From Israel to Panama to Los Angeles, we explore the science of cannabis and sex and some of its products
It’s just sex for goodness sake! We are all physiologically programmed by our brains not only to “want to do it” but also to “need to do it” in order to ensure reproduction. Sex is perhaps one of the bodily functions most often performed in life, alone or with a fellow human being – certainly one of the things we think about most.
Psychologists have found that women think about sex about 19 times a day, or every 50 minutes, while men think about sex every 28 minutes, or about 27 times a day.
All this thinking about sex, but does it really drive action? Like the cannabis plant itself, sex is equal parts loved and stigmatized. I set out to separate the myths from the facts in order to understand the science of cannabis and its physiological and psychological effects, if any, on sexual appetite, performance and experience.
Fear is the key
Good old fear is and always has been the greatest sex death. To confirm this, I asked 200 randomly selected men and women two questions: What emotion causes anxiety and does anxiety affect your sexuality and/or performance? Never has a “cause” had more impact: all respondents had experienced some of these well-known symptoms: panic, decreased libido, depression, headache, upset stomach, irritability, nausea, loss of interest, insomnia, impending doom, headache, social isolation, fatigue, and muscle tension. The physical side effects of anxiety cause the body to go into a defensive mode, unsurprisingly affecting circulation. In men, this leads to erectile dysfunction and performance problems; Vaginal dryness can occur in women.
I turned to the pros to help and literally put meat on the cannabis and sexuality bone.
The science
It’s raining with almost 100 percent humidity in Panama City when I meet Dr. Meet Sandra Carrillo, one…
