Study finds that more marijuana use means more sex

In the past, there was some belief among scientists and the general public that frequent marijuana use may decrease an individual’s sexual desire or performance. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine has found strong evidence that the effect of marijuana use might actually be the opposite.

“Frequent marijuana use doesn’t seem to impair sexual motivation or performance. If anything, it’s associated with increased coital frequency,” says Dr. Michael Eisenberg, the study’s senior author and assistant professor of urology at Stanford University.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 20 million adult Americans currently use marijuana, and with the legalization of cannabis for medical or recreational use in 29 states, that number is only getting higher (no pun intended).

This study was the first to examine the relationship between cannabis use and frequency of sexual intercourse at the population level in the U.S., surveying over 50,000 men and women, ages 25-45. The researchers used the National Survey of Family Growth, which provides data related to family structures, sexual practices, and child bearing.

They found that 24.5 percent of men and 14.5 percent of women reported using marijuana in the previous four weeks, and there was a strong correlation between increased marijuana use and increased sexual intercourse in that time period. In fact, cannabis users reported having roughly 20 percent more sex than non-users.

“The overall trend we saw applied to people of both sexes and all races, ages, education levels, income groups and religions, every health status, whether they were married or single and whether or not they had kids,” Eisenberg adds. Furthermore, this was still the case when the researchers accounted for other substance use, which shows that this correlation isn’t necessarily due to these individuals simply being less inhibited.

Although a significant correlation was found between increased marijuana usage and sexual activity, it doesn’t mean that this study established a causal link. In other words, Eisenberg cautions, “it doesn’t say if you smoke more marijuana, you’ll have more sex.” So you should probably put down your car keys and go back to sitting on the couch – the pot shop can wait.

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By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer