This is an important study. The munchies are a real phenomenon from marijuana. Stimulation of appetite would be a real help in many medical conditions, where malnutrition caused by a lack of appetite makes the condition worse.
Any of you who have elderly parents or grandparents know that it's tough to get them to eat properly or enough. A medication that stimulated the appetite would be a real boon to these folks and others who have diminished or non-existant appetites.
But, jokes about the munchies are also appropriate.
That medication already exists: it's called marijuana. (And if used from a vaporizer rather than smoked it doesn't have the ill effects of smoking.)
You make great points. But I'll bet the focus of any research will be on appetite suppression, not stimulation. That is because there is a HUGE market out there for an anti-obesity miracle drug.
Already exists. Called Marinol. Here's the product info:
Product Information
MARINOL® is a unique prescription medicine that relieves multiple symptoms. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved MARINOL® to treat nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional treatments.
The FDA also approved MARINOL® to treat appetite loss associated with weight loss in people with AIDS. Health care professionals may prescribe MARINOL® to help stimulate an HIV/AIDS patients appetite so he or she will want to eat again.
MARINOL® is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring compound known as delta-9-THC. Delta-9-THC stimulates appetite and reduces nausea and vomiting by binding to special receptors found in the nervous system.
MARINOL® is contraindicated in any patient who has a history of hypersensitivity to any cannabinoid or sesame oil.
Patients should be warned not to drive, operate machinery, or engage in hazardous activity until they establish they can tolerate MARINOL® and perform such tasks safely.
A cannabinoid dose-related high (easy laughing, elation and heightened awareness) has been reported by patients receiving MARINOL® in both the antiemetic (24%) and the lower dose appetite stimulant clinical trials (8%). Other frequently reported adverse events in MARINOL® clinical trials included abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, euphoria, paranoid reaction, somnolence, and thinking abnormal.
Um...I think something in the OTHER direction is needed. Suppression of the appetite.