eli5 What exactly happens to you when you smoke marijuana? What is it that causes you to feel “high”?

Question

Just like the title says I’m wondering what is happening to you when you get high on marijuana.

In: 7507

Answer 1

THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis. As it was explained before, it binds to certain receptors.

Now what I haven’t seen is “why you get high”

You get high because THC is shaped and behaves a lot like anandamide, an endocannabinoid naturally produced in your body. Naturally in our body when the brain uses our reward system, it sends anandamide to our pleasure center in the brain, causing euphoria. When you consume THC, the THC binds to those same receptors because it looks and acts like anandamide. When it binds to those receptors you also experience that euphoria. Which is the “high”