"If you're reading this post, you are probably aware that your brain makes its own marijuana. In fact, it may make five different molecules that mimic the actions of marijuana; one is called anandamide. Anandamide has many roles in the brain. It controls feeding, feelings of hunger, happiness, and euphoria. Thus, it's not surprising that over 3000 years ago, the sacred Indian Vedas texts referred to marijuana as "a source of happiness, donor of joy, and bringer of freedom.""
"What's also interesting about anandamide is that it's found in nature. Plants make it for a variety of purposes, mostly to defend themselves against being eaten by bugs. For example, anandamide is also found in the pods of cocoa plants that are used to produce cocoa powder and delicious chocolates. Our bodies also convert chemicals that we consume into compounds that mimic the actions of anandamide."
The brain produces endocannabinoids such as anandamide, which regulate feeding, hunger, happiness, euphoria, pain, and inflammation. Anandamide occurs naturally in some plants and functions in plant defense, including presence in cocoa pods. The body can convert consumed chemicals into compounds that resemble anandamide. Ibuprofen inhibits the cyclooxygenase enzyme that metabolizes anandamide and could enhance endocannabinoid action, though typical ibuprofen use does not reliably produce cannabis-like effects. Acetaminophen is metabolized into AM404, a compound that resembles and enhances anandamide and can mimic marijuana at endogenous receptors, producing cannabis-like cognitive-bias changes in humans.
Read at Psychology Today
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