Western Washington University’s Sam Carver Gymnasium building will host “Highly Consensual,” an event analyzing the crossroads between cannabis and consent. The event is taking place on Wednesday, April 16, from 4:30-6 p.m. in Carver room 104.
The event is part of Weed Awareness Week being put on by Western’s Counseling and Wellness Center. An additional event on April 18 will allow for more opportunities to learn about cannabis. There will be a free lunch during the event on Friday called “Midday Munchies,” located in Academic Instructional Center West room 203.
The event will feature a discussion led by associate professors Dr. Josh Kaplan and Dr. Mary Hunt around cannabis use and sexual consent.
The event will start with two 20-minute discussions led by Hunt and Kaplan. Then there will be a Q&A where attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about anything cannabis related.
During the event, Hunt will be speaking about her research into people's sexual experiences while those people are high on cannabis and how that influences things such as consent. She will also talk about how it influences the sexual experience, Kaplan said.
Western Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Gwen Koenig is also a part of Western’s Counseling and Wellness Center. Koenig helped set up this event in coordination with Kaplan and Hunt.
Koenig said Kaplan has been doing this event since before her time at Western. However, for the past four years, they set up an event where Kaplan speaks about a cannabis-related topic in the lead-up to April 20. This marks the first year he is doing a joint talk with another faculty member.
Kaplan is a behavioral neuroscience professor and is well known for his research regarding cannabis.
Koenig said each year they try to do a different topic, so it’s not repetitive for people who have been to previous years’ events.
For a new spin on the topic, they decided to include Hunt, a professor in the Department of Health and Human Development, due to her recent research around cannabis.
Kaplan hopes the event will make people aware of cannabis use and how it can impact their health and well-being.
This will be Hunt’s first time speaking at the event, and she will present new research conducted by her lab in 2024.
Hunt said she has previously researched sexual consent and sexual violence, but took her research in a new direction in 2024.
According to Hunt, the new research is centered around how adults living in Washington navigate sexual situations that involve cannabis.
“We decided to come together and do a group chat about cannabis around sexual consent as well as just how cannabis is working in the brain to influence the overall experience,” said Kaplan.
Kaplan said he will be speaking about things such as how to reach the optimal level of high and why dosage matters.
Hunt said she will only be presenting a portion of her research. This portion will include participants of her study's advice to other people about combining sex and cannabis.
“Both Dr. Hunt and I are very excited about being available to address questions from the audience,” Kaplan said. “In the past, because I’ve done these talks every year, my favorite part of it is when folks come with questions so we can have a larger discussion.”