Cannabis Side Effects: Can Smoking Weed Lead To Infertility?

The link between marijuana and fertility isn’t straightforward.

It’s never been medically proven that smoking or ingesting weed can deter a woman’s pregnancy or prevent a man from getting a woman pregnant. Smoking weed will get you high from the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and not much else as long as you know your safe limits.

There’s a caveat to this conclusion, however, according to some medical studies.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal investigated how marijuana impacts fertility. The news is good for potheads — provided they’re normal.

“For most couples, smoking marijuana does not affect their ability to conceive,” said the study. “However, for couples with infertility, the changes in ovulatory function and sperm count associated with smoking marijuana could compound their difficulty with conceiving.”

This conclusion affects both males and females because THC acts on the receptors found in the hypothalamus, pituitary and internal reproductive organs.

For men, marijuana use could decrease sperm count. One study found that smoking weed more than once a week was associated with a 29 percent reduction in sperm count. Unfortunately, marijuana has also been found to increase impotence and might interfere with a man's ability to ejaculate.

For women, doing marijuana occasionally might delay or prevent ovulation. This was the conclusion of a study with a small sample