This is an excerpt of Weed Mom by Danielle Simone Brand.

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I’ve had plenty of wonderful orgasms in my life, but never the G-spot kind until, well, until I smoked a bowl of Sour Diesel, generously applied THC serum to my lady parts, and got down to playtime with my husband.

Inhaling the fragrant smoke, my endocannabinoid receptors were massaged and my sense of touch ignited. And the serum’s effects were like a sprinkling of fairy dust on my most sensitive parts. You know the medieval paintings of the saints, or the Virgin Mary, with those glowing, golden orbs encircling cherubic heads upturned in prayer? That was me — only the glowy orb emanated from deep in my center and pulsed itself in unrelenting waves of hell yeahs through my entire body. Afterward, I felt positively weak with pleasure — like a pool of molasses or well-kneaded dough. Virgin, indeed.

Turns out, sex and cannabis have a long history, and people from many walks of life and many different historical moments have sung its praises in the boudoir; tantric texts from hundreds of years ago allude to cannabis as an aid to ritualized lovemaking, and nineteenth-century French artists enjoyed hash-inspired sexual liberties. Today, many weed enthusiasts agree: sex and weed are a great combo.

Historically, cannabis’s medicinal properties have been put to use for women’s sexual and reproductive health, according to Michelle Weiner, DO, who practices in Florida. There’s evidence, she says, that cannabis flowers, seeds, and stems were used in midwives’ medicinal preparations to help with childbirth, menstrual cramps, heavy bleeding, menopause, and low libido.

When a 2017 Stanford study of 51,000 Americans showed that cannabis users of all races and demographics have on average 20 percent more sex than nonusers, weed lovers the world over nodded their heads knowingly. In another study, 68.5 percent of women who get down while high describe sex as more pleasurable, 60.6 percent say weed improves their sex drive, and 52.8 percent find their orgasms more powerful.

Research has found that the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-AG play a role in sexual arousal for women, and from that we might hypothesize that a plant-derived cannabinoid such as THC could also contribute to that sexy feeling.

But cannabis does more than enhance sex. It promotes bonding and feelings of compassion while opening up a pathway to intimacy and communication with a partner—all of which is vital inside and outside those sexy moments. What’s more, partnered moms and single moms alike tell me that intentional cannabis use helps them cultivate self-acceptance and self-love.

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Read an interview with Danielle Simone Brand here: How to come out of the cannabis closet as a responsible parent