Although insomnia is not one of the qualifying conditions for obtaining medical cannabis in California, it is often a symptom of many of the qualifying conditions that allow you to apply for an online cannabis card. Most people have difficulty sleeping or have periods of wakefulness at some point or other in their life, but true, long-lasting and severe insomnia is something that is very difficult to live with. You’re in pain, and if you could only get to sleep, the pain would go. But you can’t get to sleep because of the pain! First, we’ll take a look at how MMJ can help some people sleep.
Why MMJ Helps People Sleep
Taking MMJ at night could relieve some of your symptoms and help you fall asleep.
It’s well-known and well-documented that medical marijuana helps reduce stress and aids relaxation. Given this, cannabis can help you fall asleep more quickly. If you are in possession of or qualify for a medical marijuana card in California, then it’s likely that you suffer from a debilitating disease such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, post-traumatic stress disorder or arthritis. All of these conditions — and much more — make it difficult to fall asleep due to pain and other troubling symptoms. So taking some medical marijuana at night could certainly relieve some of these symptoms and help you fall asleep — and hopefully stay asleep — more quickly.
It’s worth pointing out that inhaling medical marijuana will work more quickly than consuming it in an edible, but the effects of the latter last for several hours and will help you stay asleep longer. If edibles are your preferred method of imbibing cannabis, then make sure you take it a couple of hours before bedtime.
It’s well-known that there are many strains of cannabis, so it’s worth getting some expert advice as to which would suit your condition best. You can do this with one of the doctors when you apply for your medical marijuana card online. If you want help going to sleep and staying asleep, then it’s important that you use not only the right strain but also the right amount. You want to calm that brain down a bit, not liven it up just as you’re trying to sleep!
Why MMJ Is Better than Prescription Drugs
Why use medical marijuana to aid sleep rather than prescription medicines? Let’s take a look at this. Of course, there are many prescription drugs available that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. You may have tried different ones. There’s no doubt that they can be effective for most people — but what about the side effects?
These can be many and varied. There’s no available drug that does not have any side effects. Some known side effects from prescription drugs include depression, amnesia, suicidal thoughts, headache, memory loss, trouble focusing and loss of appetite. They don’t sound good, huh?
Now, it may be a question of trial and error because everyone is different, so what might be hell for someone could be OK for you. But that could mean a lot of trials and a lot of errors!
Medical marijuana doesn’t have any nasty side effects — apart from a slight hangover the next day if you imbibe too much. (We’ve all been there!) Of course, due to the fact that there is very little research available on medical marijuana and its effectiveness, we don’t know for sure how it affects the brain or our ability to sleep. But it’s worth remembering that it is a natural, herbal medicine that’s been around forever. You have to weigh this against the fact that the side effects of prescription drugs are well-researched and documented.
Why Sometimes MMJ Doesn’t Help People Sleep
For some people, marijuana makes them hyper.
There could be several reasons for this. First, it could simply be that you’re using the wrong strain, so check with your medical adviser. Second, you could be using too much. It’s important to get the right balance so that you fall asleep easily, stay asleep and then don’t wake up feeling too groggy.
For some people, marijuana makes them hyper. So obviously, if you’re one of these people, it ain’t going to help you sleep at night! If you are in possession of a cannabis card, then you must be suffering from one of the qualifying conditions. It may be that the MMJ is not relieving your symptoms enough to reduce the pain at night and help you sleep, so again, it would be worth discussing this with your medical provider.
There are more 80 naturally occurring cannabinoids in marijuana, and each one of these will affect each person differently. So it’s clearly a very complex area in which there are no definitive answers. It’s a question of taking appropriate advice and finding what best suits you.
Dr. John Cline sums it up well: “Cannabis is an exceedingly complex drug preparation, and its effects depend on the variety of the plant, the composition of the chemicals in any given sample, the route of the administration, the setting in which is it used and the psychological state of the user.”
So whether you already have your California medical card or you’re considering applying for a medical marijuana card online, be sure to seek some good advice on your own particular condition in order to obtain the best strain and take the optimum amount that will suit you.