Could Pot Prevent a Pot Belly? Researchers Get the Skinny on Cannabis

 Another stoner stereotype bites the dust: Despite its appetite-boosting effects (aka the munchies), cannabis may actually help keep your weight in check.

According to a study in the journal Health Economics, cannabis users may be less likely to become obese than people who abstain. The study tracked health data from the state of Washington before and after 2014, the year cannabis became widely available there for recreational use.

According to the study: “Marijuana legalization, which allowed for recreational marijuana dispensaries to open, resulted [in] decreases in obesity rates for Washington State.” During the four years after legalization, the state’s obesity rate was 5.4% lower, on average, than it would have been had cannabis not been legalized.

Sources

Raymond March, PhD, assistant professor of applied economics at North Dakota State University

Health Economics. (2022). “Cloudy with a chance of munchies: Assessing the impact of recreational marijuana legalization on obesity.” https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4598