11 Sex

Conflicting Reports

For many years cannabis has been associated with sensuousness, carnality, debauchery and sexual gratification. Many of the reports in the press have made their exposures of drug taking sound positively pornographic, suggesting that an evening which begins with cannabis is likely to end with a sexual orgy.

The press stories are probably inspired by the sex-loaded campaign against cannabis carried on by Anslinger. In 1953, he wrote: 'In the earliest stages of intoxication the will power is destroyed and inhibitions and restraints are released; the moral barricades are broken down and often debauchery and sexuality result.' Anslinger also wrote an introduction to Wolff's book, Marijuana in Latin America: The Threat It Constitutes in which sexual orgies are reported as the frequent consequence of taking cannabis. Ausubel (1964) writes that 'exhibitions of perverted sexual practices ("circuses") are not an uncommon feature'. In a recent court ruling the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts held that sexual promiscuity was one of the undesirable consequences of marihuana use.

Kaplan (1970) noted an interesting case which shows how sex is apt to creep in even when it is not in the original document. Donald Miller, General Counsel of the US Bureau of Narcotics; summarized the work of Professor C. G. Gardikas in a talk to the National Student Association. Miller (1967) said that in the Greek professor's group of hashish-smoking criminals, 117 men 'had between them more than 420 sentences for assaults, woundings, threats, robberies, manslaughter and sex offences'. In the original report Gardikas (1950) disavows any link between cannabis and sex offences.

Most of the leading authorities would agree with this. The Indian Hemp Commission reported that cannabis did not lead to sexual misconduct. The Mayor of New York's Committee on Marihuana reported that the drug did not stimulate sexual desires. The White House Commission states: 'Although marihuana has long held the reputation of inciting individuals to commit sexual offences and other anti-social acts, evidence is inadequate to substantiate this.'

Supporters and opponents of cannabis law reform tend to agree that the drug does not stimulate sexual desire. Professor Linde-smith (1965), a persistent critic of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, writes: 'Among those who have never used hemp or seen it used by others the belief is often found that marihuana acts as a sexual stimulant or aphrodisiac. Actually its effects, like those of opiates, are exactly in the opposite direction, tending to cause the user to lose interest in the opposite sex.' Constantinos Miras (1969), one of the drug's severest critics, reported that cannabis actually impairs sexuality and that when given to rats their rate of 'reproduction activity' declined 90 per cent. Hart and Nation (1966), in their study of girls in a remand home, reported that those who smoked cannabis 'are seldom promiscuous'. Dale Beckett (1967) writes: 'Like alcohol, cannabis increases the desire but takes away the performance. The fascinating images of sex orgies at teenage pot parties are just images.'

Sexual Desire

Many users have reported erotic ideas or sensations but have not felt inclined to give active expression to them when under the influence of the drug. Some users, but by no meanThéophileuld agree with Theophile Gautier (1846) when he declared: 'Romeo as a hashisheen would have forgotten his Juliet.' Others would prefer the account by the novelist Alexander Trocchi :

Experts agree that marihuana has no aphrodisiac effect, and in this, as in a large percentage of their judgements, they are entirely wrong. If one is sexually bent, if it occurs to one that it would be pleasant to make love, the judicious use of the drug will stimulate the desire and heighten the pleasure immeasurably, for it is perhaps the principal effect of marihuana to take one more intensely into whatever the experience.. . . It provokes a more sensual (or aesthetic) kind of concentration, a detailed articulation of minute areas, an ability to adopt play postures. What can be more relevant in the act of love?

Without necessarily agreeing with all that Trocchi says, it is possible to get a better understanding of the effects of the drug by separating sexual desire from sexual pleasure. It does appear that, for most people, cannabis will not stimulate desire and for many the effect will be blissful contentment with the present effect of the drug, so that sexual activities are of small interest. In an informal survey of 200 users, Goode (1969) found that more than a third said cannabis had no effect on their sexual desires, but 44 per cent replied that it increased their desires. A possible explanation is that it depends to a large extent on the situation; if the user is with someone with whom he is already intimate, pot acts as a stimulant; but if he is smoking with strangers, the prospect of sex becomes less desirable than ordinarily.

It is also quite possible that cannabis lessens inhibitions. There is an account of one man who indulged in frank exhibitionism during a trial study of volunteer subjects carried out for the New York report; it was later discovered that this man, who was not a regular user of cannabis, had been arrested on three occasions for indecent exposure. Two studies of cannabis use in the army concluded that it encouraged homosexual activities (Marcovitz, 1945; Charen, 1946).

It is not hard to believe that a man with suppressed homosexual desires might feel free to express them while under the influence of cannabis. On the other hand, Timothy Leary claims that Allen Ginsberg, a self-declared homosexual, had his first woman while under the influence of pot. Furthermore Chopra (1957) mentions that certain 'saintly people who wish to renounce world pleasures use cannabis drugs for suppressing sexual desires'.

Sexual Pleasure

There is some doubt about the effect of cannabis on sexual desire, but the information on sexual pleasure, though small, is less conflicting. Users have always maintained that pot increases tactile sensitivity and so love-making is more intense. Some men have claimed that it helps to prevent premature ejaculation. Goode (1969) found that frequent users were more IlIcelSr to claim that cannabis increased sexual enjoyment.

It is very probable that experience is more important than the amount taken or the potency of the dose. Too much cannabis will merely make the user sleepy and then the only erotic experience he can have will be in his dreams. But an experienced pot smoker controls his high so that all feelings are enhanced. Listening to music, reviewing familiar scenes, even eating, may take on a new interest and awaken new sensations. The same enhancement would also increase sexual excitement.

Throughout history man has diligently sought a miraculous aphrodisiac, so far with very little success. In the old days people believed in the magical principle that like cures like. For example, heart-shaped leaves were believed to cure heart disease, and the horn of a rhinoceros was thought to be of benefit to a man who could not get an erection. Even today there is demand for rhinoceros horn, ground up into a powder and taken by mouth. Cannabis would be better than that because it relies less on sympathetic magic' and more on bringing about a change in the user's mental state. Many people have doubts about their sexual capacities and if the drug increases self-confidence, it may be helpful. But cannabis is unlikely to act as an aphrodisiac in the sense that it will restore or invigorate sexual power. Nor will an overdose lead to perversions, rape or violent sex. But if the pot smoker is sexually orientated, or finds himself in a sexual situation, then it is possible that his response will be more intense than if he had not been under the influence of the drug.