What Causes the Munchies?

“Get some…sour cream and onion chips, with some dip, man. Some beef jerky, some peanut butter. Get some Hagen-Dagz ice-cream bars. A whole lotta of chocolate. Gotta have chocolate, man. Some popcorn, pink popcorn. GRAHAM CRACKERS!!! Graham crackers with the marshmallows. Little marshmallows with little chocolate bars and we’ll make some s’mores man. Celery, grape jelly, Captain Crunch with the little crunch berries, pizzas, we need two big pizzas, man, everything on ’em, water, a whole lotta water and…….Funyuns.”

 We’ve all been there, but have you ever actually wondered what it is exactly that causes those crippling cravings when you’re high?

 “Olfaction” is the sense of smell, also playing a role in taste. THC fits into the brain’s olfactory bulb (See previous blog “Cannabis & The Endocannabinoid System” for a better understanding on the role the ECS plays on the human body) which increases your ability to smell and taste food more acutely, and because smell and taste are so closely related this could possibly be a reason to make you eat more of it.

In addition to that, THC also acts on receptors in a region of the brain called the “nucleus accumbens”, which increases the amount of dopamine (sense of pleasure) released—that comes as a result of eating while high. And there you have it…”The Munchies” explained.

………..ABBA ZABBA!

Diving Deeper:

Weed is a drug that many people enjoy. Weed has been shown to have several different effects on the human body, one of which is causing munchies. Weed causes hunger by increasing the production of ghrelin in your stomach and also by changing how you experience taste and smell. In this blog post, we will discuss why weed causes munchies and why!

THC is the chemical that causes the “high” that many individuals get when they use cannabis. However, it’s also responsible for people’s increased food cravings when they take the medicine. Weed stimulates the production of ghrelin, which is a peptide hormone that plays a major role in telling your brain when you’re hungry. Weed also changes how you experience taste and smell while on it! Both senses are used to help us eat more efficiently, so they work together to make sure we aren’t wasting any food intake.

The endocannabinoid system is responsible for regulating our appetite, energy balance, metabolic functions – basically all things related to weight loss or gain. The body naturally makes chemicals called cannabinoids due to its own internal mechanisms designed specifically for helping people maintain their healthiest selves by using this type of medicine internally through the creation of cannabis-type chemicals made inside our bodies! 

The brain is split into many regions: some govern our moods, while others control our hunger, prompting us to eat or stop eating. When a drug is consumed, it is transported throughout the body, thus THC causes euphoria when it enters the areas of the brain that control mood.  THC also affects the brain’s appetite. The chemical is transported to your hypothalamus, which controls how much you eat and when you feel full; this prompts hunger signals in order for us to get more of what we want: food! When THC reaches the part of the brain that controls hunger, it makes you want to eat more.