Why Does Cannabis Make You Laugh? — Unravelling The Giggle Mechanism

Key takeaways.

It’s probably the most overlooked therapeutic property of cannabis — it makes you laugh. 

Sometimes uncontrollably. 

It’s easy for modern science to get caught up in the nitty gritties of therapy — receptors, biological markers, tumour reduction, inflammation reduction, etc. We too often neglect the timeless truth that laughter is the best medicine. And that, by the way, cannabis is the single medicine we have in this world with this giggly side effect. So why does cannabis give us the giggles?

Laughter is an incredibly complex human behaviour that activates so many parts of the brain, neuroscientists don’t really know what causes it. Laughter uses parts of your brain that govern locomotion, auditory interpretation, memory, language, and logic. Humour as a concept itself, is more psychological than neurological, as it is the amalgamation of our cultural context and our life’s experience. 

Even with all of these complicating factors, MRI scans have indicated that perception of humour and laughter originate in the frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. And just maybe, cannabis might have something to do with those brain parts too.

Cannabis tickles giggle points in your brain.

In 2006, researchers made an interesting discovery into blood flow in certain brain regions in the brains of cannabis users. They found increased blood flow to the frontal and temporal lobes and the cerebellum. The study itself wasn’t designed for the purpose of studying cannabis-induced laughter, but it lends itself to hypotheses. Perhaps increased blood flow to these areas paves the way for laughter.

There’s surprisingly little research on the topic of why cannabis makes a person laugh. Given that cannabis is the only medicine in the world that can induce spontaneous laughter, and given that we know how much mood has a medical impact on long term recovery, it’s a mystery this hasn’t been questioned more. 

Feel-good belly laughs are part of the medicine.

One study took place in Japan in 2016 that sought out to study the effects of daily laughter on cardiovascular health. The researchers analyzed data on 934 women aged over 65, and found that daily laughter decreased the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, even in the presence of confounding factors. It’s a small sample size, but it highlights something that should be part of the way we treat medicinal cannabis — laughter is part of the medicine.

Euphoria is the most commonly reported effect of cannabis use. To put it simply, it makes you feel good. A healthy mood and appetite for life are the baseline conditions for health, and health is extremely difficult to achieve without it. 

The ways in which cannabis improves mood is a big matter of scientific curiosity. We know that through indirect pathways, CBD increases serum levels of anandamide, the endogenous cannabinoid known as the “bliss molecule”. In other hypotheses, cannabis may promote neurogenesis that leads to anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects. 

Feeling good, in and of itself, is a precursor to laughter. The fact that cannabis makes you feel euphoric and uplifted could be the very reason it makes people laugh. 

Cannabis brings people together.

Think about it — how often do you find yourself in a hysterical giggle fit alone? Well, it happens from time to time with the right meme or YouTube video, but laughter is, by and large, a social affair. Laughter is contagious, and in a room full of people, it doesn’t take long to spread. Cannabis is enjoyed socially by many people, and that also contributes to why it makes us giggle.

Humans are 30 times more likely to laugh in the company of another person, especially if that person is someone they know. Laughter, a lot like joints, is something that humans like to do together. 

From the pantry — strains that make you giggle.

If a giggle is precisely the kind of medicine you need, we have it under control at My Supply Co. Check out our store's best giggle-inducing strains.

Jack Herer Sativa Vape Cart

Ahh, Jack Herer, the strain that lets you delight in childish imaginations. Shared with friends, this strain almost always ends up in giggle fits. Or if alone, it's time to throw on some comedy and get vaping.

LSD

As you're probably judging by the name of this strain, giggles are a consequence of psychedelic confusion. We definitely don't recommend this strain for newbies or individuals that are particularly THC-sensitive. But for those up for a psychedelic adventure, LSD is bound to end in a giggle fit.

Sometimes, we don’t need to do all of the sciency stuff to understand the mechanisms of cannabis. It can be really simple — if we look at it that way. Cannabis makes us feel good and brings us together in groups to feel good together. It’s a recipe for laughter. And the very same reason that cannabis is the world’s most versatile medicine.