Pot Smokers May Have Lower Risk of Obesity

“Despite the tendency of marijuana users to experience the “munchies,” pot smokers may have a lower risk of obesity that those who don’t use the drug, a new study finds.”

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 “The results show the prevalence of obesity is lower among people who frequently smoke pot compared with those who have never inhaled.

The researchers said they were surprised by their initial results, because they expected to find the opposite. So they examined a second sample of people, and found exactly the same result. Together, the two samples studied more than 50,000 people.

The reason behind the link is not clear. It could be that people who use cannabis also engage in other behaviors that lower their obesity risk. Or it may be that pot smokers exercise more or have a specific diet that keeps them thin, said study researcher Yann Le Strat, a psychiatrist at Louis Mourier Hospital in France.

“On a personal point of view, I would be surprised that cannabis use is associated with a higher rate of physical activity, but this cannot be ruled out,” Le Strat told MyHealthNewsDaily.

Another possibility is that components of cannabis may help people lose weight. If this turns out to be the case, researchers should investigate which components these might be and try to put them into drug form, Le Strat said.”

Read more: http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/1651-cannabis-obesity-risk.html

Can Marijuana really be used to treat obesity?

“Some of you may read that title and are subconsciously checking off another reason why pot is fucking awesome. Good for you, the perception of marijuana as  an illicit substance has been changing steadily over the course of the decades. Several opinion polls now indicate that a majority of Americans now support the legalization of marijuana, conclusively proving that people like to get high.

Aside from getting high and playing Xbox live, it now appears that marijuana use may actually reduce the likelihood of obesity in individuals who smoke pot regularly. According to a study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, regular users of cannabis have a much lower prevalence of obesity than non users. Even when the researchers adjusted for other factors that can contribute to body fat such as tobacco use, age or gender, the correlation remained strong.”

Read more:http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2013/05/can-marijuana-really-be-used-to-treat-obesity/

Pot Smokers May Have Lower Risk of Obesity – Fox News

  • “Despite the tendency of marijuana users to experience the “munchies,” pot smokers may have a lower risk of obesity that those who don’t use the drug, a new study finds.”
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  • “The results show the prevalence of obesity is lower among people who frequently smoke pot compared with those who have never inhaled.

    The researchers said they were surprised by their initial results, because they expected to find the opposite. So they examined a second sample of people, and found exactly the same result. Together, the two samples studied more than 50,000 people…”

The study was published Aug. 24 in the American Journal of Epidemiology. One of the authors of the study has submitted a patent application in Canada entitled ‘‘Use of Marijuana and Compounds Therein for Treating Obesity.”

Pass it on: Obesity is less common in people who smoke cannabis.”

 Read more:http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/06/pot-smokers-may-have-lower-risk-obesity/

Pot smokers are skinnier: study – MSN

“People who smoke marijuana have smaller waists and are less likely to have insulin resistance, according to a controversial US study.”

Pot smokers are skinnier: study
 
“Despite the fact that the marijuana-induced “munchies” usually makes users eat more calories than non-smokers, users don’t appear to gain weight like people who don’t smoke.Researchers from the University of Nebraska, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre studied more than 4600 adults.Twelve percent of the participants were current marijuana users and 42 percent said they had smoked cannabis in the past.

The researchers tested their insulin resistance, cholesterol levels, waist circumference and fasting insulin and glucose levels, and found the pot smokers scored significantly better than the non-smokers, even after they’d factored in other risk factors, such as age, sex, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco use.

The smokers’ insulin levels were 16 percent lower and their insulin resistance was reduced by 17 percent. Insulin resistance is a condition where the body can’t effectively absorb glucose from the blood, and is linked with weight gain.

The pot smokers also had more good cholesterol.

The 42 percent who used to smoke also scored better, however the results were not as significant as the current smokers.

The authors said they’re not sure why it happens, however said the fact marijuana seems to aid insulin regulation and reduce fat gain could also explain why marijuana smokers are less likely to have diabetes”

http://health.msn.co.nz/healthnews/8660133/pot-smokers-are-skinnier-study 

Study: Why Pot Smokers Are Skinnier

“Marijuana users had smaller waists and scored higher across several measures of blood sugar regulation.”
 
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“”Marijuana use is associated with an acute increase in caloric intake,” goes the clinical jargon for popular lore. Still despite eating more while high (by some measures, over 600 extra calories per day), marijuana users’ extra intake doesn’t seem to be reflected in increased BMI. Indeed, studies have identified a reduced prevalence of obesity in the pot smoking community…
 

IMPLICATIONS: Although they’re not sure exactly how it happens, write the authors, these findings suggest that marijuana somehow works to improve insulin control, regulating body weight and perhaps explaining why marijuana users have a lower incidence of diabetes. Adding to the big questions — “can weed can treat obesity?” and “marijuana makes you skinny?!” — is the possibility that marijuana might be useful in helping people to manage their blood sugar.”

