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Closing the Orgasm Gap: Could Cannabis Be the New Frontier in Female Pleasure?
When Suzanne Mulvehill had her first orgasm after using cannabis, it ignited a journey to discover how the plant could help women transform their sex lives. “I had struggled for more than 30 years, seen several sex therapists, and tried countless techniques,” says Mulvehill in conversation with States Of Mind.
Now a clinical sexologist, orgasmologist, and founder of The Female Orgasm Research Institute, Mulvehill is working to secure cannabis as a treatment for female orgasmic disorder in a number of US states.
An Unmet Need in Women’s Sexual Wellness
Data reveals a stark ‘Orgasm Gap’: while heterosexual men reach orgasm in roughly 90–95% of sexual encounters, heterosexual women reach climax in only about 65% of encounters. Studies also show that up to 41% of women experience some form of sexual dysfunction, with many struggling with anorgasmia.
Adding to this, 15% of women say they experience pain during sex, and research has shown that psychological problems such as anxiety or depression1 have been linked to sexual problems.
Women who have experienced gynecological cancers, health conditions such as endometriosis, or trauma, may also experience a significant impact on their sexual pleasure and wellness.
This huge disparity in sexual satisfaction between men and women has its own name – the Orgasm Gap.
Currently, there are limited treatments available for these issues, mainly consisting of therapy, pain killers, and psychiatric medications. However, these treatments don’t work for everyone and they can come with their own side effects such as increased sexual dysfunction.
With research showing that women who use cannabis report better overall sexual function2, could this alternative medicine be an unsuspecting ally in the battle to close the Orgasm Gap?
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Cannabis, Orgasms, and Altered States
Mulvehill has investigated the effect of cannabis use on women with and without orgasm difficulty. In a survey of women who use cannabis, Mulvehill found that among those with pre-existing orgasm difficulty, 72.8% reported that using cannabis before sex seemed to increase their orgasm frequency, while 67% stated it improved satisfaction. 71% said that cannabis use helped them to orgasm more easily.
“We looked at orgasm frequency, orgasm ease and orgasm satisfaction over 30 days, both with and without cannabis,” says Mulvehill. “The most surprising finding for me came when I was organising the data: about 53% of women reported orgasm difficulty. Of those, nearly half almost never orgasmed without cannabis but almost always did with it.
“It was the same for orgasm ease and satisfaction. Without cannabis, orgasms were difficult or unsatisfying. With cannabis, they were much easier and more satisfying.”
Mulvehill draws3 upon the Dishabituation Theory, originally proposed by Feeney in 1976, which suggests cannabis breaks habitual neural patterns. This aligns with findings that cannabis dampens activity in the prefrontal cortex (the brain’s executive control center) and reduces reactivity in the amygdala, the region responsible for processing threat and anxiety.
Mulvehill theorizes that the altered state theory3 is at play, with cannabis enabling women to enter transcendental states of consciousness that they need to enter in order to achieve orgasm.
“We spoke to a participant who described having what she called a “brain orgasm” — a transcendental experience that felt spiritual,” says Mulvehill. “That is something many women talk about, that orgasm is not just physical pleasure but a transcendent state, even spiritual.”
The theory suggests that cannabis use enables women to access these states, allowing them to surrender to bodily sensations.
“When I began using cannabis, it took me several months to learn to surrender to the altered state it created.
“My brain kept interfering and anticipating the orgasm, which would break the moment. Many women describe this too. We are not taught in our society to enter altered states of consciousness. Ancient cultures did, but that knowledge has been stripped away.”
Cannabis and pain during sex
Research has also shown that cannabis can reduce pain related to sex and pelvic conditions.
For example, research shows that cannabis can help relieve pain in endometriosis4, and the treatment is now being prescribed for the condition in a number of countries.
A UK study5 also found that women who were at least six months post-treatment for gynaecological cancer, and who used cannabis suppositories, experienced reduced pain during sex, and improved arousal, lubrication, and orgasm.
Mulvehill highlights that cannabis is listed as a treatment for chronic pain, and its pain relieving effects could be contributing to these results.
There’s a big connection between having fulfilling sex lives and good mental health.
“Cannabis can help with pain, no question. It also has an anxiety reducing effect,” says Mulvehill. “It quiets the prefrontal cortex which is the ‘judgment’ part of our brain and plays a key role in regulating pain.
“A woman I interviewed for our research had three surgeries that changed the shape of her vagina, so she lost her ability to orgasm and sex became painful. “This woman went through trial and error of trying cannabis and noticing small improvements, and after a year, she got her orgasm back.”
There are now over-the-counter products available such as CBD lubes and tampons that may help with discomfort for some women.
For example, one study that investigated CBD-infused tampons for the relief of period pain found statistically significant pain reduction and up to 40% improvement in vaginal lubrication (Editor’s note: The lead author is the Founder and CEO of Daye, the manufacturer of the tampons. The article fails to disclose this. We note this potential conflict of interest.)
“Some women benefit from CBD lubes,” adds Mulvehill. “The truth is we are still in trial and error.”
