It seems that every new day that goes by, more and more scientific information is coming out to prove that marijuana is actually a million times healthier than previously thought.

Suddenly, my high-GPA, bong-fueled undergraduate years make so much more sense.

Two recent studies suggest that regular marijuana use may actually help, rather than harm, the human body.

First, a study published this summer ( link to scholarly paper here ) showed that cannabinoids (aka marijuana) work to protect the brain from damage that would otherwise occur from alcohol withdrawal.

According to the study, "In the current study we show, first, that ethanol withdrawal increases both basal neuronal death and NMDA-stimulated neuronal death in primary cortical cultures, probably due to a change in the expression of NMDA receptor subunits. Second, we evidence for the first time that, during ethanol withdrawal, the stimulation of the endocannabinoid system protects neurons from excitotoxic insults, whereas its blockade aggravates neuronal death induced by NMDA. We show that the neuroprotective effect of HU-210 during ethanol withdrawal could be explained by a reduction in Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptors."

In English? Marijuana stops the brain from killing itself when undergoing alcohol withdrawal. You now have a perfectly valid excuse for drinking all weekend and smoking marijuana all week, college students.

A second study that came out shows that marijuana use is linked to obesity — but not in the way you think. People who smoke marijuana regularly are LESS likely to be obese than non-smokers. That's not a typo.

The study found that 22 to 25 percent of people who don't smoke pot were obese, while 16 to 17 percent of cannabis users were obese. Among heavy users, the difference was even greater. About 14 percent of participants who used cannabis three days a week or more were obese, the researchers said.

Given the way stoners can throw down Doritos and Mountain Dew, that result shocked the researchers so much that the performed the study a second time...and got the same result.

And no, they weren't stoned while they were running the numbers.

Furthermore, marijuana is a fairly social drug. Not many people spend a significant amount of time smoking pot by themselves, unless they're using the drug to medicate themselves (legally or illegally). Most marijuana users do so in social settings. If they're regular marijuana users, then by default, they're spending a lot of time in social groups doing things with other people. This is another factor in preventing obesity.