While Valentine’s Day earns its name from a martyred Catholic saint, the holiday’s true origin lies in the ancient festival of Lupercalia. Every February 15, as early as the 6th century BCE, Romans held a celebration of fertility that featured animal sacrifice, feasting, and ritual whipping of naked women with thongs made from the hide of the sacrificed goats. During this bloody, sexually charged pagan festival, women inscribed their names on clay tablets, which were placed in a jar to be drawn randomly by the men so they could form couples for the rest of the celebration. Sometimes, these couples remained together until the festival next year or fell in love and eventually married. Many, however, just enjoyed a rousing good time.
This Valentine’s Day forgo the traditional flowers and card approach to honor the true origins of the holiday—indulgence, seduction, and pleasure. Consider the information below to learn more about how cannabis acts as an intoxicating aphrodisiac, check out our cannabis Valentine’s Day gift ideas, and then visit our guide to find the perfect strain for you.
Historical Use of Cannabis as an Aphrodisiac
For thousands of years, civilizations around the world have consumed cannabis for its renowned aphrodisiac effects. Middle Eastern and North African cultures in Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon particularly valued cannabis for its ability to lower sexual inhibitions.
Unani Tibb
Stories abound involving wives and concubines smoking an especially potent form referred to as kief to engage in erotic play with one another. A traditional Arabic system of medicine known as Unani Tibb utilized cannabis to enhance libido, prevent impotence, and cure a wide variety of diseases.
Guc-kand and Nasha
In Serbian folk medicine, women prepared a concoction called guc-kand from a blend of cannabis, egg whites, sugar, and saffron to induce sexual desire. Men combined hashish with honey, sugar, dried rose leaves, carnation petals, almond butter, muscat nut, crocus, and Anacyclus pyrethrum root to create their own aphrodisiac. Cannabis was also mixed with lamb’s fat to create nasha, consumed by virgin brides on their wedding night to alleviate pain experienced during intercourse.
Tantra
The most well-known historical example of using cannabis as an aphrodisiac comes from the esoteric mystical religion known as Tantra. During the 7th century India, Tantra practitioners included cannabis in their religious rituals by preparing a mixture called bhang and consuming it during ritual sex. They combined cannabis with milk, sugar, almonds, pepper, poppy seeds, cardamom, ginger, and other herbs, then heated this mixture to cause fat-soluble THC to catalyze and produce its characteristic psychoactive effects.
By consuming this drink and practicing meditation, yogic breathing, and masterful neuromuscular control, they experienced heightened sensations and euphoric feelings during their rituals. Cannabis-assisted sex allowed practitioners to delay ejaculation and prolong sexual union so they could use this sexual energy to attain enlightenment. Sacred Tantric texts describe intercourse during these rituals as lasting up to eight hours!
Recent Research on Cannabis and Sex
Historical accounts worldwide offer compelling anecdotal evidence of how cannabis can improve sex, but what does modern science say? Researchers are conducting numerous studies on the extensive benefits of cannabis, some of which were designed to focus on the relationship between cannabis and sex. In several surveys conducted over the past few years, data strongly suggests that cannabis use can drastically improve sexual experiences.
A 2009 study conducted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex found that both men and women who consumed cannabis frequently reported having more sexual partners. In 2017, researchers analyzed survey results from 28,176 women and 22,943 men and discovered that regular cannabis users engaged in sexual activity at a significantly higher rate than non-users. Higher rates of cannabis use directly correlated with increased frequency of sexual intercourse, meaning daily users had more sex than weekly users, and weekly users had more sex than monthly users. The following year, another study found that 53.5% of respondents noticed increased sexual enjoyment, and 44.9% experienced more intense orgasms.
Study Notes Cannabis Increased Sex Drive
An article published in 2019 by the journal Sex Med titled “The Relationship between Marijuana Use Before Sex and Sexual Function in Women” serves as the largest study so far investigating the connection between cannabis and sex. Of the 373 women surveyed who used cannabis before sex, 60.6% noted an increased sex drive, 68.5% shared that their sexual experiences were more pleasurable, and 52.8% found orgasms more satisfying. Women consuming cannabis products before sexual activity were over twice as likely as non-users to achieve satisfactory orgasms. Frequent cannabis users, regardless of whether use occurred before sex or not, were over twice as likely to experience satisfactory orgasms than infrequent users.
The Science Behind That Mind-Blowing Sex
Recent research supports anecdotal claims of cannabis use resulting in amazing sex, but why exactly is this influence so profound?
Scientific evidence indicates that cannabis affects the body through a wide range of mechanisms, meaning it impacts sex drive and arousal on multiple levels. Cannabinoid receptors exist in several brain regions that manage sexual function, including the prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Activation of cannabinoid receptors in the brain increases the neurotransmitter dopamine levels, the key to modulating female sexual arousal.
Cannabis also interacts with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, part of the endocrine system that regulates sexual development and reproduction. This region of the brain controls the release of sex hormones such as oxytocin and testosterone, both of which play essential roles in life-long sexual function.
Why Cannabis Is the Perfect Aphrodisiac
Using cannabis allows people of every sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation to greatly enhance the quality of their sexual experiences on Valentine’s Day and beyond.
Using cannabis as an aphrodisiac leads to better sex in a variety of ways, such as:
- Enhancing arousal
- Improving libido, meaning you initiate sex more often
- Intensifying pleasure
- Increasing sexual stamina
- Lowering inhibitions, making you more confident and willing to experiment
- Relieving anxiety and tension, allowing you to relax and enjoy yourself fully
- Heightening sensations, such as touch, taste, and smell
- Producing feelings of euphoria
- Alleviating pain, especially in chronic disorders that cause pain during sex
- Leading to better, longer, and more frequent orgasms
- Strengthening intimacy
9 Ideas for a Cannabis Themed Valentine’s Day
Now that you’ve learned how cannabis can act as the perfect aphrodisiac, make this Valentine’s Day one to remember with one of our cannabis Valentine gift ideas:
1. Serve Your Lover Breakfast in Bed
Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and is especially necessary on days when you will be spending most of your time working up a sweat. Purchase cannabis butter or make a batch in advance, then use it to cook your significant other a vacation-worthy breakfast to show your love and appreciation. From waffles to omelets and everything in between, a cannabis-infused breakfast is the best way to start your day!
2. Merge Sweet and Sensual (Heart-Shaped Box of Candy, Soft Chews)
Does your Valentine have a sweet tooth? Wana Soft Chews are made in small batches with vegan, gluten-free ingredients, then infused with the highest quality cannabis extract for the most delicious flavor without sacrificing potency. Whether you’re looking for an indica (blueberry), sativa (mango), hybrid (watermelon), or 1:1 (strawberry-lemonade), our selection will please even the most discerning cannabis connoisseur.
If your partner prefers chocolate, you can easily adapt a store-bought box of chocolates to include cannabis. Pick out a heart-shaped box of chocolates in the prettiest package you can find, carefully unwrap the box, remove half the chocolates while keeping the wrappers, then fill the empty wrappers with chocolate edibles or small buds. The only thing better than chocolate is chocolate with cannabis.
3. Create a Cannabis Bouquet
Even the most beautiful flowers may only last a week, but a bouquet filled with cannabis will never be forgotten. Fill a pretty vase with cannabis or purchase a bouquet from your local flower shop and strategically place buds between the flowers using floral wire. By improving your bouquet with bud, you substantially enhance the beauty and utility of the arrangement. The only downside? All other bouquets will now be inferior, so prepare to keep this idea on hand next year.
4. Dazzle with Diamonds
Rather than spending hundreds or thousands of dollars at the jewelry store on these precious stones, consider THCA diamonds instead. This crystalline form of cannabis consists of pure THCA suspended in a heavy terpene sauce that converts to THC when heated using a vaporizer or dab rig. Requiring much more time, skill, and commitment to produce than other concentrates, diamonds are one of the most decadent cannabis products, perfect for this special occasion.
Our Recommended Concentrate Vaporizers:
5. Roll a Rosy Blunt
If your Valentine prefers classic methods of cannabis consumption, roll a blunt using pre-rolled cones made of organic, pesticide-free red rose petals from Hamilton Shells. The petals feature 2-6% terpenes, producing a smooth hit that tastes like red raspberries. Each shell is cured to maintain flavor and can be filled by hand or a traditional pre-roll loader. A dozen of these beats a dozen flowers any day.
6. Watch a Favorite Stoner Movie
If you’re looking to watch something either romantic or funny, this list — which includes movies like Super Troopers, Something About Mary and classics like Dazed and Confused — has you covered.
Here are a few of our top favorite cannabis flicks for Valentine’s Day:
- How High
- Annie Hall
- Outside Providence
- Road Trip
- Escape from Guantanamo Bay
- Something About Mary
- Knocked Up
- Super Troopers
- Van Wilder
- We’re the Millers
- Half Baked
- Dazed and Confused
Or, check out Idle Hands if you like your comedy with a horror twist.
7. Get Intimate
With all of the aphrodisiac properties cannabis offers, the most rewarding way to incorporate it into your Valentine’s Day is by taking a few tokes and sliding under the sheets. If you are looking to get intense and kinky, try a sativa or sativa-dominant hybrid. Super Silver x I 95 combines elements of Super Silver Haze and Florida I 95 to create a citrus, diesel, spicy flavor profile and similarly energetic effects while also reducing chronic pain and supporting appetite.
If you prefer a more tender, relaxed lovemaking session, choose an indica instead. Created by crossing White Fire OG with Cherry Afghan, Black Fire is an indica with a pungent, sweet, diesel flavor profile that causes sedative effects and produces a tingling body sensation to boost your pleasure further.
Infusing Cannabis into Your Love Life – Beyond Valentine’s Day
If you love cannabis, chances are you are dating (or married!) to someone who loves marijuana as well…. Or is at least cool with your lifestyle choices. Since more and more of us are living as both cannabis enthusiasts and “canna-couples” it got us thinking: We should consider even more date nights centered around cannabis!
If you have a cannabis date night idea, drop it in the comments below. We’d love to hear more ways you and your sweetheart use cannabis to add more romance to your relationship!
Sources:
- Wilcox, A. (2013, October 8). 5 Fun Facts About Cannabis and Sex. Leafly. https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/cannabis-and-sex-an-off-and-on-relationship
- Sun, A. J., & Eisenberg, M. L. (2017). Association Between Marijuana Use and Sexual Frequency in the United States: A Population-Based Study. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14(11), 1342–1347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.09.005
- Palamar, J. J., Griffin-Tomas, M., Acosta, P., Ompad, D. C., & Cleland, C. M. (2018). A comparison of self-reported sexual effects of alcohol, marijuana, and ecstasy in a sample of young adult nightlife attendees. Psychology & Sexuality, 9(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2018.1425220
Lynn, B. K., López, J. D., Miller, C., Thompson, J., & Campian, E. C. (2019). The Relationship between Marijuana Use Prior to Sex and Sexual Function in Women. Sexual Medicine, 7(2), 192–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esxm.2019.01.003
