Hopes that a sleeping pill made with medicinal cannabis can improve sleep quality

Cann Group is running trials of the pill in Australia, and plans to expand to Christchurch, Nelson and Rotorua.

If successful, they hope to make it an over the counter medicine.

Chief operating officer Shane Duncan says a number of studies using medicinal cannabis for sleep, report better sleep quality compared to prescribed medication.

He says one of the very first things patients with chronic pain or anxiety report is a change or improvement in their sleep quality when given medical cannabis.