--- title: Marijuana THC in Mice Triggers Olfactory Senses, Leading to Munchies description: THC and fasting both trigger olfactory senses, which then causes hunger canonical: https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-11T15:38:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:22:15.299Z article:section: Health og:title: Marijuana THC in Mice Triggers Olfactory Senses, Leading to Munchies og:description: THC and fasting both trigger olfactory senses, which then causes hunger og:url: https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt886854a89a70645e/69868287adae44ade6541a8e/461673165.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pot Prices Double as Colorado Retailers Roll Out Green Carpet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Marijuana THC in Mice Triggers Olfactory Senses, Leading to Munchies twitter:description: THC and fasting both trigger olfactory senses, which then causes hunger twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt886854a89a70645e/69868287adae44ade6541a8e/461673165.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is Why You Get the Munchies  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Feb 11, 2014 3:38 PM UTC  THC in marijuana triggers the olfactory senses. THC in marijuana triggers the olfactory senses.Bloomberg —Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Feb 11, 2014 3:38 PM UTC The same smell receptors in the brain that go abuzz when you—or, you know, a friend of a friend—smoke pot are activated by fasting, which is why both activities end in the munchies, a new study in the journal [Nature Neuroscience](http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.3647.html) suggests. Researchers found that, by injecting mice with THC—the key ingredient in marijuana—they triggered activity in the same smell receptors that light up when our body misses a meal. This is because when you go without food your brain starts producing endocannibinoids, compounds very similar to THC, which give you the heightened olfactory senses that are your body’s way of triggering hunger in order to signal that it needs more nutrients. Researchers hope the findings will help scientists develop drugs that interact with cannabinoid receptors to help people lose weight. \[[NPR](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/10/274660785/munchies-neuroscience-why-the-scent-of-a-burger-gives-us-a-high?ft=1&f=1128)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/"},"headline":"This Is Why You Get the Munchies","datePublished":"2014-02-11T15:38:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:22:15.299Z","description":"THC and fasting both trigger olfactory senses, which then causes hunger","url":"https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/","keywords":["Research","Marijuana","Pot","diet","Hunger","Weed","fasting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt886854a89a70645e/69868287adae44ade6541a8e/461673165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt886854a89a70645e/69868287adae44ade6541a8e/461673165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pot Prices Double as Colorado Retailers Roll Out Green Carpet","caption":"Pot Prices Double as Colorado Retailers Roll Out Green Carpet","creditText":"Bloomberg —Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6474/blame-your-sense-of-smell-for-why-you-get-the-munchies/","name":"This Is Why You Get the Munchies"}}]}] ```