Is cannabis effective to treat insomnia for people with depression and anxiety?

Kuhathasan, N, Minuzzi, L, MacKillop, J, Frey, BN (2022) An investigation of cannabis use for insomnia in depression and anxiety in a naturalistic sample. BMC Psychiatry, 22:303 (link)

Why was this research conducted? 

Between 70% and 90% of people with depression and anxiety report insomnia. While cannabis products have been increasingly sought for treatment of depression and anxiety, and there is some evidence that cannabis may be helpful for some people to deal with sleep problems, little research has been conducted among patients with depression or anxiety with comorbid insomnia. 

What does this article add? 

This study examined the reports by 100 participants with depression, 463 participants with anxiety, and 114 participants with both conditions (all with co-morbid insomnia) and described their experiences with using cannabis to help with insomnia. Within the group with depression, those younger than 45 years reported improvement. Self-perceived improvement in insomnia was reported by all age groups among patients with anxiety as well as with those reporting both anxiety and depression. 

Is there anything else I should know? 

This study had limitations that affect confidence in their findings.  First, people self-reported depression and anxiety, and it is unclear if they met diagnostic criteria for these conditions. Second, the measure of insomnia was subjective, where people selected their severity of insomnia on a 0-10 point scale. Third, people self-selected to participate in the data collection and were not randomly chosen, which may introduce selection bias into the data (e.g., patients with greater enthusiasm for cannabis may have been over-represented). Accordingly, randomized control trials should be conducted to confirm these results.