The Science Behind the Munchies

Now there's a scientific rationale behind the marijuana munchies, explaining why certain foods taste so good after smoking pot. A study published in the journal Neuropharmacology—led by Maria Antonietta De Luca from the University of Cagliari in Italy—examines the specific brain regions that allow marijuana's active ingredient, THC, to activate feelings of pleasure when different foods are consumed. Any time we eat food that tastes good, the feel-good chemical dopamine is released in our brains, which makes us crave that food more often. The researchers found that eating under the influence of THC leads to a dramatically increased dopamine release—but this occurs only when the food consumed is sugary, and not when eating foods that we normally dislike. So if you don’t normally enjoy eating a certain food, you won't suddenly crave it after smoking pot. And it's the importance of sugar that explains all those late-night lines at Kripy Kremes.