Elizabeth Cook, a 70-year-old retired public servant is among 30% of Australians who struggle to sleep. And so, after trying everything else, she volunteered for a trial which took place at the University of Western Australia last year.
The clinical trial aimed to test the effectiveness of ZLT-101, a cannabidiol (CBD) based medicine produced by Zelira Therapeutics.
Over seven weeks, participants were given the real drug or a placebo, with neither the patients or the doctors knowing which was which. Except for Elizabeth.
For the past 6 years, Elizabeth has been struggling to stay asleep. It wasn’t the getting to sleep that was the problem, she would doze off quite quickly, but rather staying asleep for the full night.
She would often wake up in the middle of the night, at around 1 or 2 am, and be unable to get to sleep. Leaving her to be dreary and drowsy by 2pm the next day.
I was walking around half dead. I’d had it for about 6 years. I don’t have any trouble getting to sleep but staying asleep was the problem.
So, how did Elizabeth know she was taking the real thing? From the first dose.
The first dose…took it, off to sleep, stayed asleep, woke up feeling great. And that happened for the [full] fortnight that I was taking the active substance.
The cannabis oil was working beautifully for her. She’d tried all the OTC and prescription-based medicines before to treat her insomnia, but none were effective. They all left her with dreadful side effects, including awful hangovers leaving her grumpy and unhappy the next morning.
All that’s changed with CBD oil.
At first I thought I was getting old and it was just old age catching up with me, but now I’ve got all my energy back, I get a full day out of a good night’s sleep and I can’t believe the difference that it’s made to my life.
Even though CBD oil is currently legal in Australia, it’s still classed as a Schedule 4 drug, meaning you cannot use the medicine with a valid prescription.
All that may change in 2021, however, with the TGA considering re-scheduling low dose CBD oil to Schedule 2. Meaning you could be able to walk into a pharmacy and purchase it OTC.
Our fingers are certainly crossed.
Watch:
Is Cannabis oil the answer to insomnia? #9Today
Posted by TODAY on Sunday, May 31, 2020