Pot Use May Mellow Out Men's Sexual Function

[Raider]

I knew that smoking pot fries brain cells, but this I didn't know;


Pot Use May Mellow Out Men's Sexual Function

Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience.com
Stephanie Pappas


Marijuana users sometimes report that pot enhances their desire for sex. But a new review of research on marijuana and sexual health suggests that male smokers could be courting sexual dysfunction.

Research on the topic is contradictory and few studies are high-quality, said study researcher Rany Shamloul, a physician with appointments at the University of Ottawa and Queen's University in Canada as well as the University of Cairo. But recent research – including the finding that the penis contains receptors for marijuana's active ingredient – suggests that young men may want to think about long-term effects before rolling a joint, Shamloul told LiveScience.

"It's a strong message to our younger generations and younger men," Shamloul said.

Shamloul reported his findings online Jan. 26 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Sex and drugs

Scientists first began to study marijuana and sex in the 1970s. Some researchers found that cannabis seemed to have the effect of a love drug; in one 1982 study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 75 percent of male pot smokers said the drug enhanced their sex lives. Meanwhile, another study published in the same journal the same year found that erectile dysfunction was twice as common in marijuana users – not such good news for lit lotharios. Other research suggests a dose effect, in which small amounts of marijuana have little impact on sexual dysfunction, but more marijuana makes for fewer erections.

But problems are rife with this research, Shamloul said, because none of the studies used validated measurement techniques when surveying men about their sexual function. The different questions used could skew the responses, as could the drug itself, he noted in the review. The 39 percent of men in the original 1982 study who said marijuana extended the duration of sex may just have been experiencing the drug's altering effects on the perception of time.

What most concerns Shamloul is a study published in 2010 in the journal European Urology. In that study, researchers found receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, in penis tissue from five male patients and six rhesus monkeys. These receptors were mainly in the smooth muscle of the penis, Shamloul said. Additional lab studies suggest that THC has an inhibitory effect on the muscle.

"This is a more serious effect on the erectile function because the smooth muscle makes up 70 percent to 80 percent of the penis itself," Shamloul said.

Men and marijuana

Marijuana use is widespread, especially among men at their sexual peak in life, Shamloul said. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that 162 million people worldwide use marijuana each year. More than 22 million use it daily. That makes understanding long-term effects important, Shamloul said.

People tend to focus on the possible upsides of marijuana more than the possible downsides, said Sharon Johnson, a professor of social work at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, who has studied marijuana use and sexual health in the past. Her study, published in 2004 in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, found that marijuana users have a slightly elevated risk of inhibited orgasms and pain during sex. (Johnson was not involved in Shamloul's review study.)

Research on sexual health and marijuana use in women is even less common than studies in men, Shamloul said.

"What we are really missing are clinical studies," Shamloul said. "We are stuck with only animal studies and molecular studies, and some clinical studies done in the '60s and '70s, most on a very small number of men… We need well-designed, placebo-control studies examining marijuana's effect in both the short-term and long-term."

[think]

And here I thought it was marriage that was causing sexual dysfunction in our society....

[Gerry]

And here I thought it was marriage that was causing sexual dysfunction in our society....

...I'm convinced it is reading Mother Eva's words or actually having to listen to her voice...

[biggedon]

as Flavor Flav says "Don't Don't, Don't...Don't believe the Hype!"

[ilovedomains]

Thats why Republican politicians have so many sex scandals. They need to smoke more pot.

[whitebark]

I knew that smoking pot fries brain cells

You know that huh? Much like everything else you claim to know - it's wrong.

Turn off the reefer madness and actually read some peer-reviewed studies on the matter. If you don't understand all the big words you can always use google to help you out.

[Area52]

You can tell who the potheads are.

[Gerry]

You can tell who the potheads are.

Dude, it has been well over 25 years for me, perhaps longer. And you better damn well believe I inhaled.

[Raider]

You can tell who the potheads are.

I figured a few come out, especially Whitebark... I think the giveaway was when he proudly displayed a avatar of a crackhead, what moron does that other than a drugee?

---------- Post added at 09:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:01 AM ----------

You know that huh? Much like everything else you claim to know - it's wrong.

Turn off the reefer madness and actually read some peer-reviewed studies on the matter. If you don't understand all the big words you can always use google to help you out.

This post alone is proof that pot effects your brain cells... You see, I repeatedly posted scientitific studies in other threads about the effects of Marijuana, such as long term memory loss... Which your showing plenty of that here.

[Gerry]

I figured a few come out, especially Whitebark... I think the giveaway was when he proudly displayed a avatar of a crackhead, what moron does that other than a drugee?

Oh, this is a precious statement that should definitely be preserved.

Now, of course she has proof to back up that someone is a drugee and a crackhead and making such a statement in public?

My, oh, my...

[ilovedomains]

If I were the board owner, I would give Raider a temporary ban for making such horrible accusations.

[Gerry]

Time to quit playing the word games.

[Adam Dicker]

Pretty soon I will be banning everyone of the offenders, I tell you it's not too far off.

-=DCG=-

[Raider]

Now, of course she has proof to back up that someone is a drugee and a crackhead and making such a statement in public?

I need proof to express my opinions and what I think?

[fab]

Pretty soon I will be banning everyone of the offenders, I tell you it's not too far off.

-=DCG=-

Does that include me? Please read my signture!

[tetrapak]

Mary Jane kills sex. Alcohol simply kills.

[think]

Does that include me? Please read my signture!

Never seen you offend anyone Fab. You've always been a perfect gentleman. Some of the rest of us though have been less than cogenial in our discourse....

[whitebark]

Poor Raider cannot tell the difference between a ZOMBIE and a crackhead.

And Raider should be banned for accusing me of being a pothead. Where's the proof Raider - or are you just going to slander everyone?

---------- Post added at 03:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 PM ----------

Oh, this is a precious statement that should definitely be preserved.

Now, of course she has proof to back up that someone is a drugee and a crackhead and making such a statement in public?

My, oh, my...

Yep - that should be worthy of a ban at last. Where's the proof Raider? Care to take that to court and try to assert your position?

[Raider]

Never seen you offend anyone Fab. You've always been a perfect gentleman. Some of the rest of us though have been less than cogenial in our discourse....

I agree with you 100%... But what's going right now is not just a disagreement like you and I get into, it has stretched far beyond that to the point where almost every thing I post on this Forum comes under attack by the SAME individuals over and over... When you have a group of instigators like these attacking someone who's not going to tolerate it, your going to have flame wars.. The solution is to leave me alone, Don't reply to my posts or reference my handle, and I would do the same in return... But I doubt they would ever do that, "Once a bully, always a bully"

Poor Raider cannot tell the difference between a ZOMBIE and a crackhead.

Your probably right, having not done crack I wouldn't know the difference, You have to admit though, the two look quite alike.

And if it IS a Zombie as you say, You seem to have to connected Zombies with Marijuana in your thread here;
http://www.dnforum.com/f60/content-o...ad-405857.html

And Raider should be banned for accusing me of being a pothead. Where's the proof Raider - or are you just going to slander everyone?

Yep - that should be worthy of a ban at last. Where's the proof Raider? Care to take that to court and try to assert your position?

You might want to re-read that, I never accused anyone here of being a pothead, What I think is something entirely different.

[Aleksandar]

Since this is going offtopic, let me chip in...

Does that include me? Please read my signture!

Read the little snippet under my username. I play 5 moves ahead...

As for pot, well, it's like everything else hazardous in life. Use at your own risk.

Doc, Raider, you know I don't have anything against you guys (actually I don't have anything against anyone around), but I really think it's time to get the ball down and chill out a bit.

You're both adults, I know you can do it if you want to. I've seen far more serious "enemies" around me making peace and sticking to it, so it shouldn't be hard for you guys too.

Especially over the internet, from the comfort of your home, where you have time to reply back in an appropriate manner and what not.

An example would be earlier today when a dude told me to go and **** myself, and I think he called me a nazi or something as well. And it's kinda funny, the guy is supposedly 50+.

I can't prove this since the posts are gone, but it did happen. So what? I could care less...