"We used to smoke back in the day but have not in a long time. I’m wondering if smoking pot again can help my guy get it up again? It’s not for lack of trying or for lack of desire, at least I think so!"
Small amounts of cannabis may relieve anxiety and enhance arousal, however, too much will probably make matters worse.
drfrye
Cannabis may have effects that increase libido and reduce the occurrence of erectile dysfunction, but without knowing how your husband’s problem has already been medically evaluated there may be other issues to consider that are not likely to respond to just medicinal cannabis. For example, complications of diabetes can impair circulation and nerve function, or endocrine problems affecting levels of testosterone or other hormones might present as erectile dysfunction and loss of libido. Where erectile dysfunction and reduction of libido are not associated with conditions like these, a holistic approach incorporating cannabis is sometimes helpful. Because anxiety can be an obvious cause of erectile dysfunction it’s important to use a preparation with enough CBD to moderate THC effects (1:1 is usually plenty) and to use modest doses, as relaxation and increased sense of well being tend to appear at lower doses and may change to other effects as the dose is increased. Incorporating topical cannabis preparations may be another useful way to integrate cannabis into sexual activity to overcome erectile dysfunction. The idea is that the cannabis is part of a shared experience of relaxation of mood and pleasurable focus on the senses that can more easily and naturally evolve into arousal.
drelkind
I’d like to add a couple of thoughts to add to this very interesting discussion. As Dr. Elkind and Dr Frye have mentioned, cannabis probably works in a dose-related function in terms of erectile dysfunction. Dr. Elkind also brought up a very important point in that the cause of the ED should be explored with the primary MD. Does the patient have diabetes? Uncontrolled high blood pressure &/ or cholesterol issues? Is the patient a smoker as well? (some studies I have seen have actually seen an increase of erectile dysfunction in tobacco smokers as well in individuals who smoked cannabis ; the mechanism was unclear & needs to be explored further). If the patient is working through psychological factors that may be contributing to
the erectile dysfunction, counseling for both partners should also probably be instituted. In the limited anecdotal studies I have seen with cannabis and erectile dysfunction, a lot of the studies seemed to look at THC to help with sexual functioning but this was probably before more information was available concerning CBD as another useful cannabinoid and before the "entourage" effect of CBD combined with THC at the endocannabinoid receptor1 / EC1 was known. At lower doses, these cannabinoids can be very helpful in lowering stress and
anxiety, a large component of erectile dysfunction in many men. However, at too high a dose, it seemed that erectile dysfunction was actually worsened in these test subjects. I hope this all helps!
drpark
