Sleep Quality Moderates the Relation between Depression Symptoms and Problematic Cannabis Use among Medical Cannabis Users

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to extend research on the relation between depression symptoms and problematic cannabis use by evaluating the potential moderating role of perceived sleep quality among medical cannabis users. Methods: This employed a cross-sectional design. The sample consisted of 162 adults (mean age = 42.05 years, SD = 14.8; 22% female), with current recommendations from a doctor for medical cannabis, recruited from a medical cannabis dispensary. Results: Consistent with previous research, individuals with heightened depression symptoms had greater problematic cannabis use. In addition, perceived sleep quality moderated this relation, such that depression symptoms differentially related to problematic cannabis use as a function of perceived quality of sleep (ΔR² = .03, p = .02). Participants with higher levels of depression and good perceived sleep quality had the greatest rates of problematic cannabis use. Conclusions: These results suggest that individuals with heightened depression may have higher rates of problematic cannabis use, in part, because of the beneficial effects of cannabis in terms of perceived sleep quality.

• sleep
• cannabis
• medical marijuana
• depression

Notes

1. An alternative regression model was conducted in which the sleep items from the General Depression factor of the IDAS were included in our depression symptoms variable. Results yielded a similar pattern of findings such that there was a main effect of depression symptoms, β = .31, p = .00, and sleep quality, β = −.33, p = .00, and a significant interaction between depression symptoms and sleep quality, β = −.70, p = .03, after adjusting for covariates.