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A 32-year-old man who had
unbearable erections lasting
several hours is likely to have a
condition caused by regular
cannabis use, scientists say.
It is thought to be the first case of
marijuana-related priapism in a
patient where all other known
causes have been excluded.If left
untreated, the condition causing
persistent erections with no
sexual stimulation can
permanently damage the penis.
Scientists studied the unusual
case after an African American
man went to the Coliseum Medical
Centers twice in two weeks
complaining of erections lasting
12 and six hours. The patient told
doctors he smoked weed ‘several
nights per week for the past six
months’, including within the two
hours before his priapism
episodes.
In that time he had at least four
erections lasting around four
hours which eventually went down
on their own, according to the
Journal of Cannabis Research.
At each visit doctors at the
hospital in Macon, Georgia,
injected him with phenylephrine
to make his erection subside.
The man told medics that he
started smoking cannabis at 16
years old and started having
hours long erections.
But after he stopped using the
drug in his twenties he found he
never had an episode of priapism.
He told doctors he had no history
of mental illness and never took
prescribed or over-the-counter
medications and had no medical
history other than mild
hypertension.
As well as illegal drugs like
cocaine priapism can also be
triggered by prescription drugs
including anti-depressants.
The man, also had no history of
sickle-cell anemia, which along
with other diseases like diabetes
can also trigger episodes of
persistent erections.
Researchers could not say why
the patient’s priapism was caused
by cannabis but they claimed
there was a ‘convincing
correlation’ between the two.
One of the theories suggested by
researchers included chemicals in
the plant turning off brain signals
that bring normal erections to an
end.
They also said blood vessels tend
to dilate when using marijuana, so
a change in circulation around the
body could also have caused the
patient’s priapism.
Suggesting this could be one case
of many, the researchers said:
‘Because cannabis is the most
widely used illicit substance, its
link to priapism suggests it may
soon become more prominent
within the emergency
department.’