DUBBED a miracle drug, marijuana is already being used medicinally to treat a host of conditions such as nausea from chemotherapy, muscle spasm from multiple sclerosis, nerve pain, and glaucoma.

If it has so many good uses, smoking it can’t be all that bad, right?

Well, did you know that smoking marijuana may affect your sex life?

Research

Research into the effect of marijuana on sexual performance first began in the 1970s, with many at that time concluding that marijuana was a ‘love drug’. In fact, a 1982 study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs quantified that 75 per cent of male marijuana smokers said the drug enhanced their sex lives. However, another paper published the same year, in the same journal, concluded that erectile dysfunction was twice as common in marijuana users as their non-user counterparts.

More recent research suggests a dose-effect relationship. This means rare users see little impact on their virility, but continuous users see fewer erections.

In a 1993 issue of Drug Safety it was concluded that an active ingredient in marijuana, called 9-tetra hydrocannabinol (THC), targets nerve receptors in the penis, rendering them numb. This stance was again taken in a January 2011 publication of the Sexual Health Journal.

Though the research is contradictory and there are many men who will say the drug has enhanced their sexual function, I believe marijuana smokers in their sexual peak may want to give the decision a second look. They may not see the effects now, but do they really want to risk suffering from such a disability a few years down the road.

Chenee Davis has degrees in biotechnology and zoology, and occupational and environmental safety and health.