Koff, Wayne_Marijuana and Sexual Activity

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The Journal of Sex Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 194-204 August 1974

Marijuana a n d S e x u a l A c t i v i t yWAYNE C. KOFF

AbstractThis researchwas intendedto discernany correlationsbetweenmarijuanaand human sexual activity. I was speciElcallynterestedin exNoring theconcept that the drugmightproducedifferent effects on males andfemalesin regard o their sexual activity. Finally, I was concernedwith the dosageof the drug which would produce the most pronounced effect on the

majorityof the users n regard o theirsexual activity.The controlrersy over a possible aphrodisiac effects of marijuana

has lingered ever since introduction to the drug. Our research waslimited to a study of marijuanaand heterosexual activity.In researching the connection between marijuana and variousaspects of sexual activity, several methods were utilized. Ques-tionnaires were distributed at eight major universities in the UnitedStates. The colleges involved were WashingtonUniversity; MichiganState University; SUNY at Albany; University of Miam; Universityof Denver;MassachusettsInstitute of Technology; Boston University;George Washington University. The method of distribution was viathe campus mail of the colleges, to insure confidentiality. Theparticipants were chosen at random, and of the 640 questionnaires345 were returned?a ratio of 53.9%. Figure 1 is a sample of thequestionnairedistributed.The second method consisted of interviews with known marijuanausers. The questions were directed towards the comparison betweensexual activity with and without the use of marijuana. The finalmethod of researchwas aimed at eliminating a variablein marijuanause, that of dosage. Severalmarijuanausers were asked to roll certainweeds (including marijuana)into cigaretteswhich were then weighedto determine the "average"constitution of a joint. The results ofthese tests will be discussed extensively in a later section.One must bear in mind that the majority of cannabisusers (in the"The age span 14-25 needs no aphrodisiac to stimulate eitherinterest or capacity to perform. If young men have the sex act inmind when they use the drug, they will probably move toward a

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The following questionnaire s a segment of a researchproject concerningtheconnections between sexual activity and marijuana.You have been chosen in arandom samplingand we wish that you will answer he questions truthfully andto the best of your ability. When you have completed this form please return tto: RESEARCHSTUDYBox 437 5 WashingtonUniversity6515 WydownBlvd.Clayton, Missouri63105One final note, the questionnaire s designed o be anonymous,so pleasedo notinclude your name. Thank You.

1. Sex: M F (circle one)2. Age: a) less than 17 b) 17-24 c) 25-30 d) over 30 (circle one)3. Use of Marijuana: a) neverb) occasionally-at partiesetc.c) daily (clrcle one)d) other-Please comment4. Method of using Marijuana:a) smokingb) eating-in brownies,cookies, etc. (circle one or more)c) other-Please comment5. Amount of marijuana sed each time you take the drug:a) one "joint" or lessb) 2-4 "joints" (circle one)c) more than 4 "joints"6. Following the use of marijuana,wassexualdesire:

a) increasedb) decreased (circle one)c) remained he same7. As compared to sexual activity without the use of marijuana,was sexualactivity following the use of marijuana:a) more enjoyableb) lessenjoyable (circle one)c) the same8. As comparedto sexual activity without the use of marijuana,would you sayyour partner following the use of marijuana found sexual activity:

a) more satisfyingb) less satisfying (circle one)c) the same9. Realizing that marijuanaaffects different people in different ways due tosuch factors as personality and atmosphere,please comment on the way inwhich the drug affects you, and what effect it has on yoursexual activity.Please feel free to add any additional comments concerningmarijuana ndsexual activity on both the remainderof this side and on the back of thispage.

FIG. 1. RESEARCH STUDY: Marijuana and human sexual activity195


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196 WAYNE C. KOFFselected partner. The woman for her part will find it easier toacquiesce . . "Medical opinion as to the capacity of marijuana o act as anaphrodisiac s extremely varied. Some physiciansundoubtedlyareconvinced that the drug is specificallyassociatedwith sensuousnessand carnality, while others claim that the aphrodisiaceffect ofmariJuana s purely a wild notion. It is a known fact that theOrientals n the l9th century ook the drugto prolongcoitus. Doria,in Brazil,reports nstancesof women becomingunusuallyaggressivein sexual affairs while under the influence of the drug. Considexingthis wide diversity of opinion, the questionnaire fig. 1) and inter-views were conducted as an attempt to clear up this controversy.Table 1 gives the numerical esultsof the questionnaire. t must benoted that of the 345 replies, 93 neversmokedmaxijuana nd so arenot included n the results.As shown in Table 1, #6, followmg the use of marijuana exualdesire was said to increase by 48.5% of those questioned. Thesignificant plurality of this result may be attributed to variousfactors. First of all, the mysticism surrounding he drug plays anintegral part in its effect. Psychologistsstress the importance ofmood, expectation, and setting as shapingthe nature of the drugexperience.With marijuana, ll of the ideas concerning ts inhibitionreleasingand sexual stimulating endenciesmay result n the increaseof sexual desire. It seems conclusivenow that the drug tself is not asexual stimulant. However,one cannot separatethe dtug from itssurroundings.The social conditions of marijuana se make it act asan aphrodisiac.

Ms. A is between the ages 17 24. She smokes manjuarlawo tothree times per week, averaging wo joints per sitting. Hercommentconcerning he issue of sexual desire was, "Marijuanatself does notin any way increasesexual desire. It is merely the atmosphere nwhich the drug is used combinedwith the drug . . a darkened oomwith carldlelight,ncense burningpossibly, often just the two alone,which actuallypromotes exualdesire."Mr. B smokes marijuana ccasionallyone joint or less and is alsobetween the ages 17 24. He comments, ';I find that after usingmarijuana, experience a period of intense sexual arousaland sug-gestibility for about 40 minutes after which the effect seems todiminish . . cloSely related to this phenomenon s the increase of


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TABLE 1

8. PartnerSatisfaction-from sexualactivityfollowinguse of marijuana.Increased Decreased Remains he Samea) Male 59.5% 4.1% 36.4%b) Female 47.4% 8.8% 43.7%c) Total 53.5% 6.5% 40.0%

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1. Sex: Male 123 Female 128 Total 2512. Age: 98%of samplebetweenages17-24; 2%were 25-293. Use of marijuana:a) occasionally-b) daily-c) othe

Male 65.3%Male 22.2%Male 12.4%Female 81.2%Female 8.5%FemalelO.2%

79.8% Total 82.6%20.1% Total 17.3%4. Methodof usingmarijuana:a) smoking- Male 85.4% Femaleb ) eating- Male 14.5% Female

c) othetwo repliesof snorting he drug5. Averagedosageeach timedrugis taken:a) 0-1 joints MEle 25.0% Femaleb) 2-4 joints Male 68.85 Femalec) Morethan4 Male 6.2% FemaleDecl

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22.6%71.4%5.9%reased).9%L.8707.9%

TotalTotalTotal

23.8%70.1So6.1%6. SexualDesire:a) Maleb ) Femalec) Total

Increased39.1%57.8%48.5%

Remains the Same50.0%37.4%43.6%7. Sexual Enjoyment:a ) Maleb ) Femalec) Total

Increased59.8%42.9%51.3%

Decreased6.5%6.5%6.5%

Remains the Same34.7%50.6%42.2%

fantasies,andthe relaxationof the body. I stongly suspectthatpartof the excitement generatedby pot is a result of psychologicalsuggestion, ne expectsto be arousedafterits use."Though48.5%of all the people replyingnoted that sexualdesirewasincreased, he proportionswereextremelyvariedbetweenmalesandfemales.Whileonly 39.1%of malesnotedanincrease,a remark-able 57.8% of the females said that their desire was increased.Performing chi-square robabilityest on theseresults,we obtainedaP valueequalto .048 whichis equivalento saying hatthe resultsweresignificantandnot dependenton chancealone.Howthenmay


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198 WAYNE C. KOFFthis 18.7%differencebetweenmalesandfemalesbe explained?EnchGoode,a sociologistat SUNY Stony Brook,lnterviewed200 mari-juanausers in 1969 and recordeda 50%merease n sexual desireamong women follog mariJuana se as comparedto a 39.0%increaseamongmen. Goode (1969) notes, "Eirst,becauseof theirculturalassociationwith sex7womenaremorelikely to thinkffiem-selves into becommg excited; second, women need an excuse tojustify their desire;third,men areless concemedwith the ritualofsex and with what textbooksreferto as foreplay,thanarewomen.For women,these aspectsof the sesual act areoften moremeg-ful than the immediatephysical gratificationit gives her . . . awoman is more preoccupiedwith the path to ses, whereas or theman,the overture s oflLennly tmmental.'' In additionone maysay that man'sculturalrole permitshimto freelyexpresshis desires.The womanhasbeentaughtto repress exualdesiresmorethanman.They havebeen taughtthe sexevil, sexhirty, ses-forbiddennotionsmorethan the sex-fun,sexwnjoyableones. Thelesseningof tensionsandof inhibitionsallowsthe woman o overcome heseconceptsandto expressherdes. Therefore,as an inhibitionreleaser ndbody-relaser,one maygroupthese effects of marijuanander he headingof "stimulanto humansexualactivity."The next zea of interestis the connectionbetween uana andsexualenjoyment.It wasshownthat51.3%of thosequestioned aidthat followingthe useof manjuanasexualenjoyment ncneases.Thisresultmay be accountedfor in differentways. Firstof all, manyofthose replyingnoted that sex while sChighwasa completelydiffer-ent expenence than sex while straight.It seems probablethat theeffects of the drugcloud the mentalscope of hwnansexualactivityand allow the physicalsensationto bsome more pronouncred.omany,thispronouncement f the physical ensation eemedes:cifing,vibrant,andfantastic.Ms. C replyingto the questionconcerning e2s:uienjoymentsaid,"AlthoughI seemedto get morephysically nvolved,I wasmuch essmentally nvolved ... it kindof feels like you'rein a wekd,dream-like worldwith the personyouXrewith,andses canbe moreexcitingbecause t'sa newanddifferentexpenence."Ms. Ds a 19 year old manjuanauser who averages mokingtwojoints perday notes, " . . . sex is differentsmcesome sensationsareseeminglyheighined by the drug.However, ex is neitherworsenor


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199ARIJUANA AND SEXUAL ACTIVITYbetter. Sexual activity seems to take on a bit more vanety orbizarreness when you are under the influence of pot."From the male point of view, Mr. E eats the equivalent of one jointof marijuana in brownies and cookies every other day. He replies,'Any effects of the drug wodd tend to make the user less inhibitedunder situations where you would worry if someone walked in onyou or fear pregnancy. The effect of the drug seems more noticeableduring orgasm, there appeared to be more sensation in the genitalorgans and the rest of the body seems to be placed in a void While Ifind a relaxed mood after sexual intercourse, I found that juanaseemed to take a lot out of me, leaving me very tired while still beingsexually aroused. While the physical sensation may be better, I findthe mental sensation not as pleasing as when straight."Dividing the males and females up for the question of sesualenjoyment, our results show the converse of sexual desire. While59.8% of the males seemed to enjoy sexual activity more whenstoned, only 42.9% of the females were in accord with this conceptof increased enjoyment. At first glance, these results seem unexplain-able in light of the sexual desire figures However, by taking intoaccount the cultural and sociological factors, one amves at a definitecorrelation between the results on sexual desire and sexual enjoy-ment. Refernng to the culture scheme once again the physicalsensation of sexual activity is more predominant than the mentalresponse from the males' standpoint. In contrast, the female viewsthe foreplay as a more gratifying precursor to the actual clim thanthe male. When marijuana is smoked (or ingested), the drug tends torelay a feeling of unreality while also making tactile stimulation seemmore distinct. In other words, physical sensations seem more real,and mental reactions more oblique. For the female, her inabilit;y tohave complete control of the mental feelings lessens her enjoyment.For the male, the increased physical sensation results in a moreenjoyable sexual experience.Another factor closely related to sexual enjoyment concerns part-ner satisfaction. In our sample, 59.5% of the males believe that theirpartners' satisfaction of sexual activity was greater while stoned?while 47.4% of the females believe that their partners found sexualactivity more satisfying while "high." When the male is enjoyingsexual activity, it seems reasonable for him to assume that his partneris also enjoying it. The same is ttue for females. Thus, there should


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200 WAYNEC. KOFFbe a positive correlation between the questions of sexual enjoymentand partner satisfaction. We verify this by comparing the results of#7 and #8 in Table 1 and noting that they are nearly identical. Uponquestioning Mr. F concerning sexual enjoyment and partnersatisfac-tion, he replied "We had made love just before getting stoned, notexpecting to want to afterwards. My girlfriend was turned on sex-ually and I got aroused; we made love and I climaxed much soonerafter the last time than I would normally have been able to. Mygirlfriend'sdesire and satisfaction were probably heightened judgingfrom the number of her orgasms."From the female standpoint: Ms. G smokes daily and believes thatboth sexual desire and sexual enjoyment are increasedfrom the drug,as well as her partner's satisfaction. She is between the ages 25 30and comments, 4'. . . the closeness of someone's body while stonedgives me a sense of security and uniqueness. Weed decreases myinhibitions allowing me to express more affection and give more tomy partner'senjoyment."Realizing that partner satisfaction is undoubtedly more subjectivethan replies concerning desire and enjoyment, conclusions reachedfrom the areaof partnersatisfaction are considered less relevantthanothers. However, it is interesting to note that the majority of thosepeople claiming that sexual enjoyment was decreased following theuse of marijuana,also stated that they believed that their partner'ssatisfaction was also decreased.Upon obtaining results for such concepts as sexual desire andenjoyment following marijuana use, one must not overlook thevariable factor of dosage. Dosage can be divided into two categories,those being quality and quantity. For our purposes, the quality ofthe marijuana used was impossible to be accurately judged sincethose interviewed and questioned used different types of marijuanaat different times. It is leaxned that the strength of the drug isdependent on its content of both 9-THC and 6 THC. (THC isabbreviation of tetrahydrocannabinol; 9 and 6 are the two mostactive constituents of marijuana, distinguished by their chemicalformulas.) The quality of the marijuanais dependent on the qualityof the resin found in the plant. The most potent marijuanaknownoriginates in Thailand and consists of 4.1% THC. Most marijuanaused in the United States originates in Mexico and its THC contentranges from 0.8% 1.4%. For the sake of simplicitys we assumethat


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201ARIJUANAAND SEXUAL ACTIVITYthe THCcontent of marijuanarom Mexicohasthe average alueof1.0%.Havingascertainefl valueforthe qualityof the drug, he finalaspectof dosage s the quantity.To findthe average onstitutionof ajoint of marijuanay weight,twentyusersof the drugvolunteeredoroll into cigarettesfour leafy, grainysubstances one of whichwasmarijuana).Upon averaging he weights of the rolled manjuanacigarettes,the value of .73 gm was found for the constitutionof ajoint by weight. The weightsof the rolled cigarettesrangedfrom.49 1.8 gms.By simplemathematics,t is shownthata jointsmokedand sharedby two peopleplacesbetween3.75 and5.00 mgof THCinto the bloodstreams f the users.Onemarijuanaigarette s usuallysufficientto produceanadequatentoxicationof two people.Havingdetermined he dosage,one is now able to make a com-parisonof the effects of one joint of marijuanan sexualdesireandenjoymentof sexualactivity,asopposedto using wo ormorejointsof the drug. Specifically, n regard o sexual desire,61%of thoseindividualswho smokedone joint or less noted an increase.Separa-ting this percentageby the sexes of the individualsnvolved,50.5%of the males and 70.9%of the femalesnoted an increase n sexualdesire.For the people who smokedtwo or morejointsper sitting,malesrecordeda 34.5%increasewhile 49.5%of the femalescon-curredhat theirsexualdesirehad increased.Thus,it is evidentthatas dosage increases,the tendency for an increase n sexualdesiredecreases.Concerningenjoyment of sexual activity following the use ofmarijuana,maleswho smokedone joint or less noted more of anincreasen enjoyment hanthosewho smokedtwo ormorejointspersitting.The same quantitativeconclusionswere recordedby thefemales.Thisresultfurthersubstantiateshe ideathat as the dosageis ncreasedpast a peakconcentrationpoint, the positiveeffects ofincreasedexualdesireandenjoymentof sexualactivitywill not beasnoticeable. The quantitativeresultsof the questionconcerningdosageresummarizedn Table2.Fromthe results n Table2, it seemsevidentthatover-intoxicationofmarijuana oes not enhanceeithersexualdesireor enjoymentofsexualctivityas muchas mild dosage.Onceagain t mustbe notedthathe variedqualityof the marijuanaasa definiteeffect on theseresults. or instance,one cigaretteof 2%THCqualityis equivalentto wo cigarettesof 1%IYICquality. For our purposeshowever,


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assuming the use of a consistent quality of the drug upholds thevalidity of our data and subsequent conclusions.Finally, a companson may be made between the effects of smok-ing the marijuana through cigarette or pipe, or ingesting it throughbrownies, cookies, etc. The different methods of use are known tocause different types of "highs." Smoking yields a shorter, morepotent intoxication, while eating results in a milder, longer intoxi-cation. From our survey, 82.6% of those questioned smoked theirmarijuana while 17.3% ingested the drug to obtain a "high." Withregard to sexual desire and enjoyment of sexual activity, the resultsindicate that there is no appreciable difference in the effect of thedifferent methods of use. The quantitative results of this question arecompiled in Table 3. Thus, although the type of "high" obtainedfrom the two methods is different, both affect sexual desire andenjoyment is a similar fashion. This may be explained by noting thatalthough the type of "high" differs, a person who eats marijuana ismore likely to use a larger dose than one who smokes, assuringhimself of an adequate supply of THC in his bloodstream. Over-coming the digestion process (in which some of the THC is notabsorbed into the bloodstream) by using larger doses, the ingestermatches the THC content of the smoker and thus shows the sameeffects to sexual stimuli.

TABLE21. Sexual Desire Increased Decreased No Changea) 1 joint or less1 ) Male 50.5% 8.6% 40.9%2) Female 70.9% 5.4% 23.7%

3) Total 61.0% 6.9% 32.1%b) 2 or more joints1 ) Male 34.5% 14.6% 50.9%2) Female 49.5% 4.6% 45.9%3) Total 42.1% 9.6% 48.3%2. Enjoyment of Sexual Activity Increased Decreased No Changea) 1 joint or less1 ) Male 67.0% 2.5% 30.5%2 ) Female 51.0% 5.1% 43.9%3 ) Total 59.0% 3.8% 37.2%b ) 2 or more joints1) Male 45.2% 10.7% 44.1%2) Female 32.5% 8.4% 59.1%3 ) Total 38.9% 9. 5% 51.6%

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TABLE 31. SexualDesire Increased Decreased No Changea) Smoking 48.1% 8.5% 43.4%

b) Eating 48.8% 7.8% 43.4%2. Enjoymentof SexualActivity Increased Decreased No Changea) Smoking 52.7So 6.9% 40.4%b) Eating 50.1% 6.2% 43.7%Totals given without respect to sex. Insufflcientnumbersof individualswhoingestedmarijuanamade a division by sex invalidfor our purposes. Therewere44 individualswho noted ingestingmarijuana, f which 27 were female andonly17 male.

In summary, the study of the effects of marijuanaon humansexualactivityis a field in needof more research.Onemustconsiderthe psychologicaland sociological factors of both the drug andhumansexualactivitywhenattempting o drawthe connective ines.The physiologicaleffects of marijuanamay also affect the sexualresponseof the humanbeing.Oursurveyrevealed ases of secondaryimpotence among males, and cases of situationallynonorgasmicfemalesfollowingmarijuana se. On the otherhand,there werealsocases of multi-orgasmfrom two differentgirlswhobothstatedthatthey neverhad more than one orgasmwhen engaged n intercoursewhile not under the influence of marijuana). hreemalesnotedthatorgasmwas reachedat a fasterrateafterusingmanjuanaas againstnot using it. It seems conceivablethat marijuana,with suitablepsychologicaland sociologicalconditions, and taken in a light tomoderate dose releasesinhibitions to the extent of being telmed"aphrodisiac." erhapsa certain evelof THCcontent in the blood isneededfor these effects to be manifest. Ourresultshaveshownthatthe most active dose (the one in whichsexualdesireandenjoymentis increased o the greatestextent) is between 1 2 cigarettescon-taining1%of THC.To venfy these results, aboratory ests on THCcontent in the blood, absorbtionratesof THC nto the bloodstream,and THC content of the resin of Cannabis ativashouldbe under-taken. Our study has tried to reveal some of the mysteries ofmarijuana n connection with human sexual activity and to offerhighly qualitativeand semi-quantitative onclusions.Quantitativelaboratorydata are now needed to confinn our hypotheses andconclusions.

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204 WAYNE C. KOFFReferences

BLOOMQU1ST,. R., Marijuana, lencoePress, 1968.GOODE,RICH,Marijuana, thertonPress, 1969.GOODE,RICH,Marijuanaand Sex, Evergreen,66,bIay 1969, 19-20.GRINSPOON,ESTER,MarijuanaReconsidered, arvard University Press, Cambridge,Mass., 1971.JONES, EESE ., Tetrahydrocannabinolnd the Marijuana nduced Social High, Mari-juars:Chemistzy, harmacology,ndPatterns fSocialUse,edited by ArnoldSinger,Dec. 1971, 158-163.MASTERS,M.ANDOHNSON,IRGINIA,umanSexual nadequacy,ittle Brownand Co.,Boston, 1970.MASTERS,M.AND OHNSON,IRGINIA,umanSexualResponse, ittle Brown and Co.,Boston, 1966.

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