For the love of weed
Cannabis compatibility can be a crucial factor in the success of some relationships
For Steven Bisson, an ideal date night consists of a quiet night at home, a bag of Doritos and some cannabis to set the mood.
Bisson, a 50-year-old medical marijuana user in Toronto, said his partner had little exposure to cannabis when they first met two years ago.
It was an issue that had doomed several of Bisson’s past relationships. He said he had broken up with partners, and been dumped himself, over what he perceived to be a lack of tolerance regarding his cannabis use.
In his current relationship, however, Bisson said sparking up with his significant other on weekends brought them closer together.
“You can be a little bit more open, and that could lead to a better relationship,” said Bisson.
“The sex, he loves. Without going into any detail, he says sex is so much better on marijuana than without it.”
As legalization looms on Oct. 17, experts say cannabis compatibility may take on a larger role in the world of romance.
Florida-based cannabis-friendly social networking app High There!, which has been touted as the “Tinder for tokers,” is looking to expand its digital footprint in Canada to cater to what founder and CEO Darren Roberts sees as an underserved cohort.
On traditional dating sites, said Roberts, cannabis use is often considered a romantic non-starter — much like how some singles swear off dating cigarette smokers, but compounded by the stigma of decades of prohibition.
High There! offers cannabis users a judgment-free platform where they can make connections, be it finding a smoke buddy, that special
someone or even a spouse, said Roberts. (Illegal transactions between dealers and buyers, however, are strictly prohibited, he said.)
Charlottetown-based couple Vanessa-Lyn Mercier, 28, and Sean Berrigan, 29, credit their shared passion for cannabis with allowing their partnership to flourish in both love and business.
In addition to working together as wedding photographers, Mercier and Berrigan also co-curate the @ Highloveclub Instagram account, which largely features shots of the pair smoking up on the beaches of P.E.I.
When they first met four years ago, Mercier said she frowned upon Berrigan’s use of medicinal cannabis. But
about a year into dating, she began facing her own health issues, which were taking a toll on their relationship, so she took her first puff.
Mercier said she went from being couch-ridden with pain to dancing around her living room. The plant also stoked her creative passions, she said, and she decided to abandon her career in the
pharmaceutical industry to follow Berrigan in pursuing photography.
“If cannabis wasn’t there ... I don’t know if we’d even be together,” said Berrigan.
There can also be benefits of bringing bud into the bedroom, said Antuanette Gomez, the Toronto-based founder and CEO of Pleasure Peaks, which offers cannabis
products aimed at improving women’s sexual health. The potency of cannabis as an aphrodisiac traces back to the millenia-old practice of tantric sex, said Gomez.
“We all react to cannabis very differently, but when we’re sharing that together, it really does heighten your sense of arousal ...” she said.
But bringing any substance into a relationship comes with romantic risks and benefits, said University of Alberta sociology professor Geraint Osborne.
In a 2005-2006 survey of 41 Canadian cannabis users, Osborne found bud can lead to mixed success in the bedroom, particularly when appetites turn toward the fridge, sending stoners to sleep with a full stomach. In some cases, said Osborne, it has even been known to cause “performance anxiety,” and studies have linked excessive cannabis use to lower levels of testosterone.
If used responsibly, cannabis can lead to better understanding among couples, said Osborne. But when it comes to cannabis abuse, he said the consequences for a relationship can be severe.
“If they are spending all of their time just getting high ... then they’re just not focusing on the important parts of their life, including relationships.”
Even without abuse issues, a difference in attitudes toward cannabis can put immense strain on a relationship, said Osborne, and not all couples make it.
Like most aspects of a relationship, said Gomez, a couple’s chances of success will come down to their ability to “compromise.”
“When it comes to cannabis, and since we’re legalizing it so quickly, there will be a definite shift,” she said. “I believe that relationships, true relationships, will have the communication to figure that out.”
If they are spending all of their time just getting high ... then they’re just not focusing on the important parts of their life, including relationships. ”
Sociology professor Geraint Osborne