According to the scientists, THC fits into receptors in the brain’s olfactory bulb, significantly increasing the animals’ ability to smell food and leading them to eat more of it.
It seems that a part of the reason why you eat more when you’re high is because you can smell and taste more acutely.
THC fits into receptors that are part of the brain’s natural endocannabinoid system, which helps to control emotions, memory, pain sensitivity and appetite.
Our brains do produce their own chemicals that fit into these same receptors – but THC can alter them in big ways.
In theory, the study found that the reason our appetites are so big when we’re high is simply because the THC increases our sensitivity to the smells of food, and because smell and taste are closely related, it allows us to taste better, too – which could also explain why we fancy certain foods more when we’re high, because certain smells and tastes are stronger than others.
So basically, we get the munchies because we are super aware of the smells around us, and the THC offers stronger tastes, too.
A previous study suggests that smoking marijuana can make us crave food even when we’ve just eaten, by chucking in endorphins when our body is telling us we’re full.
That leads to more frequent, small meals rather than a big dinner – hence all your grazing on tortilla chips and salsa.
The munchies as a concept are also backed up by analysis from March this year, which found that the legalisation of recreational marijuana in states like Colorado, Oregon, and Washington led to a 3.1% increase in ice cream purchases, a 4.1% increase in cookie purchases, and a 5.3% increase in crisp purchases soon after weed was made legally available to buy.
MORE: Pregnant women are using weed to combat morning sickness and it’s a very bad idea
MORE: People tell us how smoking weed affects their mental health
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