Cannabis has the Ability to Replace Viagra, but No One is Talking About It

Erectile dysfunction is one of those things that men don’t ever want to talk about. When it comes to ED, men would just rather take a pill and get on with life. Those pills, like every other pharmaceutical drug, come with a long list of side effects. New research is now coming to light that proves that cannabis could actually be more effective for treating ED than anything the pharmaceutical industry could ever produce.

Going after the Cause not the Symptom

When it comes to ED, men focus on the symptom and ignore the underlying causes. It’s easier to just take a pill to fix the immediate performance issue than it is to figure out what is causing the issue in the first place. For many men, ED has nothing to do with anything physiological – it’s all in your head. Stress and anxiety can be a major cause for ED that men tend to ignore.

Dr. Jordan Tishler, a cannabis therapeutics physician, says “The mentality for men is that they just need a pill and that will solve all the psychological issues, but that doesn’t work,” That’s where cannabis comes in, for obvious reasons. Cannabis use, in moderation, has always been shown to lower stress and anxiety levels. Stress and anxiety kill intimacy in any setting, whether ED is a factor or not.

What’s really interesting is that the brain actually manufactures its own cannabinoids as part of the endocannabinoid system. Our brains produce a chemical called anandamide that is chemically similar to the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC. Anandamide is a chemical in the brain that is tied to natural stress and anxiety relief, so using cannabis can help support our body’s own natural stress defenses.
Read: Researchers Prove Marijuana Doesn’t Affect Your Intelligence

As amazing as cannabis can be for treating things like ED, don’t plan on the pharmaceutical companies jumping on board to assist in the research to back up the initial findings. In fact, no one is really lining up to study the effects of cannabis on our sex lives because they are two unpopular or taboo subjects. Nicole Prause, who founded a company who studies issues with sex drive in patients, said: “No one will apply to study THC and sexual arousal. You need a lot of money to run fMRI studies, usually $600 an hour, just for scanner time. Congressional aids scan NIH funding for the word ‘sexual’ and have brought five grants up for defunding. One was successful — the only time in the history of NIH it has ever happened.”

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