Pot, less calories than beer.

The "munchies" aside, pot smokers are actually less likely than non-tokers to be obese, according to a study by a French researcher.

The examination of data from two separate studies of more than 50,000 U.S. adults found that 14% to 17% of people who smoked pot at least three days per week were obese, compared with 22% to 25% among non-cannibis users.

The research team headed by Yann Le Strat, a psychiatrist at the Louis-Mourier Hospital in Colombes, France, appears in the Sept. 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Initially, we thought we made a mistake," says Le Strat, according to Reuters. He says he and co-author Bernard Le Foll checked the results several times to make sure they were correct.

"This is only a preliminary result," he says. "It doesn't mean that marijuana does actually help you lose weight, but perhaps there is a component that does."

The researchers did not examine whether diet and exercise habits were different between the two groups but did find that cigarette usage had no influence on the obesity findings, Reuters reports.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/09/study-pot-smokers-less-obese-than-non-users/1

Ron Paul and Barney Frank introduce legalization bill.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) will introduce “bi-partisan legislation tomorrow ending the federal war on marijuana and letting states legalize, regulate, tax, and control marijuana without federal interference,” according to a press release from the Marijuana Policy Project that just hit my inbox. More from that email:

Other co-sponsors include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). The legislation would limit the federal government’s role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, allowing people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal. The legislation is the first bill ever introduced in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition.
Rep. Frank’s legislation would end state/federal conflicts over marijuana policy, reprioritize federal resources, and provide more room for states to do what is best for their own citizens.

“It’s definitely going to get a serious debate, probably more in the media than on the floor of the House,” Fox told said. “But I think it needs to be debated on the floor.”

What does MPP see as obstacles?

“Someone in the prohibitionist camp could hold it up as long as they wanted, but the slew of opinion pieces that came out last week calling for the end of the failed drug war will give this momentum,” Fox said.