Can cannabis improve your sex life? Why some people claim it 'accentuates every bit of feeling and touch.'

Cannabis use has a surprising number of benefits, including stress relief and pain management. But there may be another potential upside to using cannabis products that is, thus far, little discussed: improving a person's sex life.

Not much research has been done in the field, but a 2023 study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research examined the perceived influence of cannabis on sexual functioning and satisfaction. Amanda Moser, one of the study’s authors and a research compliance coordinator at the University of Denver, tells Yahoo Life, “The influence cannabis has on sex has not been widely researched — this is a main reason why I decided to conduct a nationwide study on its effects on sexual functioning and satisfaction. Anecdotally, there have been many personal accounts of cannabis enhancing sex, without the scientific evidence to back it up.”

The results of the study revealed that there's a connection between using cannabis products and having a more satisfying sexual experience, with more than 70% of the participants reporting increased desire and orgasm intensity.

What Moser discovered, she says, is that there are multiple ways in which cannabis can improve a person's sex life. It can make you more interested in having sex — "some concentrates can have an aphrodisiac effect," she notes — as well as make it easier to orgasm and allow someone to achieve more intense orgasms. For women, that can include multiple orgasms and “overall greater pleasure and satisfaction” for all.

Dr. Leah Millheiser, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Medicine, isn't surprised, telling Yahoo Life: “Cannabis can increase blood flow to the genitals, resulting in increased lubrication, sensation and enhanced orgasmic intensity.”

Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute and scientific advisor for the dating platform Match, agrees that using cannabis can have a positive impact when it comes to having "a more intense sexual experience."

For women, he adds, "it could also provide a more heightened orgasm." Garcia says that in one study published in Sexual Medicine in 2019, researchers found that "women who reported using marijuana prior to sex reported increased sex drive, improved orgasms and less pain.”

But, he notes, there are some drawbacks. “Conversely, it could cause you to overthink, which can result in insecurity. Marijuana also has the ability to make you somewhat sleepy, which isn’t always great for late-night sex.”

Helen E. Fisher, anthropologist, author and chief scientific adviser for Match, also adds that you may want to hold off on using cannabis when you're dating someone new, explaining, “Outside the bedroom, I wouldn’t recommend you use marijuana in the early stages of dating for social purposes," she tells Yahoo Life, "because it can allow you to become extremely self-aware, and self-awareness can lead to paranoia, which could negatively impact the date. Additionally, marijuana can make the mind wander and cause distraction, which isn’t exactly sexy.”

Many of those who do use cannabis to enhance their sex lives say they’ve benefited greatly from it.

Mason, 28, who lives in Oregon and owns the cannabis accessory brand Smoke Honest, says that he and his wife’s sex life has improved due to cannabis use.

“Cannabis enables us to relax and focus on intimacy faster,” he tells Yahoo Life. “It stops any other thoughts from distracting from the intimacy of sex. It prevents overthinking and encourages relaxation. It accentuates every bit of feeling and touch, whether sexual or just intimate touching."

Mason adds: "It has also made talking about intimacy easier and more open. It's made it easier to have new experiences with my partner.”

Elisha Thompson, 47, who lives in Arizona and is author of Yoga for Kink, says she makes cannabis coconut oil, which she uses as a lubricant to enhance sexual pleasure. It's something that that Moser says is a great option to consider for people who are not interested in getting high.

For those who are interested in experimenting with cannabis in their sex lives, Moser recommends easing in by using the smallest amount, or as she puts it, “low and slow, especially if you have a lower tolerance to cannabis or trying a new cannabis product.”

That's because there are side effects of using cannabis that may not make for the best bedfellows. “You don’t want to find yourself or your partner overdoing it and possibly having a bad experience, which could vary from falling asleep when you didn’t intend to or having THC-induced anxiety and paranoia,” she notes.

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