We’ve all likely heard the many controversies surrounding marijuana use and the effects it could have on your health. One of the rumors that have been doing the rounds for a while now is that using cannabis could actually have adverse effects on couple’s who are trying to get pregnant. But is there any truth to this somewhat bizarre claim?
In today’s world, marijuana is one of the most popular recreational drugs. As the efforts to legalize weed across the United States continues, there is an increasing need for more research to be done into the potential long-term effects that marijuana use could have on one’s health. In all honesty, since several interrelated factors could affect fertility, such as age, alcohol use, smoking, and weight, pinpointing the exact causes of infertility is not easy.
In this post, we will be taking a look at a recent study that will hopefully put an end to this age-old debate of whether or not weed can make you infertile.
Does Weed Affect Fertility? Old and New Data Conflicts…
Back in 2003, there was a study conducted by Dr. Lani J. Burkman at the University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences which concluded that cannabis makes sperm less fertile - even if the female is a non-smoker. The study analyzed a group of weed-smoking college men with the aim to determine what effects cannabis consumption would have on levels of fertility.
Much to the dismay of marijuana advocates at the time, the study produced some pretty damning results. They found that weed consumption made the male sperm hyper. While the sperm should be waiting to be washed into the cervix to approach the egg, before they start their vigorous swimming, known as hyperactivation, the study instead discovered that the sperm had already begun the hyperactivation, when in fact it should be quiet at first.
This meant that when under the influence of THC, the male sperm seemed to become overactive, which in effect reduces the probability that the sperm would reach the female cervix to fertilize the egg. Burkman explained that each sperm could only keep up the swimming for so long and then it will shrivel out. If it runs out of hyperactivation before it even gets to the egg, then the egg won’t be fertilized.
The same study also found that regular weed use lowered the overall sperm volume found in men. Dr. Burkman claimed that several of the participants had a significantly low semen level - about half the male norm. This means that they would deliver significantly fewer sperm to the female during sexual intercourse.
A study done in 2015 reaffirmed this finding when they surveyed over 1,200 Danish men aged between 18-28, and analyzed their sperm count. They found that men who consumed weed more than once a week had a 28% lower sperm count than the group of non-smokers.
Back in 2003, during the time of Burkman’s study, a physician from the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Atlanta’s Emory University by the name of Dr. Cecilia Dominguez, explained fertility and the male sperm count to reinforce this theory. She stated that the fertility process is a lot more complicated than many people realize, and this is the reason that men have millions of sperm. The process of going up the fallopian tubes and finding the egg is delicately balanced.
The only thing these studies were good for was putting doubt in the minds of weed-lovers and specifically those of them who were wanting to become fathers.
New Research on Weed and Fertility Clearly Contradicts Old Data
Fast forward to today, and in recent years a much larger study has been done and ultimately found some drastically different results. Essentially, this study led by Dr. Lauren Wise and researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), found that there was no correlation between smoking weed and infertility.
The study was conducted over a four year period (2013 - 2017) on nearly 4,200 women, aged between 21 and 45, and 1,125 men living across the U.S and Canada. This was the first study that observed a possible link between weed use and the average pre-menstrual cycle probability of conception (otherwise known as fecundability).
The results of this study were published in the January 2018 Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and it concluded that cannabis use did not appear to lower the chance of a couple getting pregnant. Important to note is that all the females who took part in the study were in stable relationships, and not on any prescribed medication or fertility treatment.
Another very important details to point out in the study is that it was not done on cannabis users only. Non-cannabis users were also included in the study. Only 12% of the 4,200 women that were surveyed claimed to smoke pot, and 14% of the 1,125 men. Furthermore, it was not clear which of these were habitual users or one-time consumers. This is a big contrast to the Dr. Burkman study, in which the entire sample of participants were habitual weed smokers.
So how did the study determine that there was no link between marijuana use and fertility you probably wondering? It’s quite simple really. A comparison of the data between the cannabis-using group and non-cannabis users was done and looked at the chance of fertilization. Ultimately, they found that there was not an increase in the likelihood of fertilization among non-cannabis users when compared to those who were cannabis users.
So What Does This Mean – Does Marijuana Affect Fertility, or Not?
For marijuana users who are trying to conceive, the answer is not that straight forward. In all honesty, more research needs to be done before we can make any conclusive decisions regarding marijuana use and fertility. We can’t deny that Dr. Burkman’s study had some pretty damning findings, one’s that are hard to argue with, such as the fact that the sperm count in habitual cannabis smokers is significantly lower than non-users.
It is also worthwhile to note that a study done by Pacey and colleagues noted that it takes three months to produce sperm. This would technically mean that if you gave up weed three months before you want to get pregnant, there wouldn’t be any adverse effect. A different study conducted by Barnett and colleagues back this up by stating that testosterone levels aren’t lowered permanently. This would suggest that even if marijuana does affect fertility, it wouldn’t be permanent.
So what does this mean for you, the pot-lover who’s trying to get pregnant?
It’s important to remember that research into weed and infertility is still in its infancy. As society starts to become more accepting of marijuana, and more countries start to relax the laws surrounding cannabis consumption, we expect a lot more research to be done on this subject in the future.
However, for the time being, it seems that it would be advisable to lay off the pot for as long as you can if you are looking to start a family. There is comfort in knowing that marijuana affects everyone differently. Therefore it’s entirely possible that it may affect the fertility of one person but not another. It does, however, seem that while we cannot conclude indefinitely if marijuana-use affects fertility, it certainly doesn’t promote it.
SOURCE
https://www.webmd.com/men/news/20031013/smoking-marijuana-lowers-fertility#1
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2003/10/6427.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/buso-bmu012218.php
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