“Does weed make you horny?” is one of the most common cannabis questions online, and one of the hardest to answer cleanly. The evidence is mostly what people say about their own experience, and it points in more than one direction.
Some people who use cannabis report higher sexual desire, particularly at lower doses, but research does not show that cannabis reliably increases libido. Higher doses and individual differences can produce the opposite. Researchers do not yet know why, and nothing here supports using cannabis to raise sex drive or improve performance.
How Cannabis May Influence Mood and Perception
Cannabis can change how a person feels and perceives their surroundings, including relaxation, altered time sense, and heightened sensation. Respondents in an online survey of men and women most often reported being able to relax more during sex and greater sensitivity to touch, which are not strictly sexual effects. Whether those perceptual and relaxation changes explain any reported rise in desire has not been tested.
The same survey noted a puzzle: earlier work had tied lower circulating endocannabinoid levels to reduced sexual arousal and motivation, which appears to sit awkwardly with reports that cannabis enhances sex (Wiebe and Just, 2019). The authors designed their study to look at which aspects of sexual experience cannabis enhances or diminishes. The puzzle is not resolved.
What Published Research Suggests
- Online survey, 2019. Of 202 respondents who answered the desire question, 58.9% said cannabis increased their desire for sex. Overall, 38.7% of 216 said sex was better with cannabis, 24.5% said sometimes better, 16.0% said better in some ways and worse in others, and 4.7% said worse (Wiebe and Just, 2019). Participants chose to take a cannabis-themed survey.
- Gynecology clinic survey, 2019. Among 373 patients, most women who had used marijuana before sex reported increases in sex drive and improved orgasm, with no change in lubrication. Adjusted odds of satisfactory orgasm were 2.13 times higher with use before sex (Lynn et al., 2019).
- Dispensary survey, 2020. Among 452 women, higher reported frequency of use went with higher Female Sexual Function Index scores, including the desire domain. Consumption method and chemovar did not consistently change the results (Kasman et al., 2020).
- National survey, 2017. More frequent marijuana use went with more frequent sex among 28,176 women and 22,943 men (Sun and Eisenberg, 2017). Frequency of sex is not the same as desire.
- Review, 2024. The authors report lower doses associated with heightened desire and enjoyment, and higher doses associated with decreased desire and performance, plus sex differences in response (Lissitsa et al., 2024).
Notice what these are: surveys, a clinic questionnaire, and a narrative review. None randomly assigned people to cannabis or placebo and measured desire.
Differences in Individual Responses
The same product can feel very different from person to person. Dose, potency, tolerance, whether the person is relaxed or anxious, and who they are with can all change the experience. The 2024 review specifically notes gender differences. A person who feels anxious or sedated after cannabis is unlikely to feel more interested in sex, and the CDC lists links between cannabis use and social anxiety and depression (CDC).
Potential Adverse Effects
- Difficulty focusing, which one study in a 2025 systematic review linked with orgasm difficulty, and situational inability to orgasm reported in another.
- Impaired judgment and slowed decision-making (CDC), which affects consent and safer-sex decisions. See cannabis, consent and impairment.
- Possible erectile problems: a 2019 meta-analysis found higher odds of erectile dysfunction in men who used cannabis, with wide uncertainty (Pizzol et al., 2019).
- Interactions with medicines, including sedatives. See our medication interactions checklist.
- Dependence: the CDC notes that higher-potency THC is associated with more severe cannabis use disorder symptoms.
What Researchers Still Do Not Know
Studies have not established whether cannabis increases desire itself or changes the surrounding experience, what dose range helps rather than hinders, whether THC and CBD differ, whether effects hold up over time, and whether survey findings would survive a randomized trial. A systematic review of cannabis and female orgasm concluded that the existing studies are mostly low-quality (Mulvehill and Tishler, 2025).
CannaWize does not claim that cannabis increases libido, treats low desire, or improves sexual performance. Anyone concerned about a change in desire should talk with a clinician.
Related reading: Cannabis and sex: what research says · Cannabis & Intimacy hub · Higher THC does not mean better
Clear answers
Frequently Asked Questions
Does weed make you horny?
Some people say it does, and surveys reflect that. In one online survey of 216 people with cannabis experience, 58.9% of those answering said cannabis increased their desire for sex. Others report no change or reduced interest, and none of these surveys prove that cannabis caused the change.
Does cannabis increase libido?
Evidence does not establish that cannabis reliably increases libido. A 2024 review reports that lower doses were linked with greater desire while higher doses were linked with lower desire and performance, and it calls for better dose measurement (Lissitsa et al., 2024).
Does THC increase sexual arousal?
The studies we reviewed rely mostly on self-report rather than measured physiological arousal, so they cannot show whether THC directly changes arousal. Reported arousal may reflect relaxation or heightened sensation instead.
Can marijuana lower sexual desire?
Yes, some people report it does. Higher doses were linked with decreased desire in the 2024 review, and in the 2019 online survey a minority of respondents said sex was worse with cannabis. A systematic review also found one study where users had more difficulty focusing, which could interfere with orgasm.
Should I use cannabis to improve my sex drive?
Cannabis is not an established treatment for low desire. Persistent changes in sexual desire have many possible causes, including stress, mood, medication, hormones, and relationship factors, and are worth discussing with a clinician.
Primary Sources and Further Reading
- Wiebe E, Just A. How cannabis alters sexual experience: a survey of men and women. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2019;16:1758–1762. PubMed 31447385
- Lynn BK, López JD, Miller C, Thompson J, Campian EC. The relationship between marijuana use prior to sex and sexual function in women. Sexual Medicine. 2019;7:192–197. PubMed 30833225
- Kasman AM, Bhambhvani HP, Wilson-King G, Eisenberg ML. Assessment of the association of cannabis on female sexual function with the Female Sexual Function Index. Sexual Medicine. 2020;8:699–708. PubMed 32713800
- Sun AJ, Eisenberg ML. Association between marijuana use and sexual frequency in the United States: a population-based study. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2017;14:1342–1347. PubMed 29110804
- Lissitsa D, Hovers M, Shamuilova M, Ezrapour T, Peled-Avron L. Update on cannabis in human sexuality. Psychopharmacology. 2024;1721–1730. PubMed 38977465
- Pizzol D, Demurtas J, Stubbs B, et al. Relationship between cannabis use and erectile dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Men’s Health. 2019 (article 1557988319892464). PubMed 31795801
- Mulvehill S, Tishler J. Cannabis for female orgasmic disorder/difficulty: a systematic review. Sexual Medicine. 2025;qfaf061. PubMed 40808870
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cannabis Health Effects. www.cdc.gov/cannabis/health-effects/index.html
Study details were checked against PubMed records. Self-reported surveys describe associations, not proven cause and effect.