Why do you get hungry atfer smoking weed?

Your body, it seems, contains specialized proteins called cannabinoid receptors. (Broadly speaking, receptors react to certain stimuli and produce certain results.) The best-known cannabinoid is delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the principal psychoactive ingredient of weed (aka cannabis). Far more important from the body's standpoint, however, are the endogenous (i.e., internally synthesized) cannabinoids, endocannabinoids for short, which work like neurotransmitters and are produced as part of the built-in apparatus by which peripheral parts of the body inform the brain that it's lunchtime. Endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors are abundant in the hypothalamus, the region of the brain that plays a pivotal role in appetite regulation. In 1992 researchers identified the first endocannabinoid and named it anandamide, from the Sanskrit ananda, meaning inner bliss. In other words, when you smoke dope, you're replicating (albeit with much greater intensity) an effect the body produces naturally for itself.

Hunger regulation isn't the only thing endocannabinoids do for the body. Though their action is still imperfectly understood, a 1998 research paper suggests that they help you "feel less pain, control your movement, relax, eat, forget, sleep and protect" yourself against stress. In fact, some scientists think they're an important part of the body's general stress-recovery system.

The significant role of cannabinoids in body chemistry has created great excitement about the therapeutic use of THC and related compounds. The most obvious beneficiaries are people who've lost the desire to eat--for example, late-stage cancer or AIDS patients. (In India, in fact, folks have used pot to treat loss of appetite since around 300 AD.) Though research is incomplete, it appears that (a) smoking marijuana is the best means of administering THC; (b) food consumption increases primarily in social settings; and (c) the foods consumed tend to be sweet. So it's possible that someday the recommended treatment for disease-induced anorexia may consist of lighting up a few joints, sitting around in a group, and munching Oreos. Lest you get the wrong idea, though, appetite-suppressed patients don't necessarily have to get high to enjoy the benefits of marijuana. At the lowest effective dose, test subjects report little or no euphoria, sleepiness, or dizziness.

Cannabinoids have a variety of other medical applications. The use of marijuana in the treatment of glaucoma is well-known. THC, under the name Dronabinol, has been used since 1985 to ease the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. Cannabinoid antagonists, which inhibit the effects of cannabis-type compounds, have been shown to suppress sugar and alcohol consumption in lab animals and are thought to hold great promise for obese humans, particularly those with a weakness for sweets.

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