Sex, Bliss And Cannabis

It’s been said that cannabis enhances sex. Recently, researchers found new evidence to suggest there might be truth to the theory, after all.

The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, explored the association between cannabinoids and pleasure. Our bodies use cannabinoids — including those derived from cannabis (THC, CBD, etc.) and those made within our own body (anandamide, the bliss molecule, etc.) — which trigger certain receptors (CB1 and CB2). Scientists wanted to know whether the levels of cannabinoids rose after orgasms in humans.

The study's authors found that “often pleasurable endocannabinoids are apparently indeed released following orgasm, thereby stimulating the same neurochemical region that a joint before or after might have done,” noted the article.

Results also highlighted the individual roles of the CB receptors mentioned above: CB1 receptors — found primarily in the brain and spine — are triggered by anandamide. When triggered, we experience pleasure (such as when we exercise). CB2 receptors, on the other hand, are triggered by 2-arachidonoylglycerol, or 2-AG.

It was 2-AG that research found to have effects on sexual pleasure; as a result, authors suggested a previously unknown link between this endocannabinoid and sexual arousal. 

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