Alcohol More Common With Post-Sex Regret Than Pot

Which is more likely to lead to regrettable sex, alcohol or pot? That’s what researchers at New York University wanted to know, so they interviewed 24 adults (12 males and 12 females) who recently used marijuana before sex. An NYU news release reports that the researchers found that, compared to marijuana, alcohol was more commonly associated with social outgoingness and use often facilitated connections with potential sexual partners; however, alcohol was more likely than marijuana to lead to atypical partner choice or post-sex regret. They also found that while some people reported that marijuana made them more selective in choosing a partner, many participants— both male and female—felt that their “standards” for choosing a partner were lowered while under the influence of alcohol. Wait, there’s more:  While people often described favorable sexual effects of each drug, both alcohol and marijuana were associated with a variety of negative sexual effects including the very negative effect of sexual dysfunction. For example, marijuana use was linked to vaginal dryness and alcohol was commonly described as increasing the likelihood of impotence among males. Both drugs appear to be potentially associated with increased feelings of self-attractiveness, but possibly more so for alcohol, and participants reported feelings of increased sociability and boldness while consuming alcohol.