Weed Has Choked His Libido

A former marijuana smoker and masturbation enthusiast has discovered that, even after giving up one habit, the other has suffered. What has gone wrong? Read on to discover the nature of the problem, and what you might be able to do to fix it.

Case #: 991

Concern：

I have recently stopped smoking marijuana and my libido isn’t what it used to be. I have depression, hypertension and testicular and penile pain. I have been masturbating since I was 8, and back then, I had somewhat of a decent orgasm. Now I am 18, and I feel nothing when I ejaculate. I have severe premature ejaculation and memory loss; I can’t hold a thought for more than a few seconds. What’s wrong with me?

Discussion：

Smoking marijuana puts an incredibly wide array of chemicals into your bloodstream, some of which are still only partially understood by Western medical science. And while there may well be beneficial reasons for consuming the drug, these benefits usually reside in a very narrow “Goldilocks zone” of just the right amount for each consumer at just the right time over just the right span.

A Bitter Harvest

It's also important to minimize consumption before the age of 21, when the body has mostly finished developing; many critical developmental milestones simply do not occur before that age, and consuming more than a minimal amount of marijuana before you reach adulthood can interfere with those processes.

Few, if any, recreational users of the drug are interested in such complex calculations, and their consumption quickly moves a level easily categorized as “abusive.”

So How Does That Affect My Sex Life?

For everyone, it means that a significant portion of your internal organs, especially your blood vessels, are probably not in the best shape. Marijuana use increases the amount of prostaglandin E2 in your bloodstream, which constricts blood vessels. Which, in turn, means that your body has trouble getting nutrients to organs that need them, and removing wastes produced by your cells, along with a host of other problems.

Your hypertension might not have been caused by marijuana use, but the persistent vasoconstriction of your blood vessels (caused by the extra prostaglandin E2, as previously mentioned) is certainly making it worse.

For guys, that can and does include the vessels that supply blood to the tissues in your penis that support your erection. It also means that the liver takes longer to metabolize nutrients, and other organs have more trouble turning those nutrients into the hormones that trigger and control your erection, and does it less and less efficiently. And all too soon, you'll find that you just can't keep an erection or even get one in the first place.

On top of that, though, marijuana abuse also screws up your neurological system, leading to a whole host of other problems. Memory loss and premature ejaculation go hand in hand with trouble with your erection, made all the more frustrating with persistent sexual arousal. Beyond that, you may experience trouble with other complex neurological tasks, like controlling your urine flow or your bowel movements. Sound depressing? It is, and due to marijuana's tendency to decrease serotonin levels (which also affect your mood) you're liable to be even more depressed than otherwise.

So What Can I Do?

You've taken the most important first step: stop smoking marijuana. Your body needs time to recover from the after-effects of long-term marijuana abuse. Your liver, for example, needs to repair itself as well as removing the toxins that are still in your blood. You will find your persistent sexual arousal will decrease as your body purges the toxins and restores the chemical balance. If possible, you should speak with a health-care professional and get some ideas on other helpful changes you could make, like improving your diet and getting more exercise. (ALSO SEE: Marijuana Detoxification for Better Erection) While you explore these options, you might also consider using an herbal supplement designed specifically for helping your body recover from the toll that marijuana has taken on it.