Why Does Weed Make You Hungry? How to Avoid the Munchies

The munchies are a quintessential part of the stoner or cannabis lover experience, but have you ever stopped to wonder why? What is it about smoking or consuming your favorite product that leaves your stomach rumbling? Why does it seem to transform into a bottomless pit that can fit dozens of cheeseburgers easily?

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The answer is fairly simple, yet personally complex at the same time. How you experience weed-induced hunger is unique to you, but the underlying phenomena that cause it tend to be the same. Let’s take a closer look.

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How Your Body Regulates Appetite

Before you can understand how weed stimulates your appetite, you’ll need to first understand how the mechanism works in the first place. Your body uses two main hormones – ghrelin and lectin – to tell the organs and brain when it’s time to eat or stop eating.

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Ghrelin is produced by the stomach, but it can also come from the small intestines, brain, and pancreas. It’s often known as the “hunger hormone” and signals to your brain that your body needs something to eat. It also has other functions, including:

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• Triggering the pituitary gland to release growth hormones
• Controlling how your body releases insulin
• Increasing food intake
• Helping your body store fat

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Leptin, on the other hand, is a hormone that decreases your appetite. It’s produced by fat cells and is designed to let your brain know you have enough energy stored or feel “full.”

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Overall, ghrelin’s role in appetite is much shorter-lived than leptin’s. Your stomach releases ghrelin when it’s empty or close to being empty. When you eat, leptin takes over, and ghrelin levels decrease. 

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This never-ending tango keeps your brain in tune with your body’s need for fuel. But irregular eating behaviors may occur when the balance gets tipped to one extreme too often.

How Weed Increases Hunger

Put simply, weed tricks your body into thinking you’re starving, even if you’re actually quite full. Because it interacts with the endocannabinoid system, it shapes how our brains and bodies process hunger and food intake.

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Cannabinoids, the compounds that bind to receptors in the endocannabinoid system, can be found (unsurprisingly) in cannabis. But our brains produce cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids, of their own. These lipids help control bodily functions like appetite, mood, memory, and pain reception. 

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The cannabinoids found in cannabis, including THC, connect to the same endocannabinoid receptors in our brain that our own compounds use to keep us healthy. But when they do, they hijack the receptors and flip a switch that changes your brain's functions. 

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Instead of telling the brain to produce signals that match your physical fullness, THC tells neurons communicating with different brain parts that you’re hungry. So, even if you just chowed down on your dinner, smoking a bowl can make the neurons that tell you to stop eating become the same ones restarting your hunger. 

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In the past, studies have revealed that cannabis also affects receptors in the olfactory bulb, which affects how we smell and taste food. Essentially, cannabis makes food taste and smell more intense, which can further affect how we eat. 

Limiting Weed Hunger: How to Avoid Getting the Munchies

The best way to avoid the munchies is to avoid the cannabinoids that cause them. THC is typically the culprit due to the receptors it binds with and how it does so, but for some people, other cannabinoids like CBD may also be at play. 

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To keep munchies to a minimum, try to smoke less THC overall. You can do this by smoking smaller doses, smoking less frequently, or opting for lower THC strains (think under 20%). 

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It’s also smart to keep a cannabis journal to track which strains, doses, and consumption methods trigger your munchies the most. That way, you can learn to avoid the cannabinoid or terpene profiles that make you hungry. 

How to Avoid Delta-8 Munchies

Delta-8 munchies work the same way standard munchies do. To avoid them, cut back on your delta-8 THC use or try tracking which products tend to bring out the beast.

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Delta-8 products are usually weaker than their delta-9 THC (or “regular THC”) counterparts, making them less likely to cause munchies. However, different people respond to individual cannabinoids uniquely, so your experience is more telling than a generalization.

How to Avoid Munchies From Other Products

Some cannabis products, namely edibles, may be harder to avoid munchies with since they bind to the brain for so long. In these cases, you can try limiting your dose or timing it so that your munchies strike when it’s already time to eat. 

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Otherwise, try sipping on water or munching on something low-calorie (if that’s a concern) to satiate your cravings without overindulging.

Questions and Answers About Weed-Induced Hunger

There’s a lot more than meets the eye to this topic, largely because every person’s body and reactions are unique. What works for some people might not for you, and you may be prone to munchies no matter how you choose to consume cannabis. 

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Below, we answer some pressing questions about why weed makes some people hungry to help you find solutions that work for you. 

Does Weed Make You Gain Weight?

No, weed doesn’t directly cause weight gain; only an excess of calories can do that. But weed might make you more likely to eat too many calories on a regular basis. It also might make you less likely to burn those calories via exercise or movement. 

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If you’re concerned about weight management while using cannabis, it’s best to speak to your doctor. In fact, it’s wise to consult a healthcare professional before adding any new substance to your routine, whether cannabis-based or not. This helps you avoid potential interactions with existing health conditions or prescription medications.

Does Sativa or Indica Weed Make You Hungry?

Any strain can make you hungry. Terpenes aren’t really to blame when the munchies strike, though certain terpene profiles may increase effects for some people. 

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Some strains might tend to have higher THC levels depending on whether they’re indicas or not, so in that sense, strain type can affect hunger levels. But loading up on terpenes can increase THC's effects on your body, so adding stacks of kief to your bowl is a great way to make THC feel several times more powerful than it normally does.

Do Munchies Ever Go Away?

Munchies usually go away after a few hours. People who smoke regularly often report their munchies disappearing with time, perhaps because they’ve upped the ante it takes to stimulate the brain and create hunger. 

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It might take more THC to produce the same effects for these folks. Whether due to tolerance or simply adjusting to THC’s hunger-inducing changes enough to ignore them, some people can successfully kiss the munchies goodbye. Others might experience them no matter how little or much they smoke.

Does Everyone Get the Munchies?

Pretty much anyone can get the munchies, but some people seem to experience them more than others. This may be due to differing levels of leptin and ghrelin present in the body.

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People who are obese, for instance, tend to have lower levels of ghrelin and may be naturally more sensitive to it. Others may generally have less ghrelin in their bodies for unknown or genetic reasons. 

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These people might feel much hungrier with lower levels of ghrelin than others, so increases in the hormone might affect them more disproportionately. In contrast, those with high ghrelin might not feel as strong of effects.

Final Thoughts

Weed and cannabis can make you hungry by shifting the chemical messages your body and brain use to communicate about appetite. THC is most likely to do this, as it binds with receptors in the parts of the brain that control hunger and falsely tells your brain it’s time to chow down on your favorite snacks. 

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Can you eat raw weed? Read here.

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The munchies aren’t inherently bad, so if you enjoy them, that’s great (and read our blog here on the best snacks)! But it might be time to switch up your routine if they’re starting to affect how much you enjoy your products or negatively affect your health.

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To learn more about how you can do so effectively, feel free to contact The Green Dragon CBD anytime. We’re always eager and happy to help cannabis lovers find solutions that work for their bodies.