The Science of WHAT, WHY and HOW of Munchies and the hard to pronounce names behind it

in #cannabis6 years ago (edited)

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Munchies


Here you can see an example of munchies, also lesser known as cannabis appetite. Three pieces of toast sendwich with 2 types of cheese, mayonnaise and pommes sauce, also one piece of salted crescent bread with the same ingredients.

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Munchies is the feeling of hunger after smoking weed, or as the Urban dictionary explains it, consumption of copious amounts of carbohydrates and essential polyunsaturated fatty acids after inhaling the byproduct of a combusted hemp plant.

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Introduction


In following post I will be diving into and exploring the what, why and how of the feeling we are all too familiar with after a smoke and chill session. The Munchies. I will explore and try to summerize the science behind it and the topics associated with it. Providing photos along the way of some of my own munchies and cravings. I'm not a big fan of sweets so don't expect to see photos of them here.

In most cases, the consumption of cannabis is followed by an intense feeling of hunger. That effect has been documented for hundreds of years . Having been informally called "munchies" by the English speaking people and adopted trough out most of the world. Clinical studies have found that cannabis consumption increases the interest in food, overall enjoyment of food and widens the food palatability. That effect is achieved when THC comes into contact with CB1 and creates unusual behavior patterns in certain neurons that which are more commonly known associated with decreasing hunger.

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Health and Treatment

Studies have shown have that over 70 percent of patients administrated THC have shown an increased appetite and food appreciation. Compared to the 30 percent of patients given a placebo that did not show the same effect. The effects of munchies are used in treating and helping cancer patients enjoy their meals, especially following chemotherapy treatments. A healthy appetite can enhance nutrition and combat weight loss, which is a often associated with cancer, HIV and anorexic patients. _I will not go into more details about those medical conditions as they are not the focus of this. _ It basically tricks the brain into thinking that it is hungry even if you do not really feel hunger.

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THC

TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL, more commonly known as THC, is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis to date. Commonly assumed to be involved in the plants self-defense against predatorial insects, ultraviolet light and environmental disasters.
Cannabis has been scheduled on the UN treaty of Psychotropic Substances knows as the Convention on Psychotropic Substances as Schedule 1 in 1971, due to the psychoactive effects induced by THC. Just 2 years after Woodstock. Makes you think doesn't it?

Schedule 1 is the most restrictive. It claims that drugs with such classification create a serious risk to public health, having no therapeutical value.
Just imagine it. They took a plant used throughout thousands of years by all kinds of civilizations from around the globe as a healing herb, and classified it as a substance with absolutely no therapeutically value.
Following the recommendation of the WHO (World Health Organization) it got reclassified as Schedule 2 in 1991. Since then the world is slowly coming around. A lot of places in the world are legalizing cannabis not only for therapeutical purposes but for recreational purposes as well.
Starting with Uruguay in 2013.
Before you pack your begs and decide you next holiday, you should know that Cannabis is only legal to residents of Uruguay who are 18 years or older. Prohibited to foreigner. There is also the fact that you have to be registered with the authorities.
South Africa followed in 2018 next with legalization and Canada being its newest member since 2018 as well. I belive that soon, throughout the next years many other countries could follow their lead.

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CB1


(Oddly look like party tapes, doesn't it?)

Cannabinoid receptor type 1 more commonly known as CB1 is a CBD receptor. It partially bound to the THC and start to act in slightly different ways. Some of those ways increase appetite trough mechanisms such as:
-mTOR-
Activating the mammalian target of rapamycin
-POMCs-
Activating a subset of neurons called proopiomelanocortin neurons
-PYY-
Decreasing your levels of peptide tyrosine tyrosine

They can be found in areas such as the:
-Limbic forebrain, where it enhance food palatability. Meaning, more things taste better.
-Stomach and small intestines, which control an appetite stimulating hormone called ghrelin.
-Basal ganglia where it enhances eating pleasure.
-Hypothalamus and rhombencephalon, sections of the brain that help regulate food intake.

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As CB1 increases the appetite it is only logical to belive that blocking it cause the opposite effect. By blocking CB1 we increase the production of adiponectin, which is an anti-inflammatory hormone negatively associated with obesity.

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Image 1 Source

Image 2 Source

Image 3 Source

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Sativas usually give me some crazy munchies.

Makes sense. Since they are for Activating your system and making you more awake and active.

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