Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Alaishana t1_j16fa5q wrote

Great, good news.

I got one problem with this study though: All sleeping pills have got a habituation effect, where the user gets used to the medication and consequently needs higher and higher doses. Everyone who is prescribed sleeping pills is warned not to use them constantly.
Same goes for those who just use Melatonin. It's a hormone after all, so if you take it orally, you would expect the body to produce less of it and you get a habituation effect too.

(My doctor grinned wryly: "They SAY it's not addictive, but of course it is.")

So, this trial was for two weeks for each group on cannabis oil and two weeks on a placebo. How will this look after 3 months, a year?

I'm well aware that the trial was not designed to answer this, all I want to say is: Before we know long term effects, we should be careful with thinking we found the perfect solution.

159

Timigos t1_j16vzpv wrote

While I agree, I think this is another proof that cannabis obviously has medical benefit and should not be schedule I.

Even if there is an addictive quality and the benefits may wain over time, it still proves comparably useful as to other medically acceptable alternatives.

59

AlexeiMarie t1_j17sn7i wrote

Generally, I wouldn't even consider it to be an "addictive quality" -- in the case of a particular dose no longer getting the same effects, it's more of a physical dependency (like many, many other medications), not the mental component of addiction

9

Willmono7 t1_j16zo3e wrote

I don't think medicinal value should determine legality/control status. Opiates and amphetamines have their place in medicine too, but definitely deserve to be tightly controlled.

Edit: I'm dumb and was thinking of the UK classification system

−8

rbesfe t1_j170pr5 wrote

It's supposed to be medicinal value combined with potential for harm. Unfortunately it's really just political, alcohol has way more potential to kill its user than weed even when you factor in smoke inhalation effects. Anyone remember that clip of Nancy Grace saying stoners kill families?

28

Timigos t1_j171vde wrote

I’m glad you think that but it’s not reality.

Scheduled I must have no medicinal benefits. Cannabis is still Schedule I.

Cocaine has been Schedule II forever.

16

Willmono7 t1_j172d0c wrote

I've realised that , as I'm British, I'm thinking of the British system of classification and this will definitely be US. Apologies, I have the dumb, and ironically my melatonin is kicking in.

8

VenflonBandit t1_j17rmnc wrote

Its a schedule 2 controlled drug in the UK. Class B. Schedule is set by medical use/risk of misuse. Class being the social badness. Schedule sets storage, possession and prescribing requirements and class sets punishment when caught.

3

kslusherplantman t1_j17egjc wrote

When I went to visit my uncle in the hospital after he had a heart attack, I nearly had one when they came to cauterize his nose because it kept bleeding… and injected cocaine HCL into the membranes of his nose.

Bottle of liquid cocaine. Even said it right on the bottle. Blew me away

3

[deleted] t1_j17a4jf wrote

[deleted]

40

Jasoli53 t1_j17iwu4 wrote

Anecdotal, but that’s the thing with cannabis in my experience… I’ve been smoking/vaping for around 8 years now. Nearly daily. It helps curb my anxiety (most of the time), and helps me relax enough to sleep. I don’t smoke all day like some people, and my tolerance, while higher than it was, is much much lower than a lot of people I know.

I’m excited for when we get a trial on tolerance vs consumption habits or whatnot. There’s a lot we anecdotally ‘know’ about it, but there’s so much we truly don’t know

15

Nauin t1_j1ei9mp wrote

I'm a constant user and I want the same studies done, too. Like I'm extremely thankful it helps with my pain and immobility so I can get through my day but I'd like to know what I'm actually doing to myself in the long run.

1

CaptainTurdfinger t1_j183zbb wrote

Damn, just a few drops? What's your ratio of flower to oil? What kind of oil? I'm using like 1-1.5mL each time.

2

iwascompromised t1_j18ar1t wrote

I have this battle with my wife over melatonin. She takes it every night and if she doesn’t fall asleep in five minutes I hear her getting another one out.

8

jimmypootron34 t1_j18mih3 wrote

I would check that it’s a literature recommended dose. Melatonin, for patent reasons at least in the US from what I’ve read, often comes in amounts many times larger than what is produced endogenously. May be a bit late at this point but the dose recommended by actual data may also work well and not give any side effects like making someone totally dependent on it. I mean it doesn’t seem to be harmful even in these larger Doses, but I know it can be annoying to depend on something all the time.

