Pretty much every week, we get an email from a new cannabis startup, promoting their latest CBD or THC remedy to treat any number of health conditions, including sleep problems.

This boom in new, legal cannabis products is the result of recent legislation to start the process of widespread marijuana decriminalisation, and eventually full legalisation. But whilst the consumer demand is fuelling massive growth in the global cannabis industry, currently, there's little, verging on zero clinical evidence to firmly substantiate many of the health claims made by the new wave of cannabis products hitting the market.

So in this episode, we go behind the marketing claims, and look at the real, solid, scientific evidence behind medical cannabis and its efficacy in treating insomnia and a whole host of other sleep disorders including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and even narcolepsy.This episode's guest:

Anastasia Suraev is a clinical research officer at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, a philanthropically-funded centre for cannabinoid research at the University of Sydney. She is also a PhD candidate at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research where she is leading a clinical trial assessing the effects of a cannabis-based therapy on sleep in people with chronic insomnia.

University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/anastasia-suraev.html

Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics: https://www.sydney.edu.au/lambert/:

Systematic Review: Cannabinoid therapies in the management of sleep disorders: A systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies

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