Long-term cannabis use might help overweight individuals from developing diabetes, according to experts from Laval University in Quebec.

A study published this month in the Journal of Diabetes found that a history of marijuana use is associated with lower fasting insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in obese adults.

Researchers assessed data from a nationally representative sample of over 129,000 adults to examine any relationship between cannabis consumption and fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance.

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They reported that both current and past cannabis use was associated with significant and persistent changes in insulin levels in obese patients compared to non-users. Experts also found that former consumers with high lifetime use had a significantly lower insulin level that persisted, regardless of the duration of time since last use.

However, these changes were only evident in overweight subjects.

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“[W]e found that lifetime marijuana use is significantly associated with lower fasting insulin and HOMA-IR in obese individuals,” the authors concluded. “We also found that, a long time (> 10 years) after cessation, former users showed significant lower levels of fasting insulin and HOMA-IR scores than did never users, independent of their frequency of use in the past.”

The new findings come months after another medical study concluding that marijuana users are less likely to gain weight when compared to non-users.

Oscar Pascual is the editor of Smell the Truth, syndicated on GreenState and SFGATE. Smell The Truth is one of the internet’s most popular destinations for cannabis-related news and culture. This blog is not written or edited by Hearst. The authors are solely responsible for the content.