Wanna get high?

Chocolate, pot, running create same happy feeling

By: Julie Bourque/ campus reporter

Posted: 4/9/04

A vigorous workout, a bar of chocolate and marijuana may have more in common than most would believe.

These three things all produce "feel good vibes" in the body, but more importantly, they all have the same effect on the same part of the brain releasing or containing an identical chemical, according to Daniele Piomelli, professor of pharmacology at the University of California at Irvine.

The chemical compounds called anandamides released after exercising vigorously are also found in chocolate, and are related to the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, Piomelli wrote in an e-mail.

"Anandamides are compounds related to anandamide, which is a naturally occurring cannabinoid found in the brain," said Jeffrey Stowell, assistant psychology professor at Eastern. "Cannabinoids are chemicals related to THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana."

Piomelli teamed with colleagues from the Georgia Institute of Technology and recently conducted a scientific experiment, which was published last year in the journal, Neuroport, with 24 male, college-aged students who exercised regularly.

The 24 men were evenly separated into groups of eight and were sent either to run on the treadmill, ride the stationary bicycle or sit.

Piomelli found that after an hour of exercise, the groups that exercised produced an 80 percent higher level of anandamide than those who sat.

"It is not clear whether anandamides are linked to the 'runner's high,' a euphoric feeling received after or during a long work out, but the body does produce more anandamides while reacting to the stress of exercise," Piomelli said.

Stowell said the human brain contains many of the same chemicals found in plants, such as the marijuana and cocoa plant, and these "feel good" reactions are not uncommon.

"It is not uncommon at all for chemicals in plants to act as the chemicals in our brain do," Stowell said. "These chemicals may not only be released while exercising, though. When one experiences a change in appetite, psychological stress or feels nauseous the brain naturally releases these 'marijuana-like' chemicals."

Piomelli said he found anandamide chemicals in chocolate, and other researchers believe this is why many people have chocolate cravings.

According to an article published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, chocolate contains several biologically active constituents such as methylxanthines, biogenic amines and cannabinoid-like fatty acids, all of which potentially cause abnormal behaviors and psychological sensations that parallel sother addictive substances.

Piomelli and his colleagues connected anandamide with THC because both attach to specific areas in the brain and produce the same happy, energetic buzz.

"We are talking about something much, much, much, much milder than a high," Piomelli said of the post workout feeling in connection to the drug-induced high.

Nonetheless, the chemical has a connection with three very opposite things: chocolate, something many munch on daily, exercise, something many do to better their health and THC, the active chemical in an illegal drug.

Needless to say, the physical effects of each have their own place in life.