Marijuana, Alcohol, Smell, and Appetite
On February 19th, Dr. Rachel Herz came into class and gave a riveting lecture on the importance of sense of smell. One interesting point she brought up was that marijuana has shown to increase the sense of smell, while alcohol decreases the sense of smell, with the exception of one glass of wine; this can enhance the sense of smell. Published just a few weeks ago on their website, Nature Neuroscience had posted an article that found marijuana or cannabis, increases appetite, and this is all because of its power to enhance smell. The scientists were able to conclude this because they compared the typical smelling and eating of regular mice to mice that were given THC. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC is the main psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana. The scientists found when they offered both groups of mice almond and banana, the mice who did not have THC (control group) sniffed the foods and eventually lost interest, the group given the THC did not lose interest and continued...