A “Miracle State”: Dr. Suzanne Mulvehill on Unlocking the Orgasm and Reclaiming Female Pleasure
After 30 years struggling to achieve pleasurable orgasms, Dr. Suzanne Mulvehill had tried nearly every form of help, from sex therapy to tantra, meditation to EMDR. Nothing worked — until she found cannabis.
Now, Mulvehill is fighting for women’s rights to use cannabis for sexual pleasure after the plant helped her unlock not only her orgasm, but her personal power.
As an entrepreneur, elected official, and PhD researcher, the success of Mulvehill’s advocacy efforts has seen US states including Connecticut, Illinois, and New Mexico approve medical cannabis for female orgasm difficulty (FOD).
Mulvehill, founder of the Female Orgasm Research Institute, now helps women to reclaim pleasure after trauma, surgery, or years of silence. She shared her story with Stephanie Price and States of Mind.
Searching, Unsuccessfully, For The Elusive Female Orgasm
Orgasm was a mystery to me. I’d had one once in my early 20s, during oral sex with my husband, and I remember thinking, “My God, what was that?” But then it vanished.
My body wouldn’t let go. I didn’t feel safe with him, emotionally, and I now see that as key — safety is the baseline for orgasm, especially for women.
Over the next 30 years, I saw four sex therapists, did breathwork, tantra, and even flew to New York for a session with Dr. Betty Dodson.
I kept thinking someone would give me a formula to unlock the block. But orgasm isn’t something you try for. It’s something you surrender to. And that was the hardest part.
Accepting Help And Surrendering, With Cannabis
I’ll be honest, I was totally against cannabis for years. My ex-husband had been addicted, so I had an aversion to it, but eventually I thought, maybe it’s time to undo some of those old patterns.
When I first tried it, I was with a partner in Italy. I took one hit and two and a half hours later, we had sex. He was gently stimulating me with his fingers, and I remember leaning back and just…feeling. I didn’t judge it. I didn’t question it. I just surrendered.
When he said, “You’re coming, baby,” I burst into tears. It was the first time I had ever experienced orgasm like that — fully, emotionally, spiritually.
I call it a “miracle state.” It was a moment of complete presence, with no overthinking, no shame, no fear. After that, it began to happen again and again — sometimes even without cannabis — but cannabis was the gateway.
It helped me let go of the judgment, the stories, the vigilance.
Eventually, I developed my own pleasure practice. I meditated. I recorded over 500 tapes of myself working through the emotional pain, the shame. I even formed a support circle with other women. It became a healing journey. Not just about orgasm, but about reclaiming myself.
Orgasm Through Altered States: High Forms Of Consciousness, And Pleasure
One of the core models we use at the Female Orgasm Research Institute: the Altered State of Consciousness Treatment Model.
For women, orgasm often requires letting go into a different mental space. Men don’t necessarily need to go into that altered state. But for many women, that’s where orgasm lives: in flow, in oneness, in deep safety.
Cannabis helps facilitate that shift. It quiets the prefrontal cortex, where our judgment and anxiety live, and reduces activity in the amygdala, which stores trauma.
So suddenly, the mind stops saying, “Are we coming? Are we taking too long? Do we look okay?” And instead, we’re just in it. We’re feeling, not thinking.
One woman I interviewed put it perfectly: “My brain would tell me I was about to orgasm, but that wasn’t helpful.” That’s hypervigilance.
You feel the pleasure but you can’t let go. Cannabis disarms that. It invites the body into transformation. It creates new neural pathways. We call that the Neuroplasticity Treatment Model.
In my research, I met women who lost their ability to orgasm after surgeries: radical hysterectomies or vaginal reconstruction, for example.
One woman had three surgeries that made sex painful, and took a full year to retrain her body to orgasm using cannabis. That tells us: orgasm is not gone. It’s just hidden.
Getting Cannabis Approved As Treatment For Female Pleasure
We’re working to get cannabis approved as a treatment for female orgasm difficulty (FOD). We’ve had big wins. So far, Connecticut and Illinois have approved medical cannabis for orgasm difficulty.
New Mexico’s board has also approved it, and we’re waiting for full state confirmation. We’re also fighting for approval in Oregon, where a woman who lost her orgasm after a hysterectomy is petitioning the state with a legal team and 13 expert witnesses, including Dr. Jordan Tischler and Dr. Janester Rilsen King.
In the UK, a 2024 study by the Banbury team found cannabis improved sexual function in women with gynecological cancer, but we still face resistance from some.
States like Arizona and Ohio have denied our applications. One board even said, “Most women with orgasm difficulty have PTSD, so they can just get cannabis for PTSD.” That leaves out nearly half of the women who have difficulty orgasming as they don’t have PTSD.
So this is a movement. It’s scientific, yes, but also deeply personal.
An Emotional And Cultural Understanding of “The Orgasm Gap”
We have to understand the orgasm gap is not a myth. It’s real.
Around 90% of men orgasm most of the time during sex. Less than half of women do. However, when we look at lesbian relationships, where two women are involved, that gap disappears. So the problem isn’t women’s bodies — it’s the culture around sex.
Generationally, women have been taught to prioritize their partner’s needs. That’s been passed down. I saw it with my mother. I lived it in my own marriage.
Yet, when I finally had my orgasm, it wasn’t about a man. It was for me. It gave me a sense of wholeness that no career or achievement ever had.
How important is orgasm to female health and wellness?
I believe orgasm is part of being a healthy woman. It’s not a luxury, it’s not frivolous.
It’s tied to mental health, emotional healing, to self-worth. That’s why our research institute is developing what we call the Arc of Healing — a framework that starts with trauma reduction and safety, and moves toward empowerment through altered states, neuroplasticity, and mindful pleasure.
And let’s not forget: cannabis is a female plant. She has to stay whole to flower. That’s what she teaches us. To bloom, we must return to our own feminine power.
Oregon to Hold Landmark Hearing on Cannabis for Female Orgasmic Disorder
Petitioner Rebecca Andersson, who lost her ability to orgasm after a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer, says cannabis helped her reconnect with her body and regain orgasm function.
Now, the Oregon Health Authority will hold a public appeal hearing via video conference to reconsider a petition to add Female Orgasmic Disorder (FOD) as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis treatment.
Brought forward by petitioner Andersson, at the heart of the appeal is both scientific research and lived experience showing that cannabis has been shown to improve orgasm function in women, including those affected by psychological, physiological, hormonal, or situational factors.
From Dr. Mulvehill: “Female Orgasmic Disorder has been hidden behind stigma for decades. Recognizing it within medical cannabis policy is scientifically justified and represents meaningful progress in women’s health.”
Over 13 expert witnesses will testify during the three-day hearing which will take place from Tuesday, October 28 to Thursday, October 30, 2025.
