Can CBD improve your sex life?

Sexual health and wellness brand Foria have been carving out a space for cannabis in the bedroom since the launch of the first ‘weed lube’ in 2013. Here their chief brand officer and sex educator Kiana Reeves reveals how CBD is empowering us to take control of our own pleasure.

“We know that CBD helps to increase blood flow, provide pain relief, and softens muscle tension. All of those things prime the body for heightened arousal, increased pleasure, and increased sensitivity, making CBD products ideal for play in the bedroom,” says Kiana Reeves.

She should know, with several strings – including somatic sex educator, sexological bodyworker, pelvic health practitioner and certified doula – to her bowe.

Today though, she is speaking in her capacity as chief brand officer for US sexual health and wellness brand Foria, which creates CBD products to improve things both in and outside of the bedroom.

Since Foria launched its first product the original cannabis arousal oil – aka ‘weed lube’ – in 2013, the demand for CBD intimacy products has exploded.

Although it’s still relatively new territory in the UK, with just a couple of CBD lubricants and intimacy oils hitting the market recently, Foria regularly ships to UK customers and reports seeing a growth in demand – both here and elsewhere in the world.

As Kiana says: “The desire for pleasurable sexual intimacy is not limited to a specific place, it is a universal human need and therefore when people learn that there are all-natural products that can support their sexual experiences and address their specific needs, word spreads fast.”

The popularity has inspired new lines, with a range of products now on offer for pleasure and pain relief, from multi-botanical arousal oil,all natural CBD lube, broad spectrum suppositories and daily tonics for wellbeing.

But while the stigma of cannabis-based products is now wearing off, that associated with female pleasure often remains very much in place.

“While CBD is now very widely known, the stigma around pleasure and sexual health still exists, so we’re constantly working to forge ahead in our quest to close the pleasure gap,” says Kiana, who with over 10 years practicing in female reproductive health, believes sex is an essential part of wellbeing and is passionate about helping her clients connect with their bodies.

“As this stigma is reduced, people are enabled to speak out about sexual preferences, pain, and discomfort they’re experiencing, and as a result we see an accompanying increase in demand for CBD intimacy products.”

She believes that CBD can play an important role in empowering women to take control of their own pleasure.

“Sexuality is an important topic for all of us, whether we have a partner or not – it helps us connect to a sense of well-being, to our partners, and to ourselves,” she says.

“CBD can help us relax and relieve tension during every part of our day, and across our lifespans. We’ve also seen that it can help improve libido and allow women to find greater joy from sex (with less pain), thus allowing them to experience greater pleasure during partnered or solo sex.

“It’s all connected, but ultimately, knowing we’ll encounter less pain can empower us in our sexual experiences.”

Many people going through the menopause for example, or living with conditions such as endometriosis, vaginismus and vulvodynia or experiencing painful sex for whatever reason, have reported that CBD helps to relax them, reduces pain and ultimately makes things more enjoyable.

“Pain experienced during sex could be due to endometriosis, menopause, or dryness – there are so many potential factors,” says Kiana.

“For many, feelings of pleasure can be increased the more relaxed and calm we feel in a situation. Relaxing of the pelvic floor and the easing of tension throughout the body allows for more blood flow, and, as a result, an increased capacity for arousal and pleasure.”

So are we saying that CBD can actually lead to better orgasms?

“Our customers have reported that CBD can both help heighten pleasure and help reduce discomfort and increase relaxation,” she continues.

“Within the right set of circumstances, this could also potentially impact someone’s quality of orgasm, the amount of orgasms they are able to have, the type of orgasms they are able to have, and really their entire ability to be present while having a sexual experience, either solo or with a partner.”

In keeping with their mission to make sexual pleasure accessible for everyone, Foria recently teamed up with sustainable cannabis producer Hudson Hemp – which allows them to eliminate extra steps in the process – to lower prices by up to 30 percent across the majority of their CBD products.

“We wanted to ensure that those who may typically be priced out of the wellness industry due to high costs and location are able to access our products,” Kiana adds.

“It has always been important to us that we enable access to everyone that could benefit from these products.”

It is a universal desire, after all.