Canada plans to make it easier to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes. Health minister Allan Rock stated that proposed regulations would allow marijuana to be used by those suffering from terminal illnesses and chronic conditions such as severe arthritis, cancer, AIDS or HIV, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and spinal cord injury. Similar legislation has either been passed or is under consideration in other countries including the Unites States.
This brings up the question of what the governments will consider as chronic conditions. Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are definitely chronic in nature and, in most instances, extremely painful and debilitating. Another condition that could be considered is chronic insomnia.
At Health Central, Dr. Dean Edell was asked the following question: "Is It Okay To Use Marijuana To Get To Sleep? " His reply: "It would be perfectly legal for your husband to waste his money on kava kava, or melatonin, or a whole bunch of other stuff that doesn't work for sleep. The fact is, he's spending money on an herb that evidence finds to be very effective for sleep and doesn't seem to cause a hangover -- but it's illegal."
In an interview on CNN, Dr. Clete Kushida, of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic in Palo Alto, California was asked: "Do you know if using marijuana can be linked to getting to sleep easier? What are the pros and cons?" His reply was: "Obviously use of marijuana is illegal. The problem with marijuana as a sleep aid, studies have shown, is that it produces poor sleep and amnesia and also may be associated with unusual behaviors during sleep."
So even the medical profession differs in opinion on the usefulness of marijuana(or pot, as it's often called) in the treatment of sleeplessness. Both doctors mentioned the legal status of marijuana. That status is in the process of changing. Is this a good thing, or is it going to cause problems?
