DIABETES AND MARIJUANA
I am twenty years old and have to take insulin daily for diabetes. I would like to try marijuana. Will this be harmful to me?
As you know, your insulin requirements depend a great deal on your caloric intake and the types of food you eat (i.e. high in sugar, fat, protein, etc.). Marijuana is a powerful stimulant to the appetite but the mechanism for this peculiar property is unclear since research studies have shown conflicting results.
One reports that marijuana raises blood sugar, another that it lowers blood sugar (perhaps the investigators were stoned).
Someday, marijuana or one of its components might be a proven valuable agent in the treatment of diabetes. It might be useful also in treating anorexia nervosa (a condition in which the victim may literally die from lack of appetite) or as an aid in psychotherapy. Meanwhile, it would be best for you to avoid marijuana since it might cause an insulin reaction by decreasing your blood sugar, or diabetic coma by raising it directly or via visits to candy counters in all-night food stores.
It is often apparent that drowsiness, increased hunger, and dryness of the mouth are incurred by smoking pot or hash. I have thought for a long time that this may be due to the fact that pot can cause a depression of the blood sugar. How or why this might be true I do not know. I do know, though, as a diabetic, that if I have smoked a large amount of pot or hash it is possible for me to have an insulin reaction. This may happen even when I have recently eaten a meal. Has this been noted before? I pointed out that marijuana might be dangerous for diabetics, but yours is the first confirmation of this suspicion. I recently wrote to the Journal of the American Medical Association quoting your letter and adding, "Though the use of marijuana is illegal in all states, millions of Americans have tried the drug and its use appears to be spreading rather than diminishing. In normal individuals its danger is more legal than medical. But marijuana does appear to be dangerous when used by diabetics because it alters their requirements for insulin, probably by lowering blood sugar. The component of marijuana which lowers blood sugar might be a useful hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) agent and I suggest this would be a worthy area of research."
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