Now that cannabis is legal in 28 states in the U.S. including recreational use in California, it’s time to talk about the sexual benefits of marijuana. For those of you who use it, you know that pot can enhance sex and make it more incredible. For those of you who don’t, try it before having sex; the only thing you have to lose is your load.
The law allowing recreational use of pot doesn’t take effect in California until January of 2018, but practically anyone over 21 with a California driver’s license can get a medical marijuana license and buy it at a dispensary. Many people who are afraid to use it say marijuana makes them paranoid or sleepy. But once you discover the different qualities of each cannabis strain—the ones that don’t make you paranoid, strains that wake you up, and others that help you sleep—cannabis connoisseurship is like wine tasting. (Or “wife tasting.”)
Sexual Healing
For centuries cannabis has been used in Ayurvedic medicine, one of the world’s oldest holistic (whole-body) healing systems, developed thousands of years ago. But today, traditional M.D.s won’t prescribe certain legal vitamins and supplements, let alone weed. This is despite the fact that recent studies found that opiate-based pain medication prescriptions have dropped 25 percent as cannabis use replaced them, with the same numbers dropping for sleep medications.
According to HelloMD, a digital healthcare platform for the cannabis industry, “Doctors are often poorly informed, or dismissive of cannabis,” they say. “Any licensed California physician or osteopath can recommend or approve your use of medical marijuana. However, not all doctors are comfortable with providing this, nor informed about the medical use of cannabis.”
Pot and Sexy Sex Research
Not many sex studies focus on pot and sex, due to its illegality. There hasn’t been a definitive Masters & Johnson type study where people’s brains were scanned since 1984, when a study called “Marijuana Use and Sexual Behavior” was published in The Journal of Sex Research.
The study found that “Marijuana smoking enhances sexual pleasure and increases sexual desire.” An earlier study in 1977 (Jarvik and Brecher) found that marijuana “[l]oosens inhibitions, enhances sensate focus, and causes a general increase in enjoyment.” A more recent study in 2016 found that given a choice between being buzzed by alcohol or cannabis, research subjects preferred pot as a sexual enhancement. Although both lower inhibitions, couples thought that alcohol “numbed” their tactile sensations, while pot “heightened” their sense of touch. Participants said that pot made them feel “tingly.”
Dr. Nick Karras, D.H.S., a sex therapist from San Diego, California, says that cannabis “lights up your senses.” He recommends that couples use cannabis as “sexual medicine.”
“There is a ‘coming out’ process people have in relation to revealing that they are a cannabis user,” he says. There is still a stigma of being a “pothead” or a “stoner,” but those who use it wisely, like Karras—who personally uses it “exclusively for sex”—see it as a substance to specifically enhance sexual pleasure. Karras notes that as a couple’s counselor, he has seen older couples who “had no sex life” and “were about to get divorced because of that” go from having no sex to having a “bonding, loving, pleasurable sex life.”
“I’ve seen cannabis use save marriages,” he says.
Testimonials from couples he has collected on his site say that it “gave them new sexual energy,” “heightened touch,” “relieved anxiety and stress.” Most importantly, it “stimulated and relaxed” them at the same time”, a combo that always makes for the most fun sex.
The Pleasures of Pot
So is marijuana technically an “aphrodisiac”? That would be a yes if you consider that the definitions of aphrodisiac are “stimulates sexual desire,” “increases libido” or “causes sexual excitement.” Hand me a joint and let’s do it!
Many people who practice Tantric sex use cannabis as part of their ritual. A nice hybrid pot creates a mindfulness and focus from the sativa that brings people “into the moment.” Sativas are good for more “energetic sex,” as they give you a lift. Anything with Indica in it will give you more of a body stone and make your whole body feel more sensitive to touch. Plus, THC is a vasodilator, so the blood flow to your junk is amazing. One woman on told Dr. Karras “it made her clit feel huge.”
How to Have Better Sex With Cannabis
Ashley Manta is a “canna sexual” sex educator and columnist for pot industry publications Leafly and Dope Magazine. Her knowledge has created a niche for herself doing “coaching” for those who want to learn more about how to improve their sex lives with cannabis. “People want to know how much they should smoke, when, and how it all works,” she said.
The secret, say both Manta and Karras, is to “micro dose,” which is using strains that contain 14 percent THC (many start at 19 percent) and smoke a hit or two, just enough to get high. “You don’t want to get totally stoned,” says Karras, or you might not be able to even locate your own genitals.
Manta says that edibles are also not recommended for sex because they can take anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half to kick in. And the effects are more unpredictable.
“I recommend that people establish a ritual,” says Karras. “Turn off the TV, dim the lights, light some candles, put on some music.” The idea is to lessen the distractions. “Everyone I told to use it has had the best sex,” Karras says. “Pot opens you to new possibilities.” (He recommends the “Trainwreck” strain.)
“The female flower of the plant is the plant’s ‘pussy,’” he adds. “And the THC is the wetness. Cannabis is a wonderful thing.”
Oh, and it makes you want to cuddle afterwards.
Pictured above: Misty Stone, photographed by Jay Allan for the December 2016 issue of AVN magazine, in which this article ran. Click here for a link to the digital edition.
Anka Radakovich is legendary sex columnist who wrote a groundbreaking column for Details magazine. Currently she writes for British GQ and Sexpert.com. She is the author of three books, including her newest, The Wild Girls Club, Part 2. She has appeared multiple times on television talk shows, including eight appearances with Conan O’Brien. She is also a certified sexologist. We are thrilled to have her as a contributor. Follow Anka Radakovich on Twitter: @ankarad.
