Five of the Most Important and Interesting Cannabis Studies of 2016

We’ve seen some great things happen within the cannabis industry in 2016. Legal sales are at an all time high, the potential for jobs in the sector continues to increase, and many scientific studies have debunked age-old cannabis myths while uncovering other positive things about the versatile plant medicine. Here are five of the most interesting of these studies.

Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Is Virtually Safe

One of the reports smashing antiquated stigmas about cannabis was a study published by the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, finding that cannabis use by a pregnant mother does not adversely affect the growing fetus. The study showed no increased likelihood of preterm births or the baby being born with low body weight. The researchers also concluded that there were no increased risks of miscarriage. The study analyzed data from 130,000 pregnant participants, about 8,000 of which used cannabis at some point during their pregnancy.

“Maternal marijuana use during pregnancy is not an independent risk factor for adverse neonatal outcomes after adjusting for confounding factors,” the study said. “Thus, the association between maternal marijuana use and adverse outcomes appears attributable to concomitant tobacco use and other confounding factors.”

Cannabis Could Lower Your BMI

Researchers at the University of Miami found that cannabis users that participated in their study had a lower BMI than that of non-users. Those who didn’t ingest cannabis have a BMI that’s typically 3 percent higher than users.

Cannabis Use Seems to Have No Impact on Intelligence

Researchers at Duke University analyzed the cognitive ability, habits, successes and failures of identical twins. Twins give this study its advantage above others because they come from the same background, upbringing and have almost the exact same body chemistry. “The data collected from the identical twins fails to support the implication that marijuana exposure in adolescence causes neurocognitive decline,” according to the study.

Cannabis Can Help Heal Brain Cells Damaged by Alcohol

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience and online by the National Institute of Health found that cannabis can protect the human brain from damage caused by alcohol. “Chronic alcohol exposure reduces endocannabinoid activity and disrupts adult neurogenesis in rodents, which results in structural and functional alterations,” the study stated.

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