Study: legalizing medical cannabis promotes sexual relations

The legalization of medical cannabis seems to encourage people to have more sex as well as boosting the birth rate, according to a recent study.

«We have found that [medical cannabis laws] lead to an increase in sexual activity,» concluded researchers from the University of Connecticut and Georgia State University.

This is not the only related effect, however, as the study also found that there was a decrease in contraceptive use and an increase in the number of births following the adoption of medical cannabis policies.

To determine how these laws influence the frequency of sexual intercourse, the research team analyzed a large dataset that included «detailed questions about sexual activity and substance use» among young people between 1997 and 2011. The survey explicitly asked respondents about their cannabis use in the past month and the frequency of their sexual intercourse.

The analysis revealed a 4.3% increase in the «probability of having sex one or more times in the past month» following the legalization of medical cannabis and «an increase in sexual activity beginning immediately after the change in the law.».

Furthermore, the effect on births translates into an increase of 2%, or 684 more births per quarter, «for all women of childbearing age.».

«These findings show that cannabis use has a significant, unintended, and positive effect on birth rates,» the authors wrote in the document, published in late December in the Journal of Health Economics.

With regard to contraceptives, the researchers point out that the sensory effects of cannabis «may alter attitudes toward sexual risks by making users less concerned about the consequences of sexual intercourse, leading to a decrease in contraceptive use.».

Such changes in behavior could explain why birth rates rise when people have access to medical cannabis, despite what the study’s authors described as the physiological effects associated with cannabis use that could reduce fertility.

«We find that the adoption of [medical cannabis laws] leads to both an increase in sexual activity and a decrease in contraceptive use,» the study concludes. «Taken together, these two mechanisms suggest that behavioral responses may be due to increased attention the immediate hedonic effects of sexual contact, a greater willingness to engage in sexual activity, as well as a tendency to disregard the potential consequences of sexual intercourse.»