Men who smoke too much marijuana risk being less fertile. Here’s how marijuana use affects male fertility.
Men who smoke too much marijuana run the risk of being less fertile because the sperm count drops, and researchers say they end up “swimming in circles.” Here’s how marijuana use affects male fertility.
If you smoke weed several times a week, the amount of sperm decreases by almost a third, a study shows, and this is because the ability of the cells to move is affected. Cannabis acts one-way on sperm compared to the rest of the body, and the sperm “become softer and swim in circles,” says Dr. Victor Chow.
Specifically, scientific evidence shows that marijuana has a negative impact not only on the amount of sperm, but also on their functionality.
Numerous studies have shown over the years that marijuana produces impotence in men, but the mechanism by which this occurs is still not quite clear.
Dr. Chow, a professor at the University of British Columbia Medical School says the effects on fertility are strong because “spermatozoa can change rapidly.”
Excessive use of marijuana has an immediate effect on sperm count, especially since the male body produces new sperm every three months.
Seen through the male lens, infertility becomes a more delicate and difficult problem to accept, mostly because of prejudice and the immediate, but wrong, association with impotence. However, it is important to know that many infertile men can have perfectly normal, satisfactory sexual relations.
Read more about male infertility here.