Cannabis, Sex, and Mental Health
Our sex lives are intricately linked to our mental health – and with an increasing amount of women living with mental health conditions there is a desperate need to find solutions.
“There’s a big connection between having fulfilling sex lives and good mental health,” says Dr. Mulvehill.
“Research shows us that there is a cross-directional relationship, meaning that sometimes depression can cause sexual issues, and sometimes the sexual issues cause depression.
“We found in our research that women who had orgasm difficulty had more mental health issues, took more prescription drugs and had more sexual abuse histories than women without orgasm difficulty.”
A number of mental health conditions that cannabis has been approved for are also linked to sexual issues, such as PTSD.
Mulvehill has suggested that dishabituation — the process of paying attention to things that we may have become accustomed not to notice — may play a role in how cannabis can help with orgasm difficulty from trauma.
Currently, PTSD is listed as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis in 39 states, solidifying its status as one of the most widely accepted mental health indications for cannabis therapy. “PTSD qualifies because cannabis can reduce activity in the part of the brain that processes trauma,” says Mulvehill.
“One of my theories, based on research, is that cannabis helps with dishabituation. If a woman is constantly thinking, or having other disturbing thoughts, it can block orgasm. Cognitive distraction is one of the main barriers women report.
“Many told me in my research that they feel stuck in their heads. Personally, I used to focus too much on orgasm, just wanting to reach it. But the more you want it, the further away it seems, it’s like a Catch-22.”
Mulvehill also suggests that the amygdala, which is related to the trauma response, is involved when it comes to the benefits of cannabis for sexual and mental health.
“If there’s any past trauma for women, they can also experience orgasm difficulty, because that part of the brain says — absolutely not,” says Mulvehill. “Cannabis reduces the activity in the part of the brain that stores trauma, which is also why, like in PTSD, there is a trauma response.”
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The Mind-Body Connection
Mulvehill highlights that the cannabis suppository study5 from the UK saw improved outcomes when cannabis was used with intention.
For the study, researchers investigated whether a mindful compassion program combining self-care and mindfulness could improve sexual wellbeing, and whether combining it with cannabis suppositories would impact the outcomes.
The group that used cannabis alongside the mindfulness programme reported that the cannabis mediated the effects of mindful compassion to support wellbeing, sexual self-efficacy, and quality of life.
It’s not just an orgasm problem — it’s the feelings of sexual inadequacy … I would stay out of relationships for several years because I didn’t want to deal with it.
“The study found statistical significance for cannabis improving orgasm function in women when it was used mindfully, meaning with intention.
The study found that while cannabis suppositories alone significantly reduced sexual pain, they did not statistically improve arousal or orgasm frequency on their own. However, when combined with the mindful compassion program, participants experienced a synergistic effect: reduced pain and significantly improved sexual pleasure, including lubrication and orgasm.
“It was used before sex, and women kept track of their use. The groups who used it without mindfulness did not show statistically significant improvement. It was with mindful use that it worked.”
Cannabis and the Future of Sexual Wellness
From helping women to achieve orgasm for the first time and reducing pain during sex, to improving our relationship between our sexual and mental health and our mind and body, cannabis is providing hope for women facing challenges with their sexual wellness.
As this increasing research reveals its potential benefits, states in the US are now looking at approving cannabis as a treatment for female sex-realted conditions.
Mulvehill’s research, along with the support of volunteers who have lived-experience of improving their sexual wellness through cannabis, has secured approval for medical cannabis as a treatment for female orgasm difficulty in Illinois and Connecticut.
The Female Orgasm Research Institute is now preparing to conduct its first randomised controlled trial to evaluate cannabis for treating the condition and has launched the Orgasm Project, advocating for US states and countries to add female orgasm difficulty disorder (FOD) as a condition of treatment for medical cannabis.
“We have an attorney representing the woman who is petitioning for cannabis as a treatment for female orgasm disorder in Colorado,” says Mulvehill.
“She had a radical hysterectomy and her cervix was removed. She used to be able to orgasm cervically, so losing her cervix was devastating. She fell into a depression, feeling she had lost this vital part of her sexuality.”
“When she went public about her experience, she discovered cannabis and through using it, she found a new way to orgasm.”
Mulvehill encourages women to speak up about their problems to help drive change and break the taboo around women’s sexual pleasure and wellness.
“To me, having orgasm problems was being in my own dark place,” explains Mulvehill. “Because it’s not just an orgasm problem — it’s the feelings of sexual inadequacy. It’s the ripple effect of this problem and how it shows up. I would stay out of relationships for several years because I didn’t want to deal with it.
“By using my voice to share my story, I can empower other women to also share and to use their voice and ultimately, give their orgasm a voice.”
Expert Board Member
This article addresses a significant and under-researched topic, focusing on destigmatizing female pleasure. It successfully highlights the shift from a purely psychological model of sexual dysfunction to a biopsychosocial one, offering readers a compelling and timely overview of how cannabis is evolving from a recreational substance into a legitimate therapeutic tool for women's health.
