A MAN was left with an agonising, persistent erection after taking cannabis, doctors believe.
The 32-year-old, who has not been named, rushed to hospital after his erection lasted 12 hours.
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Medics treated him – but he soon turned up at the emergency department for a second time – complaining that he had another erection that lasted for six hours.
The patient told doctors that he had smoked marijuana on and off throughout his life.
And he said the times when he was taking cannabis appeared to coincide with his uncomfortable erections.
The man admitted he had been smoking marijuana several nights a week for the past six months, and told doctors in that time he’d suffered “four or more episodes of a persistent erection lasting close to four hours”.
In each case, he had smoked within a two-hour period before getting his erection.
Persistent erection
Doctors said: “He admitted a history of cannabis use at age sixteen and seventeen, during which time he had recurrent priapism lasting less than four hours and never requiring medical treatment.
“He quit cannabis use in his twenties, and during this period did not have any episodes of priapism.”
The doctors, detailing the case in the Journal of Cannabis Research, said they examined the man and noted that “the patient was mildly hypertensive with an erect, swollen, and tender penis”.
And they added that he had “no medical history other than mild hypertension, he took no medications, and used only cannabis, supported by his urinary drug screen”.
Medics diagnosed the man with priapism – an erection lasting more than four hours that’s not related to sexual activity.
First known case
And the team, from the Coliseum Medical Centers in Georgia, said it was “the first known case of cannabis-associated priapism in a patient where all other known causes of priapism have been excluded”.
They added: “The abstinence and subsequent use of cannabis were the only appreciable factors in this patient’s battle with recurrent unwanted erections.”
The report’s authors were left to speculate about how cannabis could have actually caused the patient’s sustained erections.
Among the possibilities they identified was that cannabinoids – the naturally occurring compounds found in cannabis – were affecting regulatory mechanisms that would otherwise signal an erection to end.
Cannabis was the only factor in this patient’s battle with unwanted erections
Medics from Coliseum Medical Centers in Georgia
Another explanation has to do with increased blood-platelet activation, which is associated with cannabis and increased chance of heart attack for 60 minutes after consumption.
Cannabis also has direct effects of its own on the vascular system, causing blood vessels to dilate.
Researchers said that effect, too, “could potentiate the unrelenting erection notable in priapism”.
The doctors also warned that priapism can have serious consequences – including “damage to the penile tissue, with notable destruction obvious at twelve hours”.
And they said that over 90 per cent of those remaining erect for 24 hours lose sexual function – and the effects are often permanent.
Sexual experience
Of the little research does exist on cannabis and sex, most has focused on more desirable results: making sex better.
According to self-reported anonymous surveys – some more scientific than others – many people, especially women, report having more frequent and satisfying sex after consuming marijuana.
A study led by Becky Lynn, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Louis University in Missouri, last year found that more than two-thirds of women (68.5 per cent) who said they’ve consumed marijuana before sex “stated that the overall sexual experience was more pleasurable”.
What is Priapism?
Priapism is a long-lasting painful erection that can cause permanent damage to a penis if not treated quickly.
The condition may get better on its own within 2 hours.
Prompt treatment for priapism is usually needed to prevent tissue damage that may result in permanent erectile dysfunction and the inability to get or maintain an erection.
Priapism most commonly affects men in their 30s and older.
Ischemic priapism:
Ischemic priapism, also called low-flow priapism is the more common type of priapism and is the result of blood not being able to leave the penis.
Signs and symptoms include:
Erection lasting more than four hours or unrelated to sexual interest or stimulation.
Rigid penile shaft, but the tip of penis is soft.
Progressive penile pain.
Nonischemic priapism:
Also known as high-flow priapism and usually less painful than ischemic priapism, occurs when penile blood flow isn’t regulated appropriately.
Signs and symptoms include:
Erection lasting more than four hours or unrelated to sexual interest or stimulation
Erect but not fully rigid penile shaft.
Causes of priapism:
Priapism most commonly affects people with sickle cell disease.
Less common causes include:
- Blood-thinning medicines, like warfarin
- Some antidepressants
- Recreational drugs, like cannabis and cocaine
- Some medicines for high blood pressure
- Other blood disorders, like thalassaemia and leukaemia
- Some treatments for erection problems
Source: NHS
Respondents also said they had an increased sex drive (60.6 per cent) and more satisfying orgasms (52.8 per cent).
Even less research has been published on marijuana and erections.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that some men find that consuming cannabis is helpful in achieving and maintaining erections, but consuming too much can impede arousal.
It’s not clear the degree to which those effects are physiological and to what degree they are related to psychological factors like stress and anxiety.
As for the man with the 12 hour erection, it’s not clear how he’s fared.
According to the case study, he was referred to urology and internal medicine specialists for further diagnosis, “however he was lost to follow-up in this period.”
It comes after we revealed this week that a dad is plagued by a “permanent” agonising erection after an operation to fix his todger left it stuck upright.
James Scott, 57, developed the embarrassing problem following a major accident at work four years ago – when 1.5 tons of glass fell on his pelvis.
