Here's Why Smoking Weed Gives You The Munchies

    Why yes, I think I will have another ice cream, cream cheese, and Nutella wrap with a side of Cheez Its! Nom nom nom.

    Let's talk about weed munchies, shall we?

    You know — how you get ferociously hungry every time you smoke a bowl?

    And how no amount of mac 'n cheese is safe in your presence after a few hits of MJ?

    And how pizza becomes a REVELATION?!

    First of all, the chemicals in marijuana play some tricks on your hormones, making you feel HUNGRY FOR EVERYTHING even if you aren't.

    Fun little chemistry lesson: Marijuana contains chemical compounds called cannabinoids. Your body also naturally creates cannabinoids (called endocannabinoids in humans). These compounds are responsible, in part, for signaling to you that you are hungry or full.

    "Endocannabinoids interact with receptors in your body to help regulate your metabolism, activate hunger, and indicate satiety, among other processes," Ryan Vandrey, Ph.D., a behavioral pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins, tells BuzzFeed Life.

    The THC in marijuana stimulates your endocannabinoids, triggering the release of hormones that make you feel HUNGER feelings, even if you're totally full. "Chemicals in marijuana, especially THC, activate this false sense of hunger when they interact with hormones like leptin, a main player in sending out hunger signals. Then you get the munchies,” says Vandrey. "If you hadn't smoked, you probably wouldn't have gotten hungry then or eaten as much food."

    PROBABLY NOT INDEED.

    About that food: you'll likely reach for the fatty, calorie-rich stuff.

    Plus, after spending some quality time with weed, your sense of smell becomes extra-sensitive.

    Also, the ganj kind of messes with your brain's wiring, making you feel like an insatiable black hole of hunger.

    So, there you have it. Go forth and munch in peace.

    Better yet, read this again next time you get the munchies so you can remind yourself exactly what's going on inside your body. Mind = blown.