New Study Suggests Cannabis May Help Treat Obesity

A study published this week by researchers from the University of California, Riverside, determined that cannabis can help treat obesity and diabetes, SFGATE reports.

The researchers found that when given a concentrated cannabis oil, obese mice lost weight and saw benefits to their metabolic functions.

UC Riverside professor Nicholas DiPatrizio, the study’s lead author, told SFGATE that the research could lead to new diet therapies.

“We can develop molecules that can be cannabis based, isolate them and maybe even do better than nature. We are just at the beginning,” DiPatrizio told SFGATE.

“We’re not saying that folks should go use cannabis to reverse diabetes. We would like to specifically find the chemical involved that doesn’t lead to intoxication. That’s what’s exciting about this work. The intoxicating chemical alone doesn’t do it.” — DiPatrizio, in the report

DiPatrizio said the study aimed to investigate data showing that cannabis consumers have fewer issues related to weight and diabetes than non-users.