If you’ve ever had sex while stoned, then you know it can be quite an experience. It’s almost otherworldly in the way it makes you relax and intensifies sensations. If your partner is stoned, too, it can really make the two of you feel connected and on the same page, emotionally and sexually. However, despite all the pluses to it, there is a downside. One of the side effects of marijuana: "Cotton vagina," reports Vice.
Similarly to cotton mouth, a nasty side effect of smoking weed, marijuana can cause some major dryness in your vagina. Although the medical research on the phenomenon is limited — because it’s not like people are rushing to throw money at “drug” studies — it’s a legit issue that some women encounter after smoking. According to Dr. Julie Holland, pot, or at least certain strains, can cause the mucus membranes to dry right up, creating that oh-so gross feeling of having just choked down some cotton. If it’s making your mouth feel that way, it can definitely make your vagina feel that way, too. "Cotton vagina" has such a lovely ring to it, doesn’t it? (I’m not even going to get into the images it’s conjuring up in my brain.)
But while you can chug mass amounts of water to erase that feeling in your mouth and throat, and water is hydrating to all corners of your body, it’s not like the effects on your vagina are immediate. So what’s a pot-smoking woman to do when horniness hits while being stoned? Lube, of course.
While there are many lubes out there on the market, Dr. Holland suggests coconut oil, which is also a component in cannabis lube (only available in California and Colorado at the moment, because life is unfair). It may not get your vagina lubed and stoned, as cannabis lube does (I hear it’s phenomenal), but it immediately gets things all slick down there, so you can avoid painful intercourse from cotton vagina. This is especially the case for women on the Pill, because holy moly Batman, does the Pill dry you right the eff up in your lady bits. If you’re going to experience stoned sex, you want to make sure you do it right.
With marijuana becoming legal in more states, research of its effects on the body will become more prevalent. But in the meantime, we have to go with what we know: Weed can cause cotton vagina, and lube is our friend.
Cotton vagina is no sex myth, but these hilarious things are:
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