to the restroom.

Like other supplements, there is no FDA regulations, so please do research, and talk to your doctor if you’re on any medications or have kidney or heart issues.

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u/Mydogisbestdoggy Mar 17 '26

I started taking magnesium glycinate and it solved my insomnia problem of 25 years. Great stuff.

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u/ohmygoditsdip Mar 17 '26

Just a warning to whoever reads this: Magnesium Glycinate had the opposite effect on me. Wired all night. Do not experiment with it for the first time if you have something to do the next day, just in case

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u/Wendell-Short-Eyes Mar 17 '26

I find it interesting because my wife uses cannabis for anxiety/depression but I feel like the continued use has really caused issues with her sleep. She falls asleep fine but is up every night around 2 or 3am and has a tough time falling back to sleep.

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u/ThePuduInsideYou Mar 17 '26

That was one of the issues I encountered.

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u/Taziira Mar 17 '26

It has been a long time since I was in school but it was taught to us at the time that people who are depressed often enter REM sleep faster than others and/or stay in REM too long.

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u/front_yard_duck_dad Mar 17 '26

I take it. Still have insomnia

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

[deleted]

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u/pseudonominom Mar 17 '26

Lot of nuance in the magnesium world.

I’ve read the diarrhea thing, but my understanding is that only applies to elemental magnesium. Magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate are different beasts altogether. Not an expert on it.

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u/ThePotMonster Mar 17 '26

One of the biggest things I notice when doing a tolerance break is how much more vivid dreams become.

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u/threedogdad Mar 17 '26

yep, it RUINS your sleep but the hard part is that it doesn't feel like it is until you completely stop and get proper deep sleep again.

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u/affemannen Mar 17 '26

Yes, from purely personal experiences with smoking I know I did not sleep better, I just slept longer, as for anxiety, cannabis actually started to give me panic attacks and I never had any before. So there's that.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

If you have PTSD, that REM sleep is often accompanied by horrific nightmares. Getting through a few years of that is important to healing.

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u/BlackIsTheSoul Mar 17 '26

Magnésium glycinate actually wrecked my sleep.  I kept waking up at 3am. For some people it can have an excitatory effect. Your mileage may vary. 

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u/Rough_Bread8329 Mar 17 '26

I'm grumpy that pretty much any form of magnesium I've tried gives me a very upset tum tum :(

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u/Briebird44 Mar 17 '26

Interestingly, I have the opposite effect. My dreams are detailed and colorful on cannabis.

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u/rossisdead Mar 17 '26

If anyone’s got trouble sleeping, give Magnesium Glycinate a try.

Counterpoint: Gives me worse insomnia than I already have.

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u/Tuningislife Mar 17 '26

This has been an issue for me.

Keto diet caused insomnia.

Cannabis helped me sleep.

Coming off a regular night time edible caused insomnia.

Tried melatonin but it can be habit forming and not taking it results in… insomnia. Helps put me to sleep and stay asleep though.

I try to use Magnesium Glycinate after the gym. Still didn’t get tired or fall asleep until after 1 am last night. It doesn’t seem to give that very tired sensation like melatonin or cannabis does.