It’s not legal in Texas, but that hasn’t stopped medical researchers from studying the effects of recreational marijuana use on the body. They’ve already discovered some possible health benefits to pot use.
Several recent studies have shown an intriguing connection between pot smokers and good metabolic health.
"A lot of these people who are smoking marijuana on a regular basis have lower weights, lower insulin levels, lower cholesterol levels, so the question becomes is there a link between what's in cannabis and lower weights,” Dr. Brett Cohen explained.
This is exactly what Dr. Denise Vidot has been studying for years. She is a researcher at the University of Miami who is studying marijuana use.
Males who are current smokers of marijuana have a lower waist circumference than those who never used marijuana,” Vidot said.
With current marijuana use rates the highest they've been in the last decade and more states approving medical and recreational use marijuana, many feel research like this is vital to see how cannabis may be related to things like blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight.
In mice, two cannabis compounds found in the plant's leaves increase the amount of energy the body burns.
Other studies suggest marijuana has a direct impact on the part of the brain that tells you you're full.
They are linking it to a receptor in the brain, the CB-1 receptor that we initially thought was stimulating the appetite, but what they are finding is that chronic use of these products may actually have the opposite effect,” Cohen added.
Of course, all this research is not an excuse to pass the pipe. For researchers, it is incentive to keep digging.
With obesity being almost an epidemic in the United States, finding new ways to help people slim down is vital.
It's something that intrigues me and I hope to keep studying it to find out why. That's the beauty of science. The why. The questions just keep on coming,” Vidot said.
His latest research, looking at the link between marijuana use and overall health, was just published in the American Journal of Medicine.