[420 Girl]

THE USE of marijuana (cannabis sativa) as an intoxicant is very much interwoven in the cultural fabric of Jamaican life. It is smoked initially as a socialising activity among the youth, a ceremonial rite and lifestyle habit among Rastafarians, a recreational activity for those who are part of the popular culture, and an antidepressant for those who feel that life has thrown them a curved ball.

So what is this sensation that gives you the vibes and makes you feel high? The feeling is a peaceful and sometimes euphoric state of mind. A feeling of 'irieness' begins approximately seven seconds after pulling hard on a spliff and deeply inhaling the drug, and may last two to four hours, depending on the potency and amount of marijuana you smoke. Too much can cause hallucination in some users. And, most importantly, your attitude, personality, expectations, fears, mood and the circumstance in which the drug is used determine how you interpret the experience - this could mean a positive or negative feeling.

SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AND MARIJUANA

The fear of making a mess of the sexual experience, especially for the young male, can be overwhelming. Performance anxiety has been the undisputed enemy of good sex. Inorgasmic sexual experiences in young Jamaican women, rapid ejaculations and erectile dysfunctions in young Jamaican men are common.

The insecure male visits his doctor for medicine that will hopefully reduce his anxiety and make him complete the sex act in a satisfactory manner. Some, who see the doctor's visit as an admission of failure, find other means to deal with their anxiety. Marijuana smoking is another option. There is widespread belief that marijuana is an aphrodisiac but little scientific research exists to confirm this.

One thing we do know is that marijuana enhances sexual desire and sexual pleasure but does not improve sexual performance. In other words, the sex act and the orgasmic experience may be more pleasurable but it does not cure inorgasmia, rapid ejaculation or erectile dysfunction. This makes sense if one looks at the range of experiences that the marijuana user may have - exaggeration of mood; greater subjective impact and emotional significance. Time seems slowed down, stretched out, he thinks more time has passed. Generally the user feels the experience to be nice, pleasant, enjoyable, fun, good, irie.

In regard to the potential negative effects, there is concern that the long-term use of marijuana may temporarily reduce sperm count in the male but will return to normal once marijuana consumption stops. In the West Indian Medical Journal, researchers, Simeon DT, Bain BC, Wyatt GE, LeFranc E, Ricketts H, Chambers CC, Tucker MB, from the University of the West Indies studied the "Characteristics of Jamaicans who smoke marijuana before sex and their risk status for sexually transmitted diseases (STD)". They found that more persons who smoked marijuana before sex had a history of STD than non-marijuana smokers; the difference was significant among men.

published: Wednesday | April 12, 2006


Sidney McGill
Dr. Sidney McGill is a marriage and family therapist and executive director, Family Counselling Centre of Jamaica, St. Ann; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com

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