There are countless positive benefits to medicinal marijuana use, but research has previously provided mixed results when it comes to how THC might impact male fertility. The most recent study on the subject, published in the journal Human Reproduction, may finally put this question to rest.
The sperm are alright.
The latest longitudinal study included 662 men who provided a total of 1,143 sperm samples and self-reported their use of marijuana and other drugs. Nearly half the study participants also provided blood samples to measure reproductive hormones.
What the researchers found was that the marijuana users in the group actually had a significantly higher concentration of sperm than the men who had never partaken in marijuana use. They also discovered no statistical difference at all in the sperm concentrations of past and current marijuana users.
While the researchers acknowledged some reason for caution in evaluating these results, to include the fact that marijuana use was self-reported, they concluded these findings were not consistent with the outdated assumption that marijuana negatively impacts testicular function.
More research likely still needs to be done. But for now, what we do know is that cannabis impacts men and women differently. And that the sperm counts of marijuana users are exactly where they should be.
