Carl Sagan was right when he said that cannabis enhances the enjoyment of sex because it gives me an exquisite sensitivity while also delaying orgasm, in part by distracting me with the abundance of images flashing before my eyes, according to a recent study from researchers at East Carolina University and North Carolina State University.
Scientists have been studying how getting high affects a person’s performance in bed for years. More subsequent studies have looked at how becoming high before sex affects the experience differently for different people. A survey from 1984 indicated that two-thirds of participants experienced better sex when marijuana was present. According to other studies, cannabis use boosts libido and increases the likelihood of a better orgasm. However, there hasn’t been much research into marijuana’s aphrodisiac properties, in part because it was challenging to secure funding for this kind of research while cannabis remained a schedule I narcotic.
811 individuals in this new study, whose ages ranged from 18 to 85, were asked about their cannabis and sex practices. Sixty-four percent of individuals identified as female, and 73 percent of them said they were in monogamous relationships. More than half reported using cannabis everyday, and 59 percent admitted to purposefully becoming high before intercourse to improve it. Fewer people used food, oil, or topical therapies; most smoked flower.
Most of those who indicated they consume cannabis before masturbating reported that it improved their pleasure during solo sex. More than 70% of participants in this study reported greater desire and orgasm intensity. The data from the poll revealed that marijuana helped more than 40% of women experience numerous orgasms, while there wasn’t much of a difference in orgasm intensity between men and women.
Interestingly, while most subjects claimed cannabis improved their sense of taste and touch, few said the same about their sense of hearing or smell.
Cannabis usage may assist in lessening gender gaps in sexual enjoyment, according to the researchers. “Overall, cannabis use tends to have a beneficial effect on reported sexual functioning and satisfaction for individuals regardless of gender or age,” they said.
The survey has some drawbacks: The majority of participants were Caucasian, college-educated women who used cannabis regularly, the authors note. Although a quarter of respondents are classified as LGBTQIA+, the study’s wording and findings use a binary distinction between men and women. The poll results were not obtained in a scientific environment where the strain, dose, or physical consequences could be assessed; instead, they were based on respondents’ self-reported views about their sex life and their preferred mode of intoxication. Additionally, they do not contrast the sex lives of these participants with those of non-participants.
The authors also point out that while those who admitted to intentionally smoking marijuana before sex expressed greater levels of satisfaction than those who didn’t, this could also be a case of self-fulfilling prophecy: thinking that smoking marijuana improves your bedtime may only give you the peace of mind or confidence to actually make it happen. Instead of a genuine physiological benefit, they concluded that the results “may be attributable to the mental perspective that consuming cannabis will boost pleasure due to the aphrodisiac ideals of cannabis.” However, the sedative properties of cannabis may boost desire or lessen inhibitions, which may improve sexual function and enjoyment.
Leave a Reply