A study looking into the history of marijuana and sex says that dosage plays an important role.
A lot has been written about marijuana’s influence on sex. The general consensus is that cannabis makes sex more intense and pleasurable, even if at times it makes it harder for people to focus. A new review says that a low dose of marijuana might improve people’s libidos, especially women’s.
“Several studies have evaluated the effects of marijuana on libido, and it seems that changes in desire may be dose dependent,” explain the authors of the review. “Studies support that lower doses improve desire but higher doses either lower desire or do not affect desire at all.”
The review surveyed 20 different studies published between 1970 and 2019. “We used the following search terms: ‘cannabinoids,’ ‘endocannabinoids,’ ‘marijuana,’ ‘cannabis,’ and ‘female sexual function’ or ‘sexual function’,” explain the authors.
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The studies analyzed include 8 researches with animal subjects and 12 with human participants. The animal trials found that THC had an effect on female hamsters’ libidos. When they consumed THC, they were more likely to mate. The review also found that female hamsters who’d ingested too much THC weren’t as receptive to sex as those who’d consumed lower doses.
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As to human studies, we’re still lacking researches conducted with human subjects, so most answers were obtained from questionnaires. Overall, women were more likely to report arousal when consuming marijuana. A study from 1974 said that 57.8 percent of female college students had higher sex drives due to cannabis. Only 39.9 of male participants reported the same. Another study said that women who consume cannabis before having sex were more likely to have pleasurable orgasms when compared to women who didn’t.
While marijuana’s exact role on sex remains unknown, reviews like this are important, re-contextualizing the information we have and guiding researchers for future studies. More and more data suggests that cannabis’ impact on sex is positive, especially when it comes to women.
