“Smoking cannabis may help prevent diabetes, a new study has suggested.

Researchers found that regular users of the Class B drug had significantly lower levels of insulin after fasting – a sign of increased protected against diabetes. They also had reduced insulin resistance.

The results, reported in the American Journal of Medicine, showed current users had 16 per cent lower fasting insulin levels than participants who reported never having used marijuana.

The findings raise the possibility treatments for diabetes could be developed based on the active ingredient of cannabis, commonly known as THC.

Large waist measurements are also linked to diabetes risk and the study revealed significant associations between marijuana use and smaller waists.

Lead researcher Murray A. Mittleman, of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, said it was the first study ‘to investigate the relationship between marijuana use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance’, The Albany Tribune reported.

But Joseph Alpert, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, and editor in chief of the American Journal of Medicine, said: ‘We desperately need a great deal more basic and clinical research into the short and long term effects of marijuana in a variety of clinical settings such as cancer diabetes and frailty of the elderly.’

Researchers studied data from 4,657 patients who completed a drug use questionnaire.

The use of so-called ‘medical marijuana’ is growing in the US where several states allow it.”

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/15/cannabis-could-combat-diabetes-study-shows-3759797/