Authors: María Luz Gunturiz Albarracín, Pablo Enrique Chaparro.
Medical marijuana is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States and in developing countries such as Colombia, but research into the benefits of the plant is a global issue. Although there are studies that present evidence that people who take or smoke it, may have a lower susceptibility to diabetes due to metabolic acceleration caused by the plant in the body, with this review we intend to show that the evidence obtained is not is still enough to think that marijuana could be a treatment for diabetes or other non-transmissible chronic diseases. This presumption is due to the lack of knowledge of its adverse effects and the consequences of cannabis use on the severity of these pathologies. Additionally, more clinical studies are required to demonstrate that marijuana activates the balance between metabolism and glucose and therefore demonstrate that this "medicinal" plant can help patients who already have the disease to decrease their dependence on insulin.
Whether or not cannabis use may increase or decrease the risk of diabetes is not completely clear.
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