Dear Stoner: I am 68 and do not use any doctor-prescribed drugs. It's my opinion that if you do, you have started down the wrong path. Now, I have not smoked marijuana since the early 1970s; I didn't like the taste and smell. But recently I have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with a young woman. Do you know of a type of weed that could be a substitute, or somewhat of a substitute, for Viagra?
Dave the Dude
Dear Dave: The good news is that you're a spry silver fox dating a younger woman. The bad news is, you might have to go down the "wrong path" if you want Little Dave to be more active in your dating life. As for using pot as an erection aid, a Swiss study found that marijuana decreased cholesterol levels in high-cholesterol mice that were having (tiny) boner problems. But the scientists said their results were inconclusive.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't give ganja a try as a way to boost your love life, however. Just about any pot smoker will tell you that at times pot can make things such as music and food more amazing than usual. The same holds true for sex, as your mind and body are hyper-enhanced. That's not just hippie-dippy talk, either. Pot "works" by affecting the receptors in your body that are responsible for touch, happiness and delight. We don't need to tell you that those are also key to making sex feel extra-good (but we did anyway). Men aren't alone in this, either, so you might offer some to your date. There's a great New York magazine article from this past April that looks into how women are using marijuana to enhance their sex lives.
If you want to give it a shot, we suggest a strong sativa like Super Silver Haze, Durban Poison or Neville's Haze, or a hybrid like Golden Goat. They'll get you zoned in on the task at hand and lend some psychedelic, euphoric fun to the night. All four have rather unique flavors, too, that are bound to be much richer, muskier and sweeter than anything you tried back in the '70s — but if the taste still isn't to your liking, you can always make weed-infused butter, or simply go old-school and grind up the weed and bake it into some brownies or cookies.
In summary: Don't discount marijuana as an option, but don't go walking into the nearest dispensary and ask for the weed that will put up your pants-tent, either. They'll probably just call the cops...or the funny farm.
