Now that the new trend across the country is to legalize pot, its gonna affect the wider culture in many ways. What’s it gonna do for your sex life? Here’s what a new study, just released says about how the two work together, or not.
I’d be willing to wager that many couples out there frequently use marijuana to improve their sex life and get them in the mood. I myself have heard several friends (who shall remain unnamed) swear by the magical effects cannabis has on their climaxes. The only problem is, up until recently all of these ravings were purely anecdotal. There was really no scientific evidence to back up such claims.
This is somewhat astounding, as the sexual effects of other legal and illegal drugs has been fairly well-documented. Marijuana, however, has been a bit more complex.
“This range of findings is pharmacologically unique,” wrote Michael Castleman in a 2010 article for Psychology Today. “The sexual effects of every other mood-altering drug — alcohol, amphetamines, antidepressants, cocaine, narcotics — are well-documented, fairly consistent, and not particularly controversial. But oddly, marijuana’s sexual effects are highly unpredictable, from strongly sex-inhibiting to strongly sex-enhancing.”
The reason for this phenomenon is likely that there just never seemed to be a large enough sample group from which to draw accurate conclusions. Most notable studies took place among 100 individuals at maximum.
Luckily and amazingly, the folks at HelloMD conducted a study of over 1,400 marijuana users in January 2016 over the course of seven days, and procured some pretty compelling numbers. Though the study’s investigations were more all-encompassing than sexuality, there seemed significant reason to believe that marijuana might lead to a more fulfilling sex life.
While most people claimed that their reasons for using cannabis were stress/anxiety/pain-related, 14% of those studied said they use marijuana as a libido enhancer. Interestingly enough, the study also says that “women are slightly more likely than men to use cannabis as a libido enhancer (8% vs 5%).”
It’s entirely possible based on these findings that women tend to find more positive sexual benefits from using marijuana as opposed to men. While this seems like a small observation, this news could be extremely beneficial for the many women who have difficulty finding pleasure during sex (as evidenced by the subscription-based female pleasure website OMGYES).
However, it’s important to remember that not all marijuana is created equal. According to Fusion’s Taryn Hillin, the real determining factor for whether or not marijuana is an aphrodisiac is how one’s body responds to certain strains of weed. “Pharmacologically speaking, cannabis is a complicated plant, with 450 to 500 alkaloids—chemical compounds that have very different physiological effects on humans. So the sativa that makes you happy may make someone else paranoid, or the indica that relaxes you may make someone else pass out hardcore … For sex, the trick is to find the specific plant that works for you and your partner.”
Moral of the story: you may have to try several kinds of weeds before you find the one that lights your fire in the bedroom … but isn’t that really a win-win situation?
More at Distractify.com.