Frequent cannabis users leaner, less likely to get diabetes — despite munchies

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A case of the munchies does not mean the average frequent pot smoker is going to have more health issues than someone who doesn’t partake.

Snacking and having the munchies seems to come part and parcel with doing the drug, but according to a new study, frequent users are leaner and less likely to develop diabetes than people who don’t consume cannabis.

The peer-reviewed study out of the University of California, looked at how cannabis use in teenage years can alter how the body’s fat cells work.

“All too often we think of cannabis only as a psychoactive drug,” study author Daniele Piomelli said in a news release. “But, its effects extend well beyond the brain.”

Piomelli and her team gave adolescent mice low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

When the mice hit adulthood, treatment was stopped, but the researchers continued to monitor the mice’s metabolism.

What they discovered was that the mice that had been exposed to THC as adolescents had reduced fat mass and increased lean mass when compared to a control group.

They were also more resistant to obesity and high blood sugar, had higher-than-average body temperatures, and were less able to use fuel from fat stores.

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The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, noted that several of these features are common to people who frequently use cannabis.

The researchers analyzed the molecular changes caused by THC and found the mice were less capable of utilizing stored nutrients for muscle activity.

In addition to those physical effects, this could also impact mental functions which require a steady flow of energy to the brain.

The THC “mimics a group of chemical messengers called endocannabinoids, which regulate important functions throughout the body,” Piomelli explained.

“Our results show that interfering with endocannabinoid signalling during adolescence disrupts adipose organ function in a permanent way, with potentially far-reaching consequences on physical and mental health.”

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