In a new study, researchers provide important information about marijuana use and fertility change.
For people who smoke marijuana and want to conceive, the information can be very useful.
According to the researchers from Western University in Canada, there are five things to know about marijuana and fertility:
Marijuana has an active ingredient called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It acts on the receptors found in the hypothalamus, pituitary and internal reproductive organs in both males and females.
Smoking marijuana can reduce sperm count in men. Research has shown that smoking marijuana more than once a week was linked to an almost 30% reduction in sperm count.
Smoking marijuana may delay or stop ovulation. One recent study found that ovulation was delayed in women who smoked marijuana more than 3 times in the 3 months.
It found that in ovulation was delayed by an average of 1.7 to 3.5 days in women smoking marijuana compared with women who did not smoke.
Smoking marijuana may affect the ability to conceive in couples with infertility. It may changes ovulatory function and sperm count more strongly.
In couples without healthy fertility, smoking marijuana, ranging from less than once per month to daily does not strongly affect time to pregnancy.
More and better research is needed to examine the effects of marijuana on fertility. Currently, the few human studies on marijuana and fertility are small, nonrandomized and mainly retrospective.
In addition, reliance on self-reported marijuana use may lead to inaccuracy, especially where the drug is illegal. Most current studies omit valuable information on route and dose. These findings should be used with caution.
The authors of the study are Sara Ilnitsky and Stan Van Uum.
The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
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