Abstract Introduction We examined the relationship between cannabis use to improve sleep duration, cannabis route of use, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) among an established cohort of young adults in South Florida. Methods Data are from the age-, sex-, ethnicity-matched young adults in the Herbal Heart Study - Sleep Ancillary (N=150). Cannabis use (CB+) was self-reported and current use was verified by urine toxicology. Routes of use were categorized as joint (≥85% flower), blunt (≥85% flower with tobacco wrap), vape (≥85% THC-vaporizer), or non-use. Fasting blood hs-CRP was categorized as low ( 1.0 mg/L), average (1.0–3.0 mg/L), or high (3.0 mg/L). Mantel–Haenszel/Pearson χ² tests and t-tests were conducted. Results Participants (Mage: 25.5y (SD=5.1) were primarily female (67.3%) and Hispanic/Latino (51.3%), and 63.3% were current cannabis users. Over half of CB+ (56.8%) reported using cannabis to improve sleep duration (SD; joint: 57.9%; blunt: 52.0%; vape: 59.4%). Demographic characteristics did not differ across CB+ groups. Indica products were reported more frequent among those using cannabis to improve SD versus those who did not (30.9% vs. 6.7%, p=0.01). High inflammation (hs-CRP 3 mg/L) was more prevalent among CB+ using cannabis to improve SD (25.9%) compared with non-users (18.4%) and CB+ who did not use cannabis for SD (8.9%, p=0.04). Mean hs-CRP was also higher among sleep-motivated users (2.53 mg/L SD=3.39) vs. their counterparts (1.70 mg/L SD=2.35). Among CB+ using cannabis to manage SD, high hs-CRP varied by route (vape 31.6%, joint 28.6%, blunt 7.7%). Among CB+ not using cannabis for SD, high hs-CRP was seen in blunt (16.7%) compared to vape (7.7%), and joint (0.0%) consumers. Conclusion Consuming cannabis to improve SD was associated with higher levels of inflammation. Routes of use modified the association, with higher inflammation among vape and joint consumers, suggesting that motivations for use and consumption routes may differentially relate to modulatory effects of cannabis in inflammation and sleep. Support (if any) R01HL153467; T37MD008647; T32DA007292
Krivijanski et al. (2026) studied this question.