Looked it up, the dose it’s supposed to come in based on the data is about 1/3 of a mg or 300mcg. Many come in about 3-5mg which is obviously many times more than that.

6

Nauin t1_j1eilo8 wrote

Show her the studies that show melatonin is less effective at higher doses. We're seriously overdosing with the bottle-reccomended doses, anyway. It's like 0.3mgs or something that's the optimal dose, the lowest I can find a pill in is 1-2mgs.

1

FacialTic t1_j17p1fs wrote

Personal experience: I've used cannabis for the past 8 years to help me sleep. Im currently on vacation in a country where it is illegal and unobtainable. Alternating between melatonin and histamine based sleep aids has worked well to help sleep. I took CBD oil and a bit of nicotine to help with withdrawal symptoms. By the third day I was fine, and I'm on day 15 of the trip with no noticeable withdrawal symptoms.

7

EricSombody t1_j16yfsz wrote

Sounds like a treatment would just be to rotate different sleeping medication then...

6

Y8ser t1_j17enf4 wrote

I have been using low dose THC edibles that contain cannabinoids as well. They are absolutely awesome. I take them just about daily and haven't built up a noticeable tolerance or noticed any side affects that are typically associated with marijuana use.

4

jimmypootron34 t1_j178fnt wrote

Your body does when melatonin is taken in large amounts, which it usually comes in unfortunately. The original literature described a dose of something like 5 micrograms, and usually it comes in doses of several milligrams. So that’s why it will definitely make you sleep but you also feel so groggy the next day, the amount is far more than what occurs internally. I don’t disagree though to some extent. Many treatments seem to have reduction in effect over time, but still effective. Or needs to have changes in dosage/time off if possible. I think it would help if people better understood the sort of diminishing returns nature of it. Try to find a place where the effectiveness is good even if not great, and the dosage doesn’t cause issues. Such as with melatonin I didn’t really like to use it because the typical dose comes with the grogginess and all of that, but at the dose it should be at that didn’t happen.

3

FateLeita t1_j17ej1m wrote

What about off-label sleeping meds? I take trazodone every night for sleep. Been on the same dosage for about 7 years. I never skip a dose (cannot sleep).

2

salamander05 t1_j17go81 wrote

Trazodone was developed and used as an antidepressant before being used as a sleep aid. I suspect because of this it works in a different way than a typical sleeping pill.

2

lmaccaro t1_j17hgqd wrote

It's a dual dosage med - whatever that term is. In low doses it puts you to sleep. In high doses it makes you less depressed.

4

Alarmed-Accident-716 t1_j18mwzd wrote

I’ve been smoking the same pre-bed bowl pack in my volcano for 10 years… my weed consumption never changes.

2

funkytownb0xcutter t1_j18kw84 wrote

When I first started using I slept like a baby, but that only lasted maybe 3 months before it was back to normal. Just my experience.

1

Thomgurl21 t1_j18vcyh wrote

My personal experience…not addictive and still effective many years later. All medicines have drawback. What’s the lesser evil I guess?

1

UnderlightIll t1_j197jy0 wrote

I would normally agree but as someone who has had trouble sleeping for most of my life, I haven't changed my benadryl dosage or my edible dosage at all.

1

Vintage_Dog_Dude t1_j1epx5n wrote

I have run into that problem myself. The only solution I have found is to take breaks from the oil. Then my body's THC tolerance returns to normal. I usually take a 4 day break from it. During that time, I usually feel pretty lousy, no appetite, short-tempered and grumpy.

I would say a prescription approach that might work is to administer cannabis oil for 3 weeks and then do a week of something like trazadone to decrease tolerance and switch back after that week. But I am not a doctor, so who knows.

So I can't say totally that I believe it isn't a little addictive. But I was addicted to cigarettes before and can say it isn't like that, it's more of a mental crutch or outlet that helps me reframe my thoughts and relax.

Although, sometimes I work so much that I just naturally have these t-breaks because I have to work late and go in early again and don't bother with edibles.

1