Does weed make you horny? The best sex strains

A common theme among marijuana smokers, is that they report feeling hornier when smoking weed and this enhances their sex lives. But is it all placebo?

What about people experiencing the opposite, or even getting a limp biscuit (penor) when smoking?

Let’s find out…

Cannabis, aka:

• Mary Jane
• Marijuana
• Weed
• Dope
• Pot
• Grass
• Head
• Doobie
• Bud
• Ganja
• Hashish
• Hash
• Bhang
• etc.

…is full of phytocannabinoids that act on the endocannabinoid system (specifically the cannabinoid receptors) in the body. Cannabinoid receptors are present throughout the body, including the brain (e.g. hypothalamus and pituitary), ovary, uterus, testes, sperm, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. Everywhere!

What I’ll be covering

• What boosts libido and how weed affects it
• What lowers libido and how marijuana affects it
• How weed affects libido and your sex life
• Weed and erectile dysfunction
• 👇Beware, Marijuana can break your dick👇
• Marijana on libido summary
• Interesting cannabis sexual statistics
• 😂Top 16 stoner memes😂

What boosts libido and how weed affects it

These hormones and neurotransmitters boost libido. Let’s see how weed affects them.

Hormones

• Testosterone
• DHT
• Estrogen
• Thyroid hormone

Neurotransmitters

• Dopamine
• Noradrenaline
• Oxytocin
• Histamine
• Glutamate
• α-MSH

Does marijuana increase testosterone?

Marijuana can decrease testosterone, but that’s not been shown in all studies. Testosterone is one of the main male sex hormones that promote sex drive. Low testosterone means low libido and often sexual dysfunction.

Activation of the CB1 receptor:

• Inhibits the release of GnRH from the hypothalamus,
• Reduces the release of LH in the pituitary,
• Reduces the testicular responsiveness to LH and
• Reduces steroidogenic enzymes, thus reducing the amount of testosterone created from cholesterol. (R)

In general, the studies on marijuana use and testosterone are conflicting. Some show that marijuana use lowers testosterone and others show a slight increase.

This study found that 20 men between the ages of 18 and 28 years, who used marihuana at least four days a week for a minimum of six months without the use of other drugs, had significantly lower testosterone than non-users (416 vs 742ng/dl). The decrease in testosterone was dose-related (R).

potential androgen deficiency was more common in cannabis users vs. non-users (52% vs. 46%, p<0.001 (R)). 

However, this study found no difference in testosterone between users and non-users (R).

This study found that cannabis consumers had more testosterone than non-smokers (R).

Based on the results from the study above, testosterone levels of:

• Non-users were 19.9nmol/L (574ng/dl)
• Those who smoked less than once a week were 21 (605ng/dl)
• Those who smoked more than once a week were 22.9 (660ng/dl).

The increase in testosterone appears to be characterized by an inverse U-shaped trend. Meaning, those who smoke 2-3 times per month had 66.77ng/dL higher testosterone than non-users (R). Whereas those that used more had the same levels as those that didn’t smoke, or even lower.

The other potential downside of marijuana is shrunken testicles and even testicular cancer.

Both THC and CBD might shrink the testes (R). THC might contribute to primary testicular failure, meaning low T and normal/high LH (R).

Additionally, testicular cancer rates are the highest in the states with the highest cannabis consumption (R).

When it comes to testosterone optimization, there are a lot of confounding variables, such as, does weed smokers also drink more alcohol, eat crappy food, undereat, overeat, etc. Not eating enough food or enough of the right foods will lead to low testosterone.

👉The complete guide on how to maximize testosterone

Does marijuana lower DHT?

Serum DHT concentration was the only independent hormonal predictor of the frequency of orgasms. An increase in the concentration of 1.36 nmol/l corresponded to an average increase of one orgasm a week (R).

Marijuana seems to have an anti-androgenic effect by inhibiting the binding of DHT to its receptor (R).

👉The complete guide on how to maximize DHT

Can marijuana increase dopamine?

Acute cannabis use increases dopamine release in certain areas of the brain (striatal and pre-frontal areas). However, chronic cannabis use blunts dopamine synthesis and dopamine release capacity (R).

Dopamine is a strong driver of libido. Dopaminergic drugs are frequently prescribed for hypo-sexual disorders. So you don’t want to desensitize this system with chronic use. This might create dependency.

👉 The complete guide on how to increase dopamine

Weed on noradrenaline

Noradrenaline is created from dopamine and shares many of the same functions. Noradrenaline increases when you’re aroused and lowering it can reduce libido.

Cannabis use reduces noradrenergic activity by inhibiting the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline (R).

Weed on histamine

Histamine can both lower and increase libido.

Excess histamine in the case of allergic reactions (where mast cells degranulate to release histamine, serotonin and other inflammatory mediators) can lower libido. Anti-inflammatory diets and supplements can help to boost sexual desire and arousal function.

Weed has been shown to promote histamine release in the brain (which boosts libido) (R), while blocking the inflammatory effects of histamine everywhere else in the body (which also helps to boost libido) (R).

