Press Release: Patients finding relief from obstructive sleep apnea in largest study ever involving medical cannabis treatment

This study, the largest on record involving obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and medical cannabis patients, analyzed data from 3,102 first-time patients enrolled in the medical cannabis program with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) between August 1, 2018, and July 31, 2023. The new report draws on data from patient enrollment, medical cannabis purchases, symptom and side-effect ratings at the time of each purchase, and patient survey results to describe the experiences of patients who are certified as having OSA by their health care practitioner. 

Disturbed sleep and fatigue were the most common symptoms reported among patients, with 93% and 86.8% of patients reporting moderate to severe scores, respectively. Patients reported other common symptoms including anxiety, lack of appetite, depression, nausea, pain, and vomiting. Patients were asked to rate the severity of their symptoms on a scale of 0 to 10.  

According to the report, among the 2,749 patients with moderate to severe disturbed sleep, nearly 4 in 10 patients (39.4%) were able to achieve a 30% reduction of symptoms and maintain it for at least four months. For patients with moderate to severe fatigue, one-third (33.5%) of patients were able to achieve a 30% reduction in symptoms and maintain it for at least four months. 

“These numbers show meaningful changes in disturbed sleep and fatigue for patients after starting medical cannabis,” said Grace Christensen, OCM senior research analyst. “Obstructive sleep apnea can affect a patient’s mental and physical health, so helping patients treat their symptoms can have a holistic outcome on their wellbeing.” 

OSA was added as an approved qualifying condition to the Minnesota medical cannabis program in August 2018. This report examines the experiences of patients qualified for OSA in the Minnesota medical cannabis program through demographic information, medical cannabis product purchases, benefits experienced from medical cannabis, and adverse side effects.  

Patients with OSA who also reported they had symptoms of depression and/or anxiety also showed signs of relief from those symptoms. More than one-third (39.8%) of those experiencing depressive symptoms, and more than one-third (36.7%) of those experiencing symptoms of anxiety were able to achieve relief. The report also looked at pain symptoms among OSA patients who showed a modest improvement with 23.1% of patients with moderate to severe pain able to both achieve a 30% reduction in symptoms and maintain it for at least four months.  

Minnesota’s medical cannabis program is unique among the states with medical cannabis programs in that it is required by law to study and learn from the experiences of patients. Minnesota’s program collects data about participating patients and publishes research that adds to the growing scientific knowledge base about medical cannabis.  

Read the full report here.