This week, the state of Oregon began selling marijuana to adults for recreational use, now being one of four in the country to do so. With many Americans gearing up to vote on legalization next year, being informed about the drug is important. Over the last few years the amount of research on the drug has increased substantially, after decades of prohibition which limited who could study the drug.
A new study has found a link between marijuana use and poor blood sugar control, also known as “prediabetes,” Medical News Today reports. Although the researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis were unable to tie marijuana use to type-2 diabetes – the most common form of diabetes.
The research was led by Mike Bancks, a postdoctoral cardiovascular trainee at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Bancks and his research team focused on three questions:
- Was there a link between marijuana use and prediabetes and/or type-2 diabetes?
- Was being obese a factor to eliminate before connecting marijuana and diabetes.?
- Does race/gender and sex/race play a part in the connection?
The researchers found that current marijuana users had a 65 percent increased chance of having prediabetes, according to the article. Interestingly, lifetime users of marijuana only had a 49 percent increase in the odds of having prediabetes. The researchers said:
Marijuana use was associated with the development and prevalence of prediabetes after adjustment. Specifically, occurrence of prediabetes in middle adulthood was significantly elevated for individuals who reported using marijuana in excess of 100 times by young adulthood.
Future studies should look to objectively measure mode and quantity of marijuana use in relation to prospective metabolic health.”
The findings were published in Diabetologia.
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If you are or a loved one is abusing marijuana, please contact Pace Recovery Center.