420 and Sex
A 2006 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that four percent of the world’s adult population uses marijuana annually. My guess is that some of those people are also having sex while high and that’s why today, on the unofficial pot smoking holiday, 4/20, we will take a look at the interplay of the two.
Marijuana, just like every other drug legal or not, has different effects in different people based on the individual’s body chemistry. For some, pot is clearly not sexy especially if it increases their anxiety. A little anxiety can sometimes enhance a sexual experience - think back to when you were younger, making out or having sex in a parked car with the very real possibility that you might get caught - exciting! But, too much anxiety - racing thoughts, paranoia, feeling like you might have a heart attack - generally serve to take you out of the mood real quick.
On the other hand, getting high can also positively effect sexuality. Some people report feeling more physical pleasure and connection to their partner(s). Due to pot’s effect on time perception sex can seem to last forever under the influence. Also, we know from research that marijuana works as a vasodilator, opening blood vessels which allows more blood to flow to the genitals thereby increasing sensation.
Unfortunately, due to prohibition, there are very few studies on the effects of cannabis on sex. With approximately 162 million pot smokers on the planet, perhaps it’s time to fully research and understand the sexual effects of marijuana. For now, we are limited to anecdotal reports. Care to share your own experience of sex while high? I look forward to your comments!
Tags: 420, cannabis, Food for Thought, marijuana, pot, sexual health, sexuality
April 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Though “420″ showed up as a “Trend Topic” on Twitter yesterday, I saw no one on the web treating the subject of marijuana with as much balance and interest as you just have, Dr. Mark. I wonder if we can find any budding sexologists to do some research on this fascinating issue.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Dr. Mark,
Great topic! Although I don’t partake anymore, in the days of my youth I’d get high and have sex quite a bit. My experience was one of betrayal. Pot would make sex very interesting, alluring - yes, I’d feel seriously horny. But then actually having sex was, more often than not, unfulfilling because I found that just like I got cotton mouth from being stoned, my yoni became just like the Sahara. Now I can attest to the lubricating abilities of my yoni as I’ve been told that my vagina “is like a river,” so it’s not like I couldn’t get wet. I *wouldn’t* get lubed up when high.
This makes me think of the correlation I’ve heard of women tasting garlic in their mouths when they insert a clove into their cunts when trying to heal from an infection. Garlicky yoni, garlicky mouth. Dry mouth, dry yoni. Makes sense to me.
Have you heard of this phenomenon before?