Stanford Study Finds Regular Marijuana Users Have More Sex

For a long time, it has been known that cannabis can enhance the body’s sensory perceptions and intensify feelings of attraction between people. Now, researchers from Stanford University report that marijuana’s effects may significantly stimulate libido, leading regular users to have sex more often than those who do not use cannabis.

The project, conducted by a team of academics from the renowned American university, aimed to determine how the increasingly legalized substance affects the sex lives of people in the United States. The completed study, published last Friday in an American sexology journal, offers strong evidence that, contrary to earlier beliefs held by some doctors, marijuana does not suppress sexual arousal. Instead, it appears to noticeably boost libido in those who use it.

“We can say with confidence that regular marijuana use only increases human libido and motivation to have sex. We did not observe any negative effects on sexual function. In fact, I can say that having sex after using marijuana makes it easier to reach orgasm and intensifies the sensations for both men and women,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Michael Eisenberg.

How the Study Was Conducted

To gather the necessary data, the researchers used information from the National Survey of Family Growth, conducted annually by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using responses from more than 28,000 women and 22,000 men, with an average age of 29, the scientists were able to compare marijuana use with the participants’ self-reported sex lives.

Specifically, 24.5% of men and 14.5% of women surveyed admitted to regularly using cannabis, including before sex. The researchers found that, on average, marijuana users of both genders had sex more often than their non-using peers.

“For example, among women, non-users reported having sex about six times in four weeks, while regular cannabis users averaged seven times per month. A similar pattern was seen among men: non-users averaged five sexual encounters per month, compared to six for marijuana users,” the study noted.

In other words, statistically, marijuana users have sex about 20% more often than those who do not use the plant. It’s important to note that the survey data only covered heterosexual couples, though the authors believe that the overall enhancement of sensation during sex is a general effect of cannabis that could also apply to people in same-sex relationships.

Key Takeaways

• Cannabis has a noticeable “arousing” effect.
• Because of this, regular users tend to have sex more often.
• This does not mean that marijuana users are obsessed with sex; rather, cannabis enhances the body’s sensory receptivity, motivating people to have sex more frequently.
• According to Dr. Eisenberg, “Cannabis improves a person’s libido, but it doesn’t act as an aphrodisiac in the traditional sense.”