There’s Plenty Of Evidence Medical Marijuana Can Treat Female Orgasm Difficulty, So Why Are Some States Saying No? (Op-Ed)
From toxifillers.com with love
Some states “appear to be holding it to a higher standard than other conditions, revealing a potential bias against women.”
By Dr. Suzanne Mulvehill, Women’s Cannabis Project
While numerous studies have consistently shown that cannabis can treat female orgasm difficulty/disorder, also known as FOD, so far only a few states have recognized it as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. Others appear to be holding it to a higher standard than other conditions, revealing a potential bias against women.
This bias may be the result of misinformation or lack of education about FOD, a serious public health condition that affects the health of up to 41 percent of women worldwide. The bias may also reflect an unwillingness to acknowledge FOD, despite testimony from women who successfully treated the condition with cannabis, letters of support from doctors who recommend cannabis for it, evidence of its serious health impacts and scientific studies showing cannabis can treat it.
In 2024, advocates—myself included—petitioned 11 U.S. states to add FOD as a qualifying condition. While some petitions are still pending, so far two states have officially approved the requests: Connecticut and Illinois.
Illinois Director of Public Health Dr. Sameer Vodra stated the following in his order approving FOD as a qualifying condition:
“After fully considering the matters raised in the petition, as well as reviewing research pertinent to the condition termed Female Orgasmic Disorder, a condition where a (natal) female has difficulty reaching orgasm. There are multiple types and causes,) there is sufficient evidence to confidently evaluate the effect of cannabis as a treatment for Female Orgasmic Disorder. Literature review and survey data support that cannabis can offer benefits to women who have “female orgasm difficulties or dysfunction.”
In New Mexico, the state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board approved adding FOD as a qualifying condition last fall, with the reform set to take effect upon official approval from the secretary of health.
The states of Colorado, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, meanwhile, have acknowledged receipt of the petitions to add FOD as a qualifying condition, and public hearing dates are now pending.
Yet despite scientific evidence and approvals in some jurisdictions, five states denied adding FOD as a qualifying condition with medical cannabis: Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio and Oregon.
Ohio’s Medical Cannabis Board denied FOD for the second year in a row in a decision last month, reasoning that most women who experience the condition have it because of pain or PTSD, which are already on Ohio’s list of qualifying conditions.
Reviewing Ohio’s “reasons for denial,” the board’s use of “most women” suggests 51 percent or more—which could leave out up to 49 percent of women who may have FOD for other reasons, such as anxiety, menopause or gynecological cancer treatment. Furthermore, some women may not know their FOD is caused by pain or PTSD and therefore could miss out on being treated for their primary condition or concern.
Last, if FOD is their primary concern, and evidence shows that cannabis can treat FOD, why not make FOD itself a qualifying condition?
Several states denied FOD on the grounds that there are no “randomized controlled trials” showing cannabis’s efficacy in treating it, but randomized controlled trials are not listed as a requirement for a condition to be approved in those states.
It is also important to note that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was approved in a number of states, including Oregon, without a single published study showing cannabis’s efficacy as a treatment. Yet FOD—with numerous studies showing the efficacy of cannabis treatment—was denied.
Could this bias be a reflection of a societal issue? That we in society are simply not used to talking about FOD? That we see no evidence of women having FOD? Surely women faking orgasm, which is well documented in scientific research, keeps the issue underground and marginalizes women’s health. That said, the 36,000 members on the Reddit thread, Becoming Orgasmic, who often painfully speak of their challenges with FOD, tells us that FOD is real and negatively impacts their health and lives.
Another reason state officials gave for rejecting FOD as a qualifying condition was that some medical societies do not approve of cannabis as a treatment for FOD. Here again, however, other conditions—like PTSD, anxiety and depression—were approved without signoff from organizations like the American Psychological Association.
It appears regulators are holding FOD to a different standard than other qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment. We will continue to educate the government officials and the public to recognize FOD as a health condition for women, just like erectile dysfunction (ED) is for men. The difference is that ED has been normalized and there are numerous treatments and conventional medications for men who have ED. We are working to do the same for women who suffer from FOD by making medical cannabis a recognized treatment.
With ED, there are treatment centers, conventional medications and commercials selling treatment products. Nothing like that exists for women with FOD. This is why it is imperative that states approve FOD as a qualifying condition so we can begin to see evidence that FOD is a problem women face and that it is treatable with cannabis.
There has been no change in the percentage of women suffering from FOD for 50 years. Cannabis has been suggested a treatment for sexual issues since 1979. And states approving FOD as a qualifying condition is a sign we are finally ready. Policy reflects what is acceptable or not acceptable in society
It is time that we finally put FOD on the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, because it belongs there. It is a statement: “We see you, dear women who suffer from FOD. We acknowledge you.”
Suzanne Mulvehill, PhD, MBA, is the founder of the Women’s Cannabis Project, a public policy initiative focused on getting female orgasm difficulty/disorder added as a condition of treatment in U.S. states and countries worldwide. Mulvehill can be reached at [email protected].
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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