This episode looks at the relationship between sleep and marijuana use. The researchers were interested in knowing how people’s use of marijuana to help sleep predicts frequency of marijuana use, problematic use, how well people sleep, and what, if any, relationship exists between these and the race or sex of the individual. The results indicate that marijuana use is related to worse sleep efficiency, an association that held true across differences in sex and race. This research adds to what is known about marijuana use and sleep quality, especially among young adults, and disrupts common misconceptions about this topic.

Download the one-pager (PDF).

Drazdowski, T. K., Kliewer, W. L. & Marzell, M. (2021). College students’ using marijuana to sleep relates to frequency, problematic use, and sleep problems. Journal of American College Health, 69(1), 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1656634

This project was supported by Grant [5PBJA-22-AG-00031-MUMU] awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Points of view or opinions in this podcast are those of the host and the research team and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.