Cannabis’ effects on diabetes unclear – by Dr. Elizabeth Ko & Dr. Eve Glazier – Ask the Doctors column, August 4, 2018 – Ask the Doctors, c/0 Media Relations, UCLA Health, 924 Westwood Blvd. Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Question: I have Type 1 diabetes and have used marijuana for years to control my blood sugar. I’ve seen my blood sugar drop 100 points in five minutes with marijuana, faster than my Humalog insulin can manage. Why is that? Will medical marijuana ever go mainstream?
Answer: Marijuana, or cannabis, contains more than 100 active chemical compounds. Known as cannabinoids, each behaves differently in the body. As the number of states that allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes continues to grow, so does the body of evidence that many of the compounds found within the plant have therapeutic potential.
The challenge to investigate medical claims regarding cannabis is that it remains illegal at the federal level. Research is subject to numerous restrictions. Even so, various studies and clinical trials are moving forward.
We found that you’re not alone in noticing its effect on blood sugar. However, much of what we found is anecdotal evidence, which lacks scientific rigor. The study of cannabis and its potential effects on diabetes is in the early stages, which much of the work done in mice and on donated tissue samples.
Until researchers are able to work extensively with human populations, the how and why of the effects of cannabis on the complex physiologic processes encompassed by diabetes will remain educated guesses.
Preliminary research suggests that certain cannabinoids may help with glucose control. Some studies have found that cannabis can have a positive effect on insulin resistance. A study published in 2016 in a journal of the American Diabetes Association found that THCV, one of the cannabinoids that are not psychoactive, improved glycemic control in some individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Another study that same year drew a link between cannabidiol, a compound in cannabis, and a decrease in inflammation of the pancreas. In an observational study using data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found the incidence of diabetes among regular cannabis users to be measurably lower than that of the population at large.
The results of several other recent studies contradict a number of these pro-cannabis findings. So, basically, the jury is still out.
Although cannabis shows promise in the area of diabetes, science has yet to catch up with the claims being made. In the research that has been done, the reason for the effects of cannabis is not yet fully understood. Interest in the subject is strong, though, and continues to grow.
From “Ask the Doctors” – typed-copied from printed Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.), August 4, 2018 (www.GoErie.com)