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/study-why-pot-smokers-are-skinnier/275846/

Does pot prevent obesity? What new marijuana study says – CBS News

 

“Move over, fad diets. Scientists have identified something else that might keep off excess weight.

Smoking pot.

That’s right, marijuana users are less likely to be obese than their non-toking counterparts, according to a new study.

Doesn’t pot-smoking cause the munchies?

Actually, the researchers behind the study had been expecting to find that marijuana smokers would weigh more than non-users.

“Cannabis is supposed to increase appetite,” study author Dr. Yann Le Strat, a psychiatrist at Louis-Mourier Hospital in Colombes, France, told MSNBC.

 “We found that cannabis users are less likely to be obese than non-users…””

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20102773-10391704/does-pot-prevent-obesity-what-new-marijuana-study-says/

Pot patch considered medical breakthrough

“Advocates are fighting to legalize marijuana. The University of Mississippi has the only legally grown marijuana crop in the nation.Faculty members and student researchers have now developed a new patch that could potentially provide help to patients who need it.

The patch developed at Ole Miss could help patients overcome problems associated with taking the drug in pill form. The patch is placed above the gum line.

“In addition to pain, it will include things like reducing intraocular pressure and therefore would be good for glaucoma. [It] will be good for alleviating the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy; it would also be good for appetite stimulation for patients suffering from the syndrome, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-anxiety,” explains Dr. ElSohly.”

More: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/21116615/pot-patch-offers-medicinal-marijuana-treatment-at-ole-miss

Pot Fights Breast Cancer

“For years, cancer patients have used pot to combat the side effects of chemotherapy. But evidence has grown, both clinical and anecdotal, that cannabis has the potential to impede the spread of cancer itself. 

Now, researchers in Japan are reporting that CBDA keeps breast cancer cells from spreading. 

CBD, the miracle of component of cannabis that has been shown to have profound efficacy as a pain reliever, is obtained from its parent molecule, cannabidiolic acid or CBDA.

Until now, investigators have wondered whether CBDA is biologically active. But the study reports: “CBDA is an inhibitor of highly aggressive human breast cancer cell migration.””-

by Dan Skye

http://hightimes.com/news/dskye/7912

More: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427412012854

Pot Compound Reduces Anxiety

“According to clinical trial data published online in The Journal of Psychopharmacology, the administration of the non-psychoactive component of marijuana [cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD)] reduces anxiety in subjects with social anxiety disorder (SAD).

The anti-anxiety activity of oral doses of CBD in ten subjects was assessed by investigators at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil in a double blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Researchers concluded, “CBD reduces anxiety in SAD and that this is related to its effects on activity in limbic and paralimbic brain areas.”

This study is the first clinical trial to investigate the effects of cannabinoid cannabidiol on human pathological anxiety and its underlying brain mechanisms.

Previous studies in the context of CBD have suggested that the compound possesses anti-inflammatory activity, anti-cancer activity, and neuroprotective effects – among other therapeutic properties.

The study “Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report,” appeared online in The Journal of Psychopharmacology.”

http://www.imarijuana.com/news/pot-compound-reduces-anxiety

Pot Stirring – ELLE

“Some are using marijuana as their drug of choice to curb anxiety.”

Marijuana Anxiety Disorders
 

 “A thimbleful is all it takes. After a day’s work, I pinch off a small amount of marijuana and put it in a steel-tooth grinder. The flowers, covered in tiny white diamonds of THC, release a piney scent when crushed. I turn on the TV, and instead of taking a glass of wine with my evening news, I take out my vaporizer and set it on the coffee table.

Outside the walls of my bungalow in Oakland, California, I can hear the rush-hour traffic, but I’ve already changed into my Big Lebowski–style robe and slippers. I tap the ground flakes into a canister that I attach to another piece, this one with a bag on the end, and set both on the vaporizer. I flip the switch, and the bag slowly inflates with plumes of white smoke. Once it’s fully clouded, I attach a mouthpiece to the canister, put this to my lips, and press. On the inhale, the cannabinoids taste like sunned grass. My prescription for anxiety disorder didn’t always begin and end with an herb. But I’ve run through enough pharmaceutical drugs to know that pot dulls my panic better than any pill.”

Read more; http://www.elle.com/beauty/health-fitness/pot-stirring-19727