Yes, apparently even worms get the munchies if you give them weed. Those are the findings of research released Thursday — also 4/20 Day — by the University of Oregon.
And to illustrate this, the university released an fluorescent image of a worm from the study that one could quickly define as psychedelic.
Worms exposed to a cannabinoid became even more interested in the kind of food they already prefer, the study found.
“The effect is analogous to a cannabis user’s craving potato chips and ice cream after a few puffs — a phenomenon scientists call ‘hedonic feeding,’ but known more colloquially as ‘the munchies,’” U of O said in a press release.
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To look at the effects, neuroscientist Shawn Lockery and his team soaked the worms in anandamide. It’s an endocannabinoid — a molecule made by the body that activates the body’s cannabinoid receptors.
In the image above, fluorescent green dots in the worm reveal neurons that respond to cannabinoids.
We’ll let the university explain from here:
Then, they put the worms into a T-shaped maze. On one side was high-quality food; on the other side, lower-quality food. Even under normal conditions, the worms prefer the high-quality food. But when soaked in anandamide, that preference became even stronger — they flocked to the high-quality food and stayed longer than usual.
“We suggest that this increase in existing preference is analogous to eating more of the foods you would crave anyway,” Lockery said. “It’s like choosing pizza versus oatmeal.”
