If you haven’t read the latest (March) issue of Cell Metabolism magazine you may be missing out on some very exciting and important news. According to the renown publication, the University of California, Irvine has released some new research that could be a dream come true for many dieters. The findings from the California researchers are that certain brain chemicals with similar characteristics to marijuana might help you lose weight without having to exercise.

Endocannabinoids share a similar molecular structure to cannabis, which is better known as marijuana. The chemical that may hold this hallucinating power is an endocannabinoid compound named 2-AG. It’s not a very sexy name but what it does is pretty exciting. According to the research, there have been high levels of this compound found in mammal brains and it is believed by Scientists that it could play a key role in helping to regulate the metabolism in the body.

The researchers used mice to test this compound. The mice with low levels of 2-AG in their brain cells lived in a hyper metabolic state, allowing them to burn fat calories far more efficiently than mice without the compound. Daniele Piomelli, one of the researchers said the mice, “Were resistant to obesity, staying thin despite a high-fat diet without exercise. They even had normal blood pressure and showed no increased risk of heart disease or diabetes.”

Regarding a miracle marijuana pill for the future, Gizmodo’s Kristen Philipkoski cautioned, “Tweaking the human brain chemistry is no easy task. Preliminary estimates say it would take a decade and cost up to two billion dollars to make a drug safe and effective enough for the FDA to approve it.”

It may be a little far off and maybe even a little far out, but the idea that we might be able to shed a few pounds by smoking a few is something I’m sure the researchers won’t have any trouble getting volunteers to test. Pot brownies have always had seemingly magical powers, so if this research is developed, they might actually have the added power to help you lose weight. Imagine that, losing weight by eating brownies. What a wonderful world that would be.