What are favorite “munchies” for cannabis users? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the biochemical processes responsible for triggering hunger during cannabis use. This study has the potential to help scientists and the public better understand the psychological effects during cannabis use and how this impacts human behavior, specifically eating.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained from human and rodent participants where both groups were exposed to cannabis and offered a variety of food options. The human participants consisted of 82 adults aged 21 to 62 with a portion serving as a control group using a placebo while the remainder were randomly selected to vape 20 or 40 milligrams of cannabis. The rats were tasked with pulling a lever to select their food after being exposed to cannabis. In the end, the researchers found that both human and rodent groups chose a variety of types of food after cannabis exposure, with the rats under cannabis exposure constantly pulling levers for food.
“There are a lot of different diseases, conditions and disorders associated with wasting syndromes and lack of appetite, and this study really supports the idea that cannabis can be used medicinally to increase appetite in people who have conditions like HIV, AIDS, or who are on chemotherapy,” said Dr. Carrie Cuttler, who is a psychology professor at Washington State University and a co-author on the study. “Beef jerky was one of the No. 1 things intoxicated people gravitated toward, which I don’t understand. Honestly, I would have thought chocolate, chips, Rice Krispies treats—things like that.”
This study comes as medicinal cannabis is increasingly being used as treatment options for a variety of diseases, as noted above. Therefore, studies like this highlight the benefits of using cannabis to induce hunger that could prove beneficial for treating chronic diseases.
What new insight into cannabis and hunger will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Marijuana Moment
