Marijuana and Fertility
A study on reproductive physiology at the University of Buffalo has shown that frequent marijuana usage decreases the amount of seminal fluid produced, lowers sperm counts, and cause abnormal behavior in sperm. These issues may have a significant effect on fertility.
Dopey Behavior
The study was the first of its kind and concentrated on the ways in which marijuana affects the swimming behavior of sperm as seen in comparison to that of the sperm of fertile men. The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive chemical. The results of this study were released in October 2003 at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio's annual meeting.
The lead author of the study, Lani J. Burkman, PhD, assistant professor of gynecology/obstetrics and urology and head of the Section on Andrology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical sciences, commented that the bottom line of the study shows the active ingredient in marijuana is affecting the function of sperm in an adverse manner. Burkman's team don't understand the exact mechanism which leads marijuana to cause sperm to malfunction, but hypothesize that THC puts the timing of sperm function out of whack or bypasses mechanisms that serve as a kind of natural inhibition. At any rate, Burkman suggests that the sperm of marijuana smokers are swimming too fast, too early. A similar pattern has been seen in other studies relating to infertility, noted Burkman.
Researchers collected seminal fluid samples from 22 marijuana smokers and performed a variety of tests on the samples. The participants reported using the drug twice a day over a period of 5.1 years. Control samples were provided by 59 fertile males who had proven capable of producing a pregnancy. The men abstained from sexual activity two days prior to the laboratory analysis.
The samples were tested for volume, sperm count per unit of semen, total sperm count, percentage of motile sperm, velocity, and form. The sperm were also assessed for hyperactivation, a type of energetic swimming that occurs as the sperm gets closer to the egg.
Laidback Swimming
Results proved that the volume of semen and number of sperm for the marijuana smokers were less than those of the control group and that there were major differences in velocity and hyperactivation. "The timing was all wrong. These sperm will experience burnout before they reach the egg and would not be capable of fertilization," said, Burkman.
Burkman stated that the men most liable to be affected by this set of phenomena are those men with borderline fertility. The THC in the marijuana could make the difference between fathering a child and infertility.
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