Weed on glutamate

Glutamate is involved in sexual behavior as it stimulates sexual libido and even testosterone production (R).

CB1 receptor activation inhibits glutamate release in the brain (R, R). This might be helpful for those with anxiety and an overactive mind, but for others, this might kill libido.

Zinc on thyroid hormone production

In hypothyroid (a thyroid dysfunction) men, the prevalence of hypo-sexual disorder is 64.3% (R). Meaning, more than 60% of men with low T3 didn’t think of or want sex in the last 6 months.

Hypothyroid men have lower levels of total and free testosterone and especially DHT.

Treatment of adult rats with THC reduces thyroid hormone concentrations in the circulation (R).

Cannabinoids have also been shown to potentially lower thyroid hormone production by lowering TRH (R). TRH stimulates the pituitary to release TSH, which then stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T4. Low TRH can lead to reduced T4 production.

In general weed abusers have lower T4 and T3 than non-users (R).

• How thyroid hormone affects your testosterone to estrogen ratio
• How thyroid hormone affects your DHT

What lowers libido and how marijuana affects it

• GABA
• Glutamate antagonism
• Histamine antagonism
• Serotonin
• Prolactin
• Stress/cortisol
• 5AR inhibitors (e.g. finasteride)
• Sleep loss
• Opioids
• Inflammation

Weed on GABA

GABA is inhibitory and balances out excitatory neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline, glutamate, etc.

Too little GABA activation can lead to overstimulation, sexual anxiety, premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. Too much GABA activation will likely kill libido since GABA agonists reduce libido and enhance sexual satiety.

Weed potentially decreases GABA, which might help with arousal (R, R).

Weed on serotonin

Too much serotonin will crush libido and cause sexual dysfunction, such as erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation, and anorgasmia (no pleasure during orgasm). Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common side effects of SSRI anti-depressants.

Flibanserin, a 5-HT1A agonist and 2A antagonist that decreases serotonin levels and increases dopamine and norepinephrine levels, treats general hypo-sexual disorder (R).

Cannabinoids affect serotonin by:

• Inhibiting serotonin uptake, similar to SSRIs (R, R).
• Upregulating 5-HT2A (R) which repeated exposure to cannabinoids could be associated with the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.
• Downregulating 5-HT1A (R), thus leading to higher overall serotonin (5-HT1A is the autoreceptor that reduces serotonin production).
• Inhibiting CYP2C19-metabolized SSRIs clearance from the body (R).

In general, it seems that marijuana increases serotonin, which, if in excess, might lower libido and sexual function. If you’re able to last longer during sex on weed, this is likely why.

👉Guide on how to lower excess serotonin

Weed on cortisol/stress

Stress and high cortisol kill libido by causing dopamine and glutamate desensitization, increasing estradiol and lowering testosterone.

When used infrequently THC increases cortisol in a dose-dependent manner. But frequent users have a blunted increase in cortisol compared to healthy peeps (R).

In adolescents with an early onset of use, chronic cannabis use is associated with altered diurnal cortisol rhythms such that cortisol concentrations are higher than average at night and blunted in the morning (R). This can lead to dysregulated energy during the day and sleep at night.

Taken together, chronic cannabis use has the potential to dysregulate basal, circadian and stress-regulated HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis activity.

👉How to lower excess cortisol

Does weed increase prolactin

The research on cannabis and prolactin is mixed, some show a decrease, others have no effects and some have an increase.

High prolactin can contribute to low libido. Interestingly, cannabis increases the activation of the right nucleus accumbens to erotic stimuli (meaning, you’re more likely to pay interest/be aroused by erotic stimuli). This effect is limited to users whose prolactin is not elevated in response to the weed (R).

Weed lowers prolactin

Frequent users (average age of 28) had lower baseline plasma prolactin levels relative to healthy controls (8 vs 11ng/ml) (R).

In young men, THC was found to produce a slight decrease in prolactin concentrations, from 8.7 to 7.3ng/ml (R). A dopamine antagonist blocked this effect.

Weed smokers don’t have lower prolactin than non-smokers

There is a non-significant difference between weed smokers and non-smokers (R, R).

Weed increases prolactin

Prolactin levels were significantly higher in individuals smoking 1-2 joints/week (average age of 50) compared to non-users (R).

The way it increases prolactin is likely by an opioid mechanism (R). Likely by increasing beta-endorphins (R).

👉 Complete guide on how to lower prolactin

Opioid

Our bodies produce a normal amount of opioids (e.g. beta-endorphin), which makes us feel good. However, during stress, lots of beta-endorphin is also released, and that starts to lower testosterone and blunt libido.

There is a connection between the cannabinoid and opioid systems (R, R). This is likely one of the mechanisms of how THC contributes to pleasure/euphoria, but also low libido in some people.

How weed affects libido and your sex life

One must bear in mind that the majority of cannabis users (in the U.S.) are youths between the ages 14-25. And guys at that age don’t need an aphrodisiac to stimulate either interest or capacity to perform.

With that being said, here’s what the research found.

