Science & Health
Young People Who Use Marijuana Have Better Orgasms and Sexual Function, Study Says
Young people who smoke marijuana and drink alcohol have better orgasms and overall sexual function than their peers who abstain or use less, a study in Spain recently concluded.
Because the existing scientific literature on the impact of drinking and drug use on sexual functioning is contradictory—finding both benefits and harms—a team of researchers from the University of Almeria designed the new observational study to analyze their affect with three commonly used surveys to detect potential risky drinking and cannabis use, as well as changes to one’s sexual functioning.
“Sexual function in young people who use cannabis and alcohol more frequently was shown to be better than in those who do not use either.”
From January to June 2020, researchers assessed 185 females and 89 males between the ages of 18 and 30 who were either regular cannabis or alcohol users or non-users, excluding those who used other substances like opiates or MDMA, as well as screening out those with pre-existing conditions like depression and diabetes, which could have a negative impact on their sexual performance.
“Sexual function is improved in young people who are high-risk cannabis consumers with a moderate risk of alcohol use, resulting in increased desire, arousal, and orgasm,” the study, published at the end of last month in the Journal Healthcare, found. “This improvement is usually associated with a reduction in anxiety and shame, which facilitates sexual relationships.”
The cannabis users scored higher than non-users on both the overall sexual functioning scale and the subscales of arousal and orgasm. And those who used cannabis the most were found to report higher sexual functioning and arousal scores than the moderate users. No differences were found on the desire and orgasm subscales between moderate and heavy users and no differences were detected amongst men and women respondents to the survey.
“Our findings indicate that young people who use cannabis frequently, regardless of gender, have better overall sexual function.”
When it comes to alcohol use, no significant differences in either overall sexual function or in any of the subscales measured, were found between drinking and non-drinking participants. However, there were statistically significant differences based on levels of alcohol consumption, potentially suggesting some dose dependent outcomes.
Those who reported heavy drinking scored higher on the total sexual function questionnaire and the arousal subscale than those who did not drink at all, the study found. And the high consumption participants had significantly higher total questionnaire and orgasm subscale scores than the moderate consumption participants. But those participants who reported an existing alcohol dependence had significantly lower scores than their peers whose drinking was evaluated to be merely at a higher risk for dependency.
These marijuana results are consistent with previous studies that found cannabis use enhances sex and masturbation, increases sexual desire and leads to better orgasms, as well as those that have found cannabis consumers have more sex than cannabis abstainers, and a higher score on sexual health inventories and serum testosterone levels.
“The findings of this study revealed a higher score in sexual function, as well as arousal and orgasm, in subjects at risk of having cannabis-related problems and risk of addiction associated with alcohol consumption.”
Older studies that previously found some evidence of erectile dysfunction among heavier alcohol consumers may have been influenced by the older ages of the respondents, according to the research team behind the new paper, which focused on individuals in their late teens and 20s, “where erectile dysfunction is less common.”
Questions remain about the different types of sexual relationships (long-term vs sporadic vs unstable) that frequent consumers engage in or if there is any correlation between use and relationship type.
The research team also cautioned that this study did not capture any potential medium range and longer-term consequences of heavier drinking and cannabis use, including any potential proclivity to engage in less safe sex practices due to inebriation.
Since the increased desire, arousal, and orgasms in young people who are high-risk cannabis consumers with a moderate risk of alcohol use, is usually associated with a reduction in anxiety and shame, which facilitates sexual relationships, the study called for future sex education practices to focus on strategies that reduce shame and anxiety, to prevent young people from developing potential drug and alcohol dependency issues later on in their lives.
Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso.
Science & Health
College Students Who Use Marijuana Show Signs Of Greater Motivation Compared To Non-Users, Study Finds
Researchers are again challenging the idea that people who smoke marijuana lack motivation, with a recent study suggesting that the opposite may be true.
The study, published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, tested the stereotype by recruiting 47 college students—25 frequent cannabis consumers and 22 non-users—and asking them to participate in a series of behavioral assessments known as Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task.
Past studies on the issue have “used divergent methodology and have not controlled for key confounding variables,” the researchers wrote. This new study sought to adjust for those variables and found that “past-month cannabis days and cannabis use disorder symptoms predicted the likelihood of selecting a high-effort trial.”
In other words, frequent marijuana consumers were actually more likely than the control group to select tasks that signal higher levels of motivation.
“The results provide preliminary evidence suggesting that college students who use cannabis are more likely to expend effort to obtain reward, even after controlling for the magnitude of the reward and the probability of reward receipt,” they wrote. “Thus, these results do not support the amotivational syndrome hypothesis.”
“Contrary to the amotivational syndrome hypothesis, college students using more cannabis were more likely to select the high-effort choice option, regardless of the reward magnitude, probability, and expected value of the overall reward. Although there was not a significant difference between cannabis use groups, there was a medium sized effect, lending consistent support for an association between cannabis use and greater high-effort choices.”
The study authors at the University of Memphis did caveat that the results don’t necessarily signal that frequent cannabis users employ “impairment-free goal-directed behavior,” however. And they said more studies with larger sample groups should be pursued.
On a related note, a study published in 2019 found that people who use marijuana report that consuming before or after exercising improves the experience and aids in recovery. And those who do use cannabis to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise.
A 2020 study of older Americans also found that cannabis consumers tended to do more formal exercise and engage in more physical activities than non-consumers during the course of a four-month trial.
Another study published last year similar concluded that adolescent use of cannabis “did not predict changes in motivation, which suggests that cannabis use may not lead to reductions in motivation over time.”
