Plenty of women who enjoy cannabis claim that it helps put them “in the mood,” but this aphrodisiac quality is not just a side-effect of the relaxation and mental “high.” A growing number of women are applying cannabinoids directly to their vulvas to increase sexual pleasure — typically without any noticeable mental effects. How?

Normally, when you experience sexual arousal, blood rushes to your clitoris and vagina, creating opening, elongating and lubrication. Similarly, when you apply phytocannabinoids to your vulva, they also increase blood flow there. (This effect — vasodilation — is the reason people’s eyes can redden when they get high.)

What about those of us who can’t access THC? Could CBD from hemp have similar effects on the genitals? Although CBD doesn’t stimulate cannabinoid receptors, its effect on other receptors in the genitals could produce a similar effect, although this hasn’t been a major focus of clinical research yet.

Relief: How Cannabinoids Melt Menstrual Cramps

Pain reduction is one of the most common therapeutic uses for cannabinoids. Since the reproductive tract can be a major source of pain — particularly during menstruation — using cannabinoids vaginally could be a much more direct route of relief. 

The first time they try cannabinoids (particularly in a vaginal suppository like Foria Relief or Foria CBD Suppositories), many women are shocked at how effective they are. 

Cannabinoids address pain in two ways — not only do they desensitize pain-perceiving nerves, they also limit inflammation (which is often a major contributor to pain).  This powerful combination probably led to cannabis’ widespread use by our ancestors for treating pelvic pain.

How exactly do they work? CBD targets the same enzyme that ibuprofen does, but without the side effects of popping Advils. And THC & CBD can reduce both the intensity of the cramps and your ability to feel their pain signals. (For more detail, check out how cannabinoids help endometriosis and menstrual cramps.)

Putting Cannabinoids Where They Count

The endocannabinoid system exists throughout your body,  but sometimes you don’t want to experience the effects of cannabis everywhere — your brain, for instance. 

Fortunately, oily molecules like cannabinoids tend to stay close to the skin where they’re applied. This is why massaging cannabinoids into your skin — or into your vagina — primarily impacts local nerves and muscles.

Based on reports from women who use hemp and cannabis suppositories, when applied inside the vagina, suppositories like Foria Relief deliver cannabinoids to the muscles and tissue of the uterus and vagina. 

Alternately, cannabinoid arousal oils like Foria Pleasure and Foria Awaken deliver their magic primarily to the vulva and vagina (or wherever they’re applied.)

Does “Getting My Vagina High” Get Me High Too?

You may already be convinced that you want to try phytocannabinoids to spice up your love life or help with a gynecological problem, but some people still worry about mental side-effects. 

Fortunately, most women do not experience a “high” from using cannabinoids vaginally. Not only do the cannabinoids mostly stay where they’re applied, if any do get absorbed into your bloodstream they’re processed differently than edibles or vapor hits. 

Any cannabinoids that reach your bloodstream skip your liver so the THC doesn’t get converted to the more-potent 11-hydroxy-THC. (This liver conversion process is why cannabis edible are so much more potent than vaping or smoking.)

That said, your experience using cannabinoids vaginally will be deeply individual — influenced by your skin thickness, your age, and even where you are in your menstrual cycle. 

If you’re concerned about catching a buzz, try weed lube or suppositories on a lazy Sunday, so you can relax and enjoy if you do get a little bit high. Alternately, if you know you just can’t tolerate a THC buzz, you can stick to a CBD-only product like Foria Awaken or Foria CBD Suppositories. 

To find Foria at your local Cannabis dispensary, just visit their dispensary finder map.