Skip to content

What is More Addictive: Cannabis or Coffee?

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Alexanderhili
The answer is coffee. Coffee is drunk by around 80% of Americans. The large numbers call for extensive studies on the effect of this drug on the brain.

Caffeine is a stimulant. It has a similar molecular structure to adenosine, a chemical linked to us feeling tired. Caffeine binds to adenosine and stops it from working. Coffee does not wake you up but makes your body forget it is tired.

Taking that espresso in the morning makes your body increase the number of receptors to caffeine in the brain. This increase makes us dependent on that cup of coffee in the morning to reach normal functional levels. On the other hand, cannabis has minimal risk of long-term addiction.

Read more about cannabis.

Send in your science questions to think@um.edu.mt

Author

More to Explore

Squeezing Out Waste: Transforming Malta’s Olive Waste into Green Goods

While olive oil production generates vast amounts of nutrient-rich waste, approximately 98% of the antioxidant-rich phenolics in olives are lost during oil extraction. To combat rapid degradation, the OliveGREEN team is exploring a novel strategy using sulphur dioxide and enzymes to stabilise olive pomace. THINK speaks with Dr Frederick Lia to learn why saving this discarded byproduct makes a difference.

More Than Four Walls: The Influence of the Library Space on Student Wellbeing

Academic libraries are often framed as quiet repositories of knowledge, but their influence runs deeper. As student mental health concerns intensify, these spaces are emerging as critical environments for connection, comfort, and care. Beyond books and databases, the design, atmosphere, and activities of a library can shape how students feel, cope, and belong within the wider university experience.

The Limb That Learns

A prosthetic limb is always a work in progress. Even after fitting and adjustments, the body keeps changing. Weight shifts. New pressure points show up. A socket that feels fine one month might cause irritation the next. For many people, comfort relies on a device that cannot sense what is happening.

Comments are closed for this article!