March 15, 2004
Behavior, Hypoglycemia
Question from Humboldt, Sask, Canada:
I have been a diabetic for almost half my life. I am 23 now. I regularly smoke marijuana and I notice that it makes my blood sugar go low. So now I compensate for smoking marijuana by dropping the units of insulin I inject whenever I smoke. Although it helps, I still go low. My doctor told me I am in excellent shape. From my own experience I would have to say that, without a doubt smoking marijuana makes your blood sugar drop. Am I right?
Answer:
THC, the component in marijuana has, in my experience with other patients, caused blood glucoses to be lower than usual. However, I would really weigh the benefits and side effects of THC use. I would probably limit its use or drop the use altogether, given some of the deleterious effects.
ABS
[Editor’s comment: We’ve answered many questions over the years about marijuana use. Use our search page and type in “marijuana” to read more. In particular, a question answered by Dr. Stuart Brink provides detailed information.
JSH]
