Managing your weight can be an incredibly difficult thing to do, both physically and mentally. While conventional treatments may be useful for some people, they won’t be for everyone, which can make it hard to know where to turn for support.
At Releaf, we can provide eligible UK patients with access to medical cannabis treatments built around a cannabinoid called THCV. This is showing potential in recent studies for its ability to suppress appetite and alleviate certain associated symptoms, which may help to manage certain weight-related conditions.
Weight Loss
Being able to manage your weight is about far more than appearance alone. It ties to your long-term health as well, increasing your potential risk of other health conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
For many people, making dietary or lifestyle changes will be enough to make a difference on their own. But for others, the process of losing weight can be a much more difficult experience, often resulting in feelings of frustration.
This is where a medical cannabis treatment may be worth considering as an alternative option to take alongside your existing treatment plan.
How can cannabis-based treatments help?
While cannabis may be more commonly associated with stimulating appetite, recent research into a cannabinoid called THCV is showing potential for weight management by having the opposite effect.
Some small studies have recently shown that THCV can act as an appetite suppressant and may potentially lower blood glucose levels to support weight management.
A lot more research is still needed to understand this relationship properly, but for certain eligible patients in the UK, having a clinician-led THCV medical cannabis prescription may offer a useful option to take alongside conventional treatments.
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“Weight management is a sensitive and personal topic that affects us all in different ways.
For some patients, there may be underlying physical factors that make it difficult to lose weight. For others, it might be more of a mental battle.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and it’s not always as easy as just recommending dietary changes or a personalised exercise plan. These may work for some patients, but not others.
THCV does appear to offer an exciting area of research, though.
There’s still a long way to go, of course, but early results suggest it may help certain patients to manage their weight in a way that suits both them and their routine, especially when taken alongside other conventional treatments.”
Common weight management symptoms
Breathlessness
Difficulty losing weight
Fatigue and low energy levels
Increased levels of thirst
Increased need to urinate
Joint or back pain
Low mood or self-esteem
Sleep disturbances
It’s important to note that a lot of these symptoms are general signs and not related to any specific condition. You should always speak to a medical professional when looking for an accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment plan.
Common weight management-related conditions
Fatty liver disease
Hypertension
Hypothyroidism
Metabolic syndrome
Obesity
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Medical cannabis contains various compounds that interact with our body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is essentially a large, complex cell signalling network that we all rely on to transport messages around the body.
Whether that’s telling our brain it’s time to sleep, regulating our overall mood or controlling our internal temperature, the ECS is involved in a huge range of bodily processes that influence how we think, feel and act.
Medical cannabis contains compounds called cannabinoids that interact with the endocannabinoid receptors that the ECS relies on to send messages.
As a result of this, these cannabinoids can impact the processes that the ECS is typically associated with, including our mood, sleep and, in terms of weight management, our appetite and overall metabolism.
Each medical cannabis strain is made up of a wide variety of chemical compounds, including terpenes, flavonoids and volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs). But they are better known for the cannabinoid profile they contain.
Two of the most common examples of these cannabinoids are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), which have been shown to influence the ECS in different ways.
THC interacts with the ECS’s CB1 receptors, activating them to deliver a psychoactive effect within the body.
CBD, meanwhile, interacts more indirectly with CB2 receptors and is better known for offering calming, anti-inflammatory properties.
So, how does this all relate to weight?
Well, when it comes to weight management, there’s a third cannabinoid it’s worth knowing about.
Tetrahydrocannabivarin, or THCV for short, is a naturally occurring minor cannabinoid found in some cannabis cultivars, although not as commonly as THC or CBD.
While it may have a similar chemical structure to THC, it behaves very differently once inside the body, which is why it’s such a subject of current clinical interest. And here’s why.
The main difference between THC and THCV comes down to appetite.
Put simply, THC has been shown to activate the CB1 receptors associated with the ECS, which tends to increase appetite.
THCV is thought to do the opposite, blocking these same receptors and reducing appetite rather than stimulating it.
This is why you may sometimes hear it referred to as either “diet weed” or “skinny weed”, since it is suggested to act as an appetite suppressant.
THCV is also believed to be non-intoxicating, meaning it doesn’t produce the same ‘high’ sensation associated with THC. But further research is still needed to learn more about its effects.
You can learn more about the science behind “skinny weed” and weight loss in our recent Decoding Cannabis article, which breaks down the recent research in more detail.
It’s important to be up-front: research into medical cannabis and weight management is still very much in its early stages, and many of the results so far have come from small-scale or animal studies.
In other words, there is a need for larger, more robust studies before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.
That said, recent findings do look encouraging and, as you may expect when it comes to weight-loss medication, there is a growing consumer interest.
Here’s a quick overview of what research into medical cannabis and weight management tells us so far:
|
Title of study |
Year of publication |
Summary of research |
|
2013 |
This is one of the earliest studies into THCV’s metabolic attributes, which was carried out in two mouse models. The study showed that THCV didn’t significantly reduce food intake or body weight, but it did improve insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, and increased energy expenditure. It suggested that THCV’s attributes may be more related to overall metabolism, rather than solely weight-related issues. |
|
|
2016 |
This 13-week placebo-controlled trial in 62 people with type 2 diabetes showed that THCV significantly lowered fasting blood sugar and led to improved pancreatic function. It also showed that it was well tolerated, but didn’t lead to any notable weight loss amongst participants. |
|
|
2020 |
A review that looked into THCV’s potential for obesity and type 2 diabetes. It highlighted that, unlike THC, THCV is non-intoxicating and has been shown to suppress appetite and increase energy metabolism in animal studies. It also noted that human trials showed that THCV helped improve pancreatic function in patients with type 2 diabetes, without the same psychiatric side effects as alternative CB1-blocking drugs. |
|
|
2022 |
A narrative review highlighting the existing evidence behind Cannabis sativa as a possible treatment for obesity. It concluded that phytocannabinoids derived from Cannabis sativa have therapeutic potential thanks to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. It also found that people who take cannabis typically have a lower body mass index than those who do not. |
|
|
2025 |
A review which specifically looked at the impact of THCV for diabetes and weight management. It described how THCV’s dual action on the CB1 and CB2 receptors may help to suppress appetite, improve blood sugar control and increase energy expenditure. While preclinical results were strong, the researchers stressed that larger trials are needed. |
|
|
2025 |
This small-scale, placebo-controlled trial tested THCV and CBD oral strips in 44 adults with obesity over a 90-day period. It showed statistically significant improvements in weight loss, as well as reductions in waist measurement, blood pressure and cholesterol. But its small sample size was a limiting factor. |
For now, THCV is not recognised as a licensed form of weight-loss treatment, and it should only ever be taken when prescribed by a qualified medical specialist, such as our world-class clinical team at Releaf.
To discover real-life insights into how medical cannabis treatment may help with weight management issues like obesity or type 2 diabetes, take a look at our dedicated patient stories.
Medical cannabis treatments have been legally available in the UK since November 2018, after the government made various changes to its laws.
As a result of these updates, cannabis-based treatments can now be prescribed by medical professionals on the General Medical Council’s (GMC) specialist register to eligible patients for a range of qualifying conditions.
They can also only be prescribed by CQC-regulated private healthcare clinics, such as us at Releaf.
No, medical cannabis treatments aren’t currently available on the NHS for weight management issues.
In fact, there are only three specific conditions that you may qualify for medical cannabis treatment via the NHS.
For weight management-related conditions, medical cannabis prescriptions are only available from a private, CQC-regulated clinic, through a specialist on the GMC register.
While your usual GP can still be involved in your overall care if you are eligible, they will not be able to provide you with a prescription either.
If you are struggling with your weight and haven’t been able to find relief from one of the conventional treatment options, a medical cannabis prescription may be able to offer the support you need.
However, there are certain eligibility criteria you’ll need to meet to qualify for treatment. These generally include:
a relevant diagnosis of a weight management-related condition from a doctor or medical professional
failure to achieve adequate relief from at least 2 conventional treatment options for weight management
no previous diagnosis with psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
not being pregnant or breastfeeding
having a detailed medical history available for clinical review
If you meet all of these requirements, you may be eligible for a medical cannabis prescription.
For a complete list of what you’ll need to qualify for medical cannabis treatment, check out our guide on how to get a private cannabis prescription in the UK.
Alternatively, use our medical cannabis eligibility checker to get started now.
If you still have questions on medical cannabis and weight management, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the topics our clinicians are asked about most often.
THCV stands for tetrahydrocannabivarin, which is a naturally occurring cannabinoid found in some cannabis cultivars.
While it shares a similar chemical structure to THC, it is much rarer and is typically found only in specific cultivars.
Researchers are currently looking into THCV for its potential ability to reduce appetite, which is why you may sometimes hear it being referred to as “skinny weed” or “diet weed”.
No, and it should never be thought of as a like-for-like alternative weight loss medication.
Medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro work in a completely different way within the body and will typically result in a much greater loss of weight than relying on a THCV medical cannabis treatment.
THCV is currently being explored for its potential as an appetite suppressant, but it’s still too soon to tell. The best port of call is to speak to a specialist about which treatment is the right fit for your needs.
At the low doses currently studied in research, THCV hasn’t been shown to have a psychoactive effect in the same way as THC.
Generally speaking, THCV is non-intoxicating and won’t produce the same ‘high’ sensation. But it all depends on the dose you take, as higher doses may affect you differently.
This is why having a clinician-led approach to your treatment is so important to finding a dose that’s appropriate for your needs.
In many cases, a medical cannabis prescription containing THCV can be prescribed as an adjunctive (add-on) treatment to other conventional treatments.
It should never act as a replacement or front-line treatment for your specific condition.
It may also not be appropriate if you are taking other medications that may interact with medical cannabis.
The easiest way to find out for sure is by using our medical cannabis eligibility checker. That way, if you are eligible, you’ll be able to book a consultation with us to talk through your specific needs.
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