Sleep apnea is one of the common sleep disorders that befall many individuals today. This is a sleeping disorder whereby breathing is constantly interrupted for long periods when a person is asleep. Specialists have categorized sleep apnea into 3 categories. They are Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central Sleep Apnea & Mixed Sleep Apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the result of an airway blockage and is caused by the collapse of the delicate tissue at the back of the throat when one is asleep (tongue, tonsil or uvula positioning). Central Sleep Apnea is caused by a failure on the part of the brain to control breathing and results in an inability to breathe. Mixed Sleep Apnea is caused by a combination of physical obstruction and interrupted breathing caused by a lack of signal from the brain.

The use of cannabis in treating central sleep apnea shows promising results, especially in regulating and stabilizing respiratory functions during all sleep stages. In 2002, some tests were conducted at the University of Illinois, Chicago and it was found that cannabis was very effective in suppressing central sleep apnea. It has shown good results in the treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders, particularly central sleep apnea. At that time, these studies were done on rats and not on humans. Many have made conclusive research on the use of cannabis as a treatment for other illnesses, but it will take a few more years of research before the use of cannabis is widely accepted as an effective alternative treatment for central sleep apnea.

Although cannabis has shown positive lab results in the treatment of central sleep apnea, its use in the United States is still highly controversial. This is due to the fact that cannabis is an illicit drug. In Europe and some first world countries, the use of cannabis has been tolerated, although it has not been officially endorsed. Some states in the US have allowed the use of cannabis for medical treatment but many others are not convinced. Many doctors face a dilemma as to whether or not to prescribe cannabis to their patients as a treatment for central sleep apnea. This is because the US federal law forbids the use of cannabis. In the state of California, the California Medical Board has come up with a set of standard guidelines for doctors writing recommendations for cannabis. The objective of these guidelines is to give the doctors and their patients some degree of legal protection. This has resulted in some conflict between the state and federal government. There was an earlier ruling which threatened to strip doctors of their Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) prescription authority if they were found prescribing cannabis to their patients for medical purposes. Later, in a court of appeal, Chief Judge Schroeder provided some guidelines and clarified that doctors had a right to prescribe cannabis to their patients if it was in the patients’ best interest. However, if doctors were to abuse this privilege, then their DEA prescribing authority will be revoked and they will be charged accordingly.

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