If you ’ve ever smoke locoweed , chances are you ’ve experience pretty hungry afterwards . mayhap you even say , “ I ’m starve ” as you deal through a Nachos BellGrande , a Quesarito Combo , anda Crunchwrap Supreme .

Well , you were correct — youwerestarving . Or at least , your body call up you were . And that ’s because of tetrahydrocannabinol , also known as THC , which is the independent psychoactive component inmarijuana .

A2015 studyconducted on mice by research worker at the Yale School of Medicine bump that tetrahydrocannabinol flip a substitution in the rodent ’ wit circuitry , make them feel hungry rather than full .

A 4/20 feast.

“ By observing how the appetite gist of the brain reply to marijuana , we were able to see what drives the thirstiness bring about by cannabis and how that same mechanism that normally turn off alimentation becomes a driver of eating , ” said Tamas Horvath , the study ’s lead author .

“ It ’s like press a automobile ’s bracken and accelerating instead , ” Horvath explain . “ We were surprised to find that the neurons we thought were responsible for shutting down eating , were suddenly being touch off and promoting hunger , even when you are full . It put on the brain ’s central feeding system . ”

Assuming that THC has a like gist on human race , it ’s well-to-do to understand how smoking skunk would produce insatiate craving for anything and everything .

But that ’s not the only science at work when it comes to getting the munchies : THCalso bindsto cannabinoid receptors known as CB1s in the brain ’s olfactory electric-light bulb , make food aromas more intense , which increase your perception of flavor . So not only are you confident that you ’re ravenous , but things reek and sample better than they do when you ’re not gamey , which is kind of a double whammy .

While this all may be a little annoying if you ’re trying to cut back on your fast - food intake , the link between thirstiness and tetrahydrocannabinol is potentially great news for masses who have trouble eating due to illness or other aesculapian reasons . For instance , marijuanahas been shownto be an in force appetite stimulant drug in cancer patient . If researcher roll in the hay exactly what induce that appetite upsurge , they may be able-bodied to apply the munchies to gain those who need it .

A interpretation of this news report earlier ran in 2017 ; it has been update for 2024 .