Using cannabis for sleep isn’t harmless – a neurologist explains how it can trap people in a cycle of dependency

Young people and those with trauma, such as veterans, are especially vulnerable to the difficulty of stopping cannabis use for sleep.

By: Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, University of Pittsburgh, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 11, 2026

Words: 1,642

Last Updated: 8 hours, 53 minutes ago

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By Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, University of Pittsburgh

For millions of people, cannabis has become the unofficial prescription for lost sleep. But what feels like a solution may be quietly making the problem worse.

Consider these two cases:

She is 15 and has been lying in bed for the past hour. It is past midnight, and her brain will not quiet down. Her school bus comes at 6:20 a.m. She is getting anxious, knowing that she …

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