Weed and sexual frequency

Based on 993 marijuana users vs 6816 non-users, the sexual frequency was 8.8 events/month vs. 7.8 events/month (R). Even though it’s slightly higher, it’s not a big difference.

Does weed make you horny?

• 51.3% of smokers self-reported increased sexual arousal (R)
• Over 70% of 811 participants reported increased desire (R)
• Of 202 participants, 119 (58.9%) said cannabis increased their desire for sex (R)

2 non-hormonal or neurotransmitters reasons for the boost in libido is because:

• Smoking weed sets the expectation of becoming hornier (placebo effect)
• The environment that you smoke in (with friends or receptive females) can stoke the libido (R)

Not everyone might get the same boost in libido. Some might get a reduction in libido. In the presence of a receptive female, testosterone, LH, dopamine and noradrenaline usually spike in males. This spike can be blunted by THC (R).

This reduction can be rescued by benzoflavone extracted from Passionflower (an aphrodisiac herb) (R).

In essence, a good trick to potentate the libido-boosting effects of weed is to take it with an aphrodisiac herb, such as Passionflower, maca, Tribulus, Tonkgat Ali, Fadogia, Byonia, etc.

The ideal THC dose for libido

According to this study, their results have shown that the most active dose (the one in which sexual desire and enjoyment are increased to the greatest extent) is between 1-2 joints containing 1% of THC. If the joint is shared by 2 people, this would result in the ingestion of between 3.75 and 5.00mg of THC into the bloodstream (R).

Sharing 1 joint with someone can increase libido by 50.5% whereas 2 joints increase it by 34.5%. More is not better (R).

It’s hard to know how much THC you get per joint because different strains and sources will have different amounts.

There are so many cannabis products on the market today that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Here are a few good cannabis strains with high THC content:

• Sour diesel
• Grease Monkey
• Bruce Banner
• Ghost OG
• Ghost Train Haze
• 99 Problems
• Wedding Cake
• Strawnana

The best strains for libido

You might think that high-THC strains will be the best, but that’s not the case. More is not better. The sweet spot seems to be between 3-5mg THC.

What matters is the THC-to-CBD ratio. CBD is relaxing, so you want more THC to CBD, or else you’ll be too chill for libido. Although a high CBD strain or Indica-dominant strain is good for pain relief and sleep, it’s not the best for sexual activity. It might help with premature ejaculation, but that’s about it.

You get 2 main strains – Sativa and Indica.

Sativa promotes alertness, whereas Indica (e.g. grandaddy purple) promotes relaxation. Indicas provide what has been called a “body high,” while sativas deliver more of a “mind high.” Interestingly, there isn’t much of a difference in THC or CBD between Sativa or Indica.

Weed and erectile dysfunction

One of the potential downsides of marijuana is that it might increase the risk of erectile dysfunction.

A recent meta-analysis in 2019 found that cannabis users were almost 4x as likely to suffer from ED compared to controls (R).

A few reasons include:

• THC induces vascular inflammation. Cannabis users were more likely to have signs of endothelial dysfunction on penile duplex ultrasonography (R).
• CB1 activation inhibits cavernosal relaxation, thus preventing proper blood flow into the penis (R). 
• Cannabinoid receptor activation in the brain might inhibit erections on a neural basis. Blocking the cannabinoid receptor in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in rats induced erection (R).

👇Beware, Marijuana can break your dick👇

Marijana on libido summary

Based on anecdotal evidence from marijuana users, they do report that weed has a positive effect on their libido and they do use it to have a good time.

But this is not 100% the case. Some people report a decrease in libido and sexual satisfaction. Plus, weed might lower testosterone, noradrenaline and thyroid hormones, inhibit DHT binding and increase opioids and prolactin, all of which can lower libido.

Interesting cannabis sexual statistics

Cannabis is the most widely consumed drug in the world, with an estimated 188 million people having used it in 2017, or approximately 3.8% of the world’s population.

From 2007, the consumption of weed between the ages of 15-64 increased from 9.9% to 15.3% in 2017.

Approximately half of Americans, some 78 million people, claimed to have used marijuana at some point in their lifetime (R)

Roughly 9 out of 10 Americans favor some form of marijuana legalization, according to a recent survey in 2021.

Young adults are more likely to try cannabis over cigarettes.

With cannabis use, 73.5% report increased sexual pleasure (R).

70% of users report intense orgasms (R).

Cannabis users that masturbate report enhanced pleasure while masturbating (R).

71.9% and 71% report enhanced sense of taste and touch (physical sensations) respectively (R).

73.8% reported increased sexual satisfaction (R).

65.7% reported an increased intensity of orgasms (R).

69.8% said they could relax more during sex (R).

50.5% said they were better able to focus (R).

Based on 82 participants, 38.7% said sex was better, 16.0% said it was better in some ways and worse in others, 24.5% said it was sometimes better, and only 4.7% said it was worse (R).

Daily use was associated with orgasmic disorders in men: inability to reach orgasm, reaching orgasm too quickly, or too slowly (R).

😂Top 16 stoner memes😂