For many, many people, the experience of getting high is forever linked to the experience of laughing their fucking faces off. Such weed-fueled laughter, where what feels like an orgasm of the brain inspires rolling waves of howls and physical contortions, doesn’t happen with every ingestion of weed, but when it does, the experience can be so profound that users never forget it.
What is responsible for this connection between ingesting weed and laughing so hard you’re forced to squat and pee in the street? On one hand, who cares? Why do birds sing so gay? Why does the mental image of a planeful of Trumps smooshed into the ground à la Licensed to Ill make my heart smile? Shut up and enjoy the gay birds and smooshed Trumps and maniacal laughter, idiot.
Thank anandamide, the fatty acid neurotransmitter also known as AEA and sometimes described as “the body’s own THC,” which actually means “the naturally occurring chemical that THC mimics.” Like AEA, THC finds a home in the body’s cannabinoid receptors, triggering the mesolimbic pathway and inspiring the release of the pleasure-stimulating chemical dopamine and mood-enhancing endorphins, creating a high similar to the light euphoria one feels after exercise. Meanwhile, THC also stimulates blood flow to the cerebral cortex—specifically the frontal and temporal lobes, which MRI scans have identified as the brain’s processing centers for humor. Perhaps this interplay between chemical euphoria and stimulated comedy receptors sparks the weed-based comedy orgasms treasured by so many.