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is renewing its push to promote federally funded research into marijuana as more states enact reform—specifically expressing interest in studies on differing cannabis regulatory models that are in place across the country.
In a notice of interest published on Friday, the agency outlined the types of study proposals it hopes to fund and gave instructions to researchers on how to apply. NIDA said the guidance is informed by recommendations from a workgroup it set up to explore the issue in 2018.
The study solicitation is nearly identical to one NIDA put out in 2019, but that earlier notice expired last month. Evidently the agency is committed to seeing these research objectives through and has renewed them with the new filing.
NIDA’s notice is meant to “encourage grant applications on the effects of changing cannabis laws and policies in the US and globally on public health,” it said.
“Policies around of cannabis products (including whole plant cannabis and cannabis constituent compounds) in the United States (and globally) continue to evolve, and far outpace the knowledge needed to determine the public health impacts of these changes,” the notice says. “Growing numbers of states have loosened restrictions on cannabis, including those on sales and use, by passing medical marijuana laws or by making cannabis legal for adult recreational use, and in increasing numbers, states have done both.”
Examples of potential studies include developing standardized methods of measuring marijuana and its components, enhancing epidemiological research on cannabis use, determining “physical and mental health antecedents” of marijuana use, exploring the reasons people start to consume cannabis and continue to use it for therapeutic purposes and several other health-focused topics.
Interestingly, NIDA also again said it would be interested in funding research into “the heterogeneity of regulatory schemes (e.g. models for retail distribution of cannabis products) to understand which combinations or components minimize harm to public health.”
The reason that’s notable is because it’s another example of a federal agency effectively recognizing the inevitability of legalization and the need to start seriously thinking about regulatory models for cannabis.
NIDA emphasized that researchers must comply with the standard THC unit of five milligrams, which it developed and put into place last year, in order to conduct studies with human subjects.
Of course, even as NIDA encourages this kind of research, the head of the agency has repeatedly recognized that marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug makes the application process onerous. NIDA Director Nora Volkow went so far as to say last year that even she is reluctant to conduct studies on Schedule I drugs like cannabis because of the “cumbersome” rules that scientists face.
NIDA submitted a separate report to Congress in October emphasizing that the Schedule I status of controlled substances such marijuana is preventing or otherwise discouraging research into their potential risks and benefits.
A National Cancer Institute research team similarly complained about the administrative barriers of marijuana research in a paper published late last year.
Several federal health agencies have worked to bolster cannabis science as the legalization movement spreads. In 2020, for example, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) highlighted funding opportunities for research into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana with an emphasis on pain management.
While the Schedule I restrictions remain challenging, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has taken steps to make substances like cannabis and psilocybin more available for research purposes by significantly increasing annual production quotas and ending the federal marijuana manufacturing monopoly.
Feeding donkeys fresh marijuana buds is inadvisable, according to a new study that looked at novel cases of cannabis toxicosis in two equine.
The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, investigated what happened after a jack and jenny (the terms for male and female donkeys, respectively) were fed a few grams of cannabis that was being legally grown for human consumption.
The donkeys’ symptoms sound a lot like what happens when a person takes an edible that’s too strong. They presented as lethargic and their hearts were beating faster than normal, for example. But while it took longer to come down from the high for the donkeys compared to humans, with symptoms lasting 44 hours in the younger jenny before she was taken to the hospital, the study says both “recovered uneventfully within 24 hours of peak effects.”
“Marijuana toxicosis is typically seen by companion animal veterinarians. However, with increased marijuana availability, there is a greater potential for toxicosis in other species,” the study authors wrote. To the scientists’ knowledge, this is the first study documenting cases of cannabis consumption in donkeys.
A positive outcome from the donkey highs was that scientists had a chance to experiment with testing procedures to confirm that the symptoms were due to exposure to cannabinoids. They used a “screening assay in collaboration with a veterinary diagnostic laboratory,” which the study authors said “may be useful when an equine practitioner suspects marijuana toxicosis in a patient.”
While they were able to determine those cannabinoid concentrations in the donkeys’ plasma, the researchers noted that more data is needed to figure out what dose of cannabis causes toxicosis in the species.
In terms of treating donkeys who ate too much marijuana, the study says practitioners could potentially use gastric lavage, administer activated charcoal or use laxatives.
“These adjunctive therapies are targeted at decreasing gastric absorption and facilitating excretion to limit the adverse clinical effects of cannabis,” they wrote. “There is no scientific evidence to support the benefit of these therapies for marijuana toxicosis in equine patients. However, activated charcoal and gastric lavage are effective means of supportive treatment for marijuana toxicosis in canine patients.”
The study doesn’t directly comment on the ethics of feeding cannabis to donkeys, but as a general rule, people are discouraged from intentionally intoxicating animals and should take precautions to avoid accidental ingestion.
Another study released last year found that, apparently, some canines are even getting intoxicated off marijuana by eating the feces of people who’ve consumed cannabis.
Separately, there is interest within the scientific community about the effects of non-intoxicating CBD in animals like dogs and horses.
Dogs with epilepsy experience considerably fewer seizures when treated with CBD oil, a study published in the journal Pet Behaviour Science in 2019 found.
The prior year, a separate study determined that CBD can alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis in dogs.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for its part, has repeatedly warned pet owners about using CBD to treat firework-related anxiety in pets around the July 4 holiday.
Oregon Lawmakers File Psilocybin Equity Bill As State Implements Legal Use Program
Photo courtesy of Flickr/Klearchos Kapoutsis.
