{"id":162,"date":"2026-05-14T20:32:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=162"},"modified":"2026-05-14T20:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:32:17","slug":"new-calif-study-finds-evidence-cannabis-could-treat-obesity-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=162","title":{"rendered":"New Calif. study finds evidence cannabis could treat obesity, diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The munchies are one of marijuana\u2019s most famous effects, with countless movies playing up the trope that smoking weed leads to uncontrollable hunger. But a new study is showing that cannabis could actually have surprising effects on your waistline.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more Bay Area tech giant Cisco to cut thousands of jobs after record revenue<\/a><\/p><\/div>

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Researchers at UC Riverside gave cannabis to obese mice and found that not only did the rodents lose weight, but when given a concentrated cannabis oil, the mice also saw striking benefits in their metabolic function. Nicholas\u00a0DiPatrizio, a UC Riverside professor and the lead author of the study, said he thinks the work could lead to cannabis-based diet therapies.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cWe can develop molecules that can be cannabis based, isolate them and maybe even do better than nature. We are just at the beginning,\u201d DiPatrizio told SFGATE.<\/p><\/div>

DiPatrizio said his team studied the issue to better understand why cannabis users show significant reductions in weight and risk for diabetes compared with nonusers.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe would think that chronic cannabis users would be eating more and weigh more, but it\u2019s just the opposite,\u201d DiPatrizio said.<\/p><\/div>

The existing scientific studies have shown associations between weight and cannabis use, but they do not prove that cannabis causes weight reduction.\u00a0DiPatrizio\u2019s team designed a study to try to prove causation by giving obese mice two types of drugs: an isolated form of just THC, the most common intoxicant in marijuana, as well as a cannabis oil that was extracted from cannabis and contained a broad spectrum of cannabis compounds.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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Both drugs reduced the mice\u2019s weight \u2014 giving more evidence that marijuana causes these effects in humans \u2014 but the outcomes differed noticeably on other metabolic functions. The obese mice given pure THC still had impaired metabolic function that mirrored diabetes, while the mice given the more complex cannabis oil saw their metabolic function return to normal.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more California\u2019s deadly mushroom outbreak reaches alarming new levels<\/a><\/p><\/div>

Scientists are increasingly examining the possibility that cannabis compounds could fight obesity or metabolic disorders like diabetes. Cannabinoids interact with the body\u2019s endocannabinoid system, which partially controls nearly every aspect of our physiology, including metabolism and appetite. That creates the possibility that targeting this widespread system could unlock new therapies for these conditions.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

The cannabis industry is already exploring whether natural compounds found in the cannabis plant could also be effective for weight loss. Tetrahydrocannabivarin, a natural cannabis compound shortened to THCV, has been shown to cause reduced appetite and increased stimulation. Some California companies have launched products with THCV, which is sometimes referred to as \u201cdiet weed\u201d because of its reported effects.<\/p><\/div>

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DiPatrizio said the study does not prove that smoking marijuana will cause weight loss or can treat diabetes. Animal studies often do not translate to human effects, meaning the positive signals in the study could fail to be reproduced in humans. DiPatrizio said his lab is now trying to find out what exact chemical caused the effects in the hope that, some day, a THC-free drug could help people facing obesity or diabetes.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe\u2019re not saying that folks should go use cannabis to reverse diabetes,\u201d DiPatrizio said. \u201cWe would like to specifically find the chemical involved that doesn\u2019t lead to intoxication. That\u2019s what\u2019s exciting about this work. The intoxicating chemical alone doesn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

More Cannabis Coverage<\/div><\/div>

\u2014 One of California’s most expensive licenses is now basically worthless\u2014 How weed drinks became the only winner of California’s legal weed market\u2014 UC San Francisco study uncovers troubling new cannabis health risk\u2014 The man behind California’s brand-new $15M weed ranch\u2014 \u2018This is freaking crazy!’: The rise and fall of a San Francisco party that changed the world<\/p>

Read more Bay Area dad facing 3 years in prison after prank gone wrong<\/a><\/p><\/div>

\u2014\u00a0Full SFGATE cannabis coverage<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new study from California scientists found that cannabis oil had surprising effects when given to obese mice, including reversing signs of diabetes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Calif. study finds evidence cannabis could treat obesity, diabetes - San Francisco Moving Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Calif. study finds evidence cannabis could treat obesity, diabetes - San Francisco Moving Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new study from California scientists found that cannabis oil had surprising effects when given to obese mice, including reversing signs of diabetes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Francisco Moving Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-14T20:32:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/feb53ea52c21047d75f8b4ee2c8bb8bf\"},\"headline\":\"New Calif. study finds evidence cannabis could treat obesity, diabetes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-14T20:32:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162\"},\"wordCount\":681,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/10e0c1985c18ff2ffdd6fc87e96252a2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162\",\"name\":\"New Calif. study finds evidence cannabis could treat obesity, diabetes - San Francisco Moving Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/10e0c1985c18ff2ffdd6fc87e96252a2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-14T20:32:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/feb53ea52c21047d75f8b4ee2c8bb8bf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/?p=162#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/10e0c1985c18ff2ffdd6fc87e96252a2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/10e0c1985c18ff2ffdd6fc87e96252a2.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"Alexis Bronson examines a cannabis leaf with a magnifying glass in the greenhouse at his home in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. 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