It was only a matter of time before our national obsession with legalized marijuana would lead to suggestions of using it as a weight loss supplement. That time has arrived. We are starting to see blog posts and news articles suggesting that regular marijuana use can help people lose weight. If you are thinking of getting on that train, be skeptical. A little skepticism never hurt anyone.

According to a recent article published on the Leafly website, numerous studies showing a link between marijuana use and weight loss have been produced in recent years. But as the article explains, nearly all the links have been discovered accidentally. This is to say that researchers were not specifically looking at marijuana’s ability to curb the appetite, improve metabolism, etc.

Instead, researchers were looking at something else entirely. They only discovered a link between marijuana and weight loss casually. Moreover, establishing a link means very little in terms of proving efficacy. Casual links are just that; they aren’t hard science.

Exercise and a Healthy Diet

Touting marijuana as a weight loss supplement is not all that surprising in a culture that seems to be equally obsessed with losing weight by any means other than what has already been proven to work: exercise and a healthy diet. Americans take diet pills. We go on fad diets and consume all sorts of organic and herbal fat remedies. Yet exercise and a healthy diet are the only proven means of losing weight and keeping it off.

We prefer supplements, fad diets, etc. because we believe they can help us lose weight without the discomfort of exercise and healthy eating. But reality is always quick to set in. So when one supplement doesn’t work, we try something else. Hence, the new focus on marijuana for weight loss.

There is no proof whatsoever that marijuana helps people lose weight and keep it off. If it did work to that effect, imagine how popular it would be among people who otherwise wouldn’t use the drug. With marijuana, you can lose weight and feel really good at the same time. It sounds absurd. And yet there are people promoting this very idea.

Medical Cannabis for Qualifying Conditions

There is a danger in pushing marijuana as a weight loss supplement. It is not physical, it’s cultural. Convincing people to try marijuana in hopes of losing weight makes it much more difficult to take medical cannabis seriously. That is not good for the millions of patients who now use medical cannabis to treat their qualifying conditions.

Pure Utah, one of more than a dozen medical cannabis dispensaries in Utah, says patients already face scrutiny due to a lack of clinical evidence proving cannabis helps their conditions. They don’t need the headaches that would come with non-medical users dabbling with marijuana to lose weight.

Better off Waiting for the Research

Anyone seriously considering using marijuana as a weight loss supplement would be better off waiting for the research. Now that President Biden has signed legislation that drastically broadens the research landscape, the chances are pretty good that someone will take a legitimate look at losing weight with marijuana within the next year or two.

Remember that all the study data supporting marijuana for weight loss doesn’t actually prove anything. The data merely establishes casual links between marijuana use and lower body weight. That’s it.

Approach such data with skepticism. Better yet, lose that excess weight the right way. Start exercising and modifying your diet. Even if marijuana does work, it is not a permanent solution to an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.