How does marijuana affect libido?

I'd like to hear what you have to say about the relationship between marijuana and sex. There is a woman who had an active sex life up to age 35. From 35 to 47 she smoked a lot of marijuana and had a wonderful sex life. She is now about 59 and has not had any desire since she stopped smoking marijuana 12 years ago.

A: Dr. Dean: Well, that's interesting, because I would have expected the opposite, although this is a confusing subject.

Very early on, we found that a lot of people believed marijuana to be an aphrodisiac. They also seemed to have a need to send me notes, which I must say were fun to read, sharing details about wonderful sex.

Then, research began to show that chronic abuse of marijuana had the opposite effect - it depresses libido. I also believe that chronic abuse of marijuana can cause depression, and one of the prime symptoms of depression is a loss of libido.

Although there is not much objective research, I would say the daily use of marijuana would suppress one's sex life.

I would also say, contrary to my strong suspicions that heavy use of marijuana contributes to depression, that a lot of people use it as an antidepressant. If they quit, they are suddenly faced with the depression they were running from - they're depressed a! gain.

And what's one of the prime symptoms of depression? A loss of libido. So those are some possible explanations.

Dean Edell, M.D.