Western Australia’s Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP) and Curtin University have teamed up to investigate the potential of medicinal cannabis treatment options for obesity and related health issues.

Marijuana is well-known for causing the “munchies“, which is thought to be caused by the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the same compound that creates marijuana’s high. But cannabis is much more than THC as you’ll see on HG’s big list of cannabinoids.

New research at Curtin’s Medical School will attempt to identify combinations of cannabinoids that may produce effects of a feeling of fullness; decreasing appetite.

“Some of the more than 100 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant have been shown to have therapeutic potential for obesity,” said Curtin’s Professor Marco Falasca, who will be leading the study. “Our research will seek to unlock further understanding of the role these cannabinoids can play in regulating gut function, their mechanism of action and optimal dosing for therapeutic effect to help weight loss.”

Little Green Pharma is to fund the research, which will occur in three stages – with the final stage expected to be completed by February next year.

“Supporting this type of research, which studies the use of medicinal cannabis in difficult to treat conditions, is a cornerstone of our business and key to our R&D strategy,” said LGP Head of Research and Innovation Dr Leon Warne.

In other recent news from LGP, the company announced last month it had signed a three-year distribution agreement with AMP for the distribution of LGP-branded cannabis oil medicines in Germany, and a four-year agreement with PharmaServe for the distribution of its oil-based medicines and cannabis flower in Greece.

Little Green Pharma is a vertically integrated medical cannabis company, with operations from cultivation and production through to manufacturing and distribution. It has a 21,500m2 cultivation and 4,000m2 GMP manufacturing facility capable of producing more 20 tonnes of medicinal cannabis biomass annually in Europe (Denmark); acquired last year. Closer to home, LGP’s indoor cultivation and manufacturing facility located in Western Australia is capable of producing ~3 tonnes of medicinal cannabis biomass per annum.