Cannabis & Sex

Aphrodisiacs are a popular way to spice up the bedroom: oysters, chocolate, honey, pomegranate, and red wine all can get your juices flowing but what about cannabis? If you’ve spent time at a couple dispensaries, you might have come across some items like lubricant, body oils, or lotions, all infused with cannabis marketed as an enhancement for ones libido. Is cannabis just added for the concept or is there a real affect on the body when cannabis is involved in your sex life? Can adding cannabis to your bedroom improve your sex life?

Cannabis and sex used to be closely associated with each other during the era of peace, love, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The 1960s set a president for associating sex and cannabis. This is due to hippies and their ideal to embrace both sexual and cultural revolution, they called it “Free Love.” Free Love was a concept that aimed to release people from the shame of sex; people should be able to do it with whoever they want (consensually), whenever they want without any lingering guilt. It was also meant to try and separate the state from sexual love from romantic love. The claimed it was a problem for the people not the government.

Scientifically, the National Library of Medicine did a study with 202 participants completing surveys on their experience with using cannabis prior to sex. Of the participants “58.9% said cannabis increased their desire for sex, 73.8% reported increased sexual satisfaction, 74.3% reported an increased sensitivity to touch, 65.7% reported an increased intensity of orgasms, 69.8% said they could relax more during sex, and 50.5% said they were better able to focus.” With these results, one can assume that the majority of people who use cannabis prior to sex untimely have a better experience.

An additional study done by the National Library of Medicine focused more heavily on how women’s sexual experiences are affected by cannabis.

Of the 373 participants, of the women who reported using marijuana before sex also reported an increase in sex drive, improvement in orgasm, and a decrease in pain. It was concluded that women had a increase by 2.13 of reporting more satisfactory orgasms. For women who frequently used marijuana, whether is was prior to sex or not, also have a higher odd of reporting better orgasms.

Overall, using a little cannabis before sexual activity seems to make the orgasm better and more likely. The study concluded stating, “a better understanding of the role of the endocannabinoid system in women is important, because there is a paucity of literature, and it could help lead to development of treatments for female sexual dysfunction.”

Some people like Michelle Mendoza, cannabis connoisseur and Head Buyer at Los Angeles’ Sweet Flower, have come to the conclusion that the presence of some terpenes is why mixing cannabis and sexual pleasure is so common and well liked. She told InsideHook,

In addition to this, cannabis is also considered a vasodilator, increasing blood flow, which can add to the sensitivity of certain areas. So with all of the studies, smoking a joint or eating an edible before sex can really help the outcome and may make the overall experience better for all parties. Let’s take a look at other ways cannabis can be used in the bedroom: topicals infused with cannabis. Lube is the most common type of infused product that is sold in dispensaries (more frequent than one may think). A cannabis infused lube typically works by being transdermal. Transdermal topical cannabis products are able to get cannabis into the body directly where it is placed, typically it is recommended to put transdermal cannabis on the wrist, lower abdominal area, or shoulder blade.

Using transdermal cannabis on your genitals is just fine and as some of the skin can be thin, it will still soak in and get to work. (Incase you’re thinking about it, yes the vaginal cannal can absorb things into the body. This is proven by birth controls like NuvaRing.)

If you are interested in trying to merge cannabis and sex, here are a few popular strain recommendations: Do-Si-Dos, Wedding Cake, LA Confidential, Amnesia Haze, Bubba Kush, Skywalker OG Kush, Blueberry Lambsbreath, Kosher Kush, Harlequin, G13, Granddaddy Purp, Train-wreck, Super Lemon Haze, Animal Cookies, Sour Diesel, and Bubblegum Kush. Each of these strains have their own properties but overall can contribute to an enhanced sexual experience. When trying out cannabis before sex, there are a few things that are good to remember, take it slow, it might even be a good idea to begin with a micro-dose. Also be sure to see if Indica leaning or Sativa leaning strains are best for you, some people find Sativa dominant strains to cause anxiety and that’s the last thing you want to feel before sexual activity. Some find that Indica dominant strains put them to sleep and they no longer have the drive to perform well in the bedroom, so before you just dive in, partake with your partner and talk about what you feel with each strain. By doing this, you and your partner take the pressure off of each other, neither of you should feel like you have to engage in sex after smoking. Another idea is for each of you, if you live separately, to try smoking and engaging in self pleasure to see which strain is good for you. Regardless, it is important to be open and honest with your partner, always talk and listen but ultimately just relax and have some fun!