Cannabis produces acute hyperphagia in humans and rodents via increased reward valuation for, and motivation to, acquire food.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America December 30, 2025 Catherine Hume, Carrie Cuttler, Samantha L Baglot et al.
Cannabis vapor inhalation acutely increases food intake in both humans and rats, an effect driven by central cannabinoid 1 receptors. In humans, energy intake rose within the first 30 minutes of snack access, regardless of dose or gender, without altering the proportion of macronutrients consumed. In rats, cannabis vapor reduced the time to start eating and increased the number of feeding bouts, overriding homeostatic appetite regulation by boosting motivation to eat and reducing food reward devaluation. These feeding effects were not accompanied by changes in circulating appetite-associated hormones, and they depended on central, not peripheral, CB1 receptors.