The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Effects of recreational drugs on sleep

    This article by researchers at Freiburg University Medical Center in Germany reviews cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana.

    Let’s focus on the one purported CAM, marijuana.

    Here are the highlights on smoked marijuana and oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

    • Reduced REM (dreaming stage) sleep

    Acute administration

    • Facilitates falling asleep
    • Increases Stage 4 (reparative) sleep

    Withdrawal (acute and subacute)

    • Difficulty sleeping and strange dreams
    • Longer sleep onset latency (longer to fall asleep)
    • Reduced slow wave sleep (deep sleep)
    • REM rebound (enter REM sleep faster than normal, and spend a greater percentage of time in REM sleep)

    The bottom line?
    Mr. Aaron Norton, a therapist in private practice in Largo, Florida has a related article. He says, “The effects of marijuana on sleep are often not included in information provided to clients in substance use treatment settings… This information, when combined with other information on marijuana’s effects, can help clients make informed choices concerning their use.”

    8/25/08 11:07 JR

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