Does marijuana increase metabolism?

Food?

This has nothing to do with smoking, nor asking about smoking, etc. I was just wondering if when people get the munchies, is their metabolism speeding up for the duration of the drug effect? I can't find much with Google.

LewieP

I think it's more psychological. You mind sorta wonders, and settles on the idea of foods.

benz0rs

I just took a psychopharmacology class and the only thing I know is that it increases appetite.

Word on the street is that it does increase metabolism which is why potheads don't get fat... or the ones I know aren't.

malkoth

Cannabis is weird in that it is a stimulant and depressant in low doses. I know it mildly increases a persons heart rate, but I havnt found anything yet that explicitly says it increases metabolism. www.erowid.org would be a good place to look for more information.

Pheezer

I believe it's only credited with increased apetite. I've never heard metabolism from what I'd consider a reliable source. And no, it's not just a "psychological" effect as in a placebo effect, it's something that's been observed to occur as a direct result of marijuana use, it's one of the benefits used to justify prescription in some cases.

Sarcastro

I thought I read once that during a high the blood sugar level in your brain juice begins to crash like no tomorrow. So you feel really hungry, even though you are not really in need of food.

Then again, I am reminded of my favourite Family Guy quote:

Peter: Sure it is, I read it in a book.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book, Peter? Are you sure it wasn't nothing?

stixs4321

Reason pot heads are skinny, especially the youngers one is well your metabolism is good when young but most people don't eat breakfast, maybe they're fairly active(walk everywhere), twitch/swirm alot throughout the day or simply not eating enough overall. There are more pot heads fat than skinny that I know because well simply they eat too much food. Skinny people on pot will be skinny regardless because they don't eat much to begin with usually. Pot doesn't increase your metabolism unless its got you tripping balls and running around the room .

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Yeah, I mean, one time we made tons of BBQ meat before we smoked, and then after, I ate a whole obscene amount, but then it did not seem to digest very fast, and I was way over full for a really really long time, and probably gained some weight from that day alone.

Rabid_Llama

pheezer FD wrote: »

I believe it's only credited with increased apetite. I've never heard metabolism from what I'd consider a reliable source. And no, it's not just a "psychological" effect as in a placebo effect, it's something that's been observed to occur as a direct result of marijuana use, it's one of the benefits used to justify prescription in some cases.

I think someone in a D&D thread mentioned that studies had been done in europe in which the munchies were completely absent. None of the patients felt any sort of increase in appetite. I think what they concluded was that the munchies is sort of a cultural staple in the US so it sort of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when it happens.

I am not saying that this is fact, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Shogun

It will not increase your metabolism however it will increase your heart rate. If you get high and just sit there watching TV your heart rate will increase but if you stand up and take a deep breath and sit back down it will drop back down.

MotherFirefly

I have a friend who quit smoking and gained like 20 or 30 pounds within the span of a few months, he startes smoking again and the weight fell right back off

So, I think so. But this could just be an individual case thng.

Szechuanosaurus

I think it probably has more to do with the fact that eating is more fun when you're stoned and food tastes better, so the thought of food creates a desire for it. At least, that's how it feels. Munchies when you're stoned is distinct from actual hunger and even the sensation of craving fatty foods when your drunk (which I believe is a response to physical affects of alcohol).

I think it's more like when you think of food normally, you might get hungry just due to the thought of food. This sensation, along with pretty much all sensations, is heightened when you are stoned.

DekuStick

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

I think it probably has more to do with the fact that eating is more fun when you're stoned and food tastes better, so the thought of food creates a desire for it. At least, that's how it feels. Munchies when you're stoned is distinct from actual hunger and even the sensation of craving fatty foods when your drunk (which I believe is a response to physical affects of alcohol).

I think it's more like when you think of food normally, you might get hungry just due to the thought of food. This sensation, along with pretty much all sensations, is heightened when you are stoned.

That's certainly how it feels. I just need to eat tasty food. I love it and it's awesome.

crake

Rabid_Llama wrote: »

I think someone in a D&D thread mentioned that studies had been done in europe in which the munchies were completely absent. None of the patients felt any sort of increase in appetite. I think what they concluded was that the munchies is sort of a cultural staple in the US so it sort of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when it happens.

I am not saying that this is fact, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

I think it's something that developes over time (and it's also dependant on the particular type of pot - I wonder if that euro study included different types...) I'm basing this on personal experience though. It wasn't until I became a daily type of pot head did it start increasing my appetite. Perhaps it has something to do with keeping the THC in the body pretty much 24/7? (that doesn't mean I was high 24/7!!)

As for metabolisim... I'm prone to gain weight, and when I was a daily user with the munchies, I noticed that my weight stayed completely steady the entire time. No movement at all.

The varying results/experiences in this thread is enough to encourage more in-depth professional studies of pot, imo.

The-Pimp

From my experience, the more I smoked the more comfortable I became and the more I learned about it and how I can control certain things. I only get munchies under certain conditions (certain strains, hash), but something that definitely helps is drinking a green tea before or during the high.

ripefruit

The-Pimp wrote: »

From my experience, the more I smoked the more comfortable I became and the more I learned about it and how I can control certain things. I only get munchies under certain conditions (certain strains, hash), but something that definitely helps is drinking a green tea before or during the high.

What does the green tea help? Getting munchies or keepin them off?

DynamiteKid

Keep in mind that there will be people who will be skinny because they'll do drugs and booze instead of certain meals.

stixs4321

MotherFirefly wrote: »

I have a friend who quit smoking and gained like 20 or 30 pounds within the span of a few months, he startes smoking again and the weight fell right back off

So, I think so. But this could just be an individual case thng.

I know some people who are not hungry at all on pot. That could be your friends case?

Marijuana just exagerates things and your apetite is one of those things. Eating before you get stoned usually will strive off the munchies. You'll over eat on it because food tastes so good and when things taste good you tend to go overboard. Also when you tend to overeat you won't be as hungry later on in the day which can balance the overall situation. Eat 2000calories on the munchies but don't eat for the rest of the day cause your feeling sick or full it works out.

Rabid_Llama

stixs4321 wrote: »

MotherFirefly wrote: »

I have a friend who quit smoking and gained like 20 or 30 pounds within the span of a few months, he startes smoking again and the weight fell right back off

So, I think so. But this could just be an individual case thng.

I know some people who are not hungry at all on pot. That could be your friends case?

Marijuana just exagerates things and your apetite is one of those things. Eating before you get stoned usually will strive off the munchies. You'll over eat on it because food tastes so good and when things taste good you tend to go overboard. Also when you tend to overeat you won't be as hungry later on in the day which can balance the overall situation. Eat 2000calories on the munchies but don't eat for the rest of the day cause your feeling sick or full it works out.

That isn't exactly how it works. The weight you gain is more influenced by your metabolism than the amount of calories you consume. If you ate a whole shitton at one time (a la your meal of 2000 calories) and don't eat the rest of the day, your metabolism would be way off.

Have you ever heard someone say it is better to eat a bunch of small meals throughout the day than 2 or 3 big ones? This is because it keeps your metabolism moving.