It is no secret that cannabis use is associated with increasing people’s appetites. ‘The munchies’ is something that has served as the butt of many jokes by cannabis opponents and mainstream media, but cannabis increasing people’s appetites can be a very helpful thing in some instances.

A very noteworthy example is in cases of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Such treatments often reduce cancer patients’ appetites, and medical cannabis use has been found to boost food intake. Another potentially helpful example may be for people who suffer from eating disorders, according to the results of a recent international study.

Researchers affiliated with the University of Sydney, New South Wales Health, and University College London examined prescription and non-prescription drug use, including cannabis use, among people who suffer from eating disorders. Their findings were published in the academic journal Psychiatry.

“There are few effective pharmacotherapies for treating eating disorders (EDs). High rates of substance use among individuals with EDs suggest potential self-medication of symptoms.” the researchers wrote about the focus of their investigation. “Substances evaluated included caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, prescription psychotropics, psychedelics, ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (or ecstasy), stimulants, opioids, and other drugs.”

“Respondents described drug use over the past 12 months. For each drug used, they rated their agreement or disagreement on a 5-point Likert scale (−2, strongly disagree; −1, disagree; 0, neutral; 1, agree; or 2, strongly agree) with the following 3 statements: (1) this medication/drug makes my eating disorder symptoms better; (2) this medication/drug has overall benefits for my mental health; and (3) this medication/drug has unpleasant side effects.” the researchers stated about their methodology.

The study involved 6,612 respondents, with the average age being 24.3 years old. Ninety-four percent of the study’s subjects were female, and most of the respondents resided in Australia (30.0%), the United Kingdom (21.3%), or the United States (18.0%).

“Diagnosed EDs included 2696 (40.8%) individuals with anorexia nervosa, 1258 (19.0%) with bulimia nervosa, 757 (11.4%) with binge-eating disorder, and 589 (8.9%) with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. Many respondents (2493 [37.7%]) were undiagnosed.” the researchers wrote about the study’s participants.

“Cannabis and psychedelics were highest-rated for improving ED symptoms.” the researchers determined. “Prescription antidepressants were rated highly for overall mental health but not for ED symptoms, with the exception of fluoxetine for bulimia nervosa and lisdexamfetamine for binge-eating disorder. Alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco were rated as the most harmful drugs.”

“The findings of this survey study of prescription and nonprescription drug use suggest that cannabis and psychedelics were perceived by survey respondents as efficacious in alleviating their ED symptoms, which supports further research in this area.” the researchers concluded.