Many cannabis users take it for granted that weed can boost libido, increase arousal, and just make sex more fun in general, but scientific research on the topic has been stymied by the ongoing prohibition of cannabis. In recent years, a growing number of scientists have been able to broach this taboo topic, and early research is confirming that the aphrodisiac powers of weed are more than a myth.

A study published in the Sexual Medicine journal this spring found that women who used cannabis reported having more pleasurable sex than those who did not. Out of 127 women who reported smoking up before getting it on, nearly 69 percent (yes, that is the real figure) said their overall sexual experiences were more pleasurable, about 61 percent reported increased sex drive, and around 53 percent reported having more satisfying orgasms.

While the results of this study are promising, the researchers only surveyed a small number of women who visited one specific OB/GYN practice. Other researchers have been looking further into the topic, however, and one of these new studies is reporting that cannabis can improve sex lives across the board, regardless of age or gender.

Amanda Moser, a recent graduate of East Carolina University, conducted a new survey on pot in the bedroom as part of her master’s thesis in human development and family science. The anonymous online survey asked cannabis users aged 18 and olderwhether they thought weed improved their sex lives. Respondents were also asked whether pot improved physical perceptions like taste or touch, and were asked to rate how cannabis affected their state of arousal during sex.

A total of 811 people from across the country replied to Moser’s survey. The study, which has yet to be published, concluded that “participants perceived that cannabis use increased their sexual functioning and satisfaction,” Marijuana Moment reports. Respondents reported “increased desire, orgasm intensity, and masturbation pleasure,” regardless of their age or gender.

“People who were 18-years-old had amazing benefits as well as people up to 85-years-old, and everyone in between,” Moser told Marijuana Moment. “All found that cannabis was beneficial for their sexual functioning as well as their sexual satisfaction.” 

Respondents also said that weed “significantly enhanced” their sensations of taste and touch during sex. “If you think about it, you use taste and touch a lot during sex,” Moser noted.

Like the previous study, this research has a number of limitations, namely that it relies on personal, subjective self-reports. But unlike the previous study, this new research surveyed a wider range of respondents, allowing Moser to challenge previous speculations regarding the effects of cannabis on men.

“Previous literature said that cannabis is a muscle relaxer, and would be more inhibiting for males—that males would have a harder time achieving and maintaining an erection,” Moser explained. “It makes sense, but my research actually [contradicted] that. I found that [cannabis] does not affect males’ ability to achieve and maintain an erection, that males did not report having any issues with that.”

The new study also confirms the previous study’s findings that weed can also help women achieve more satisfying orgasms. Moser said that her findings show that cannabis can help close “the orgasm inequality gap,” where men are far more likely to orgasm than women during heterosexual sex. “To me, that’s a problem,” Moser said. “More females should be having more orgasms. Maybe cannabis can help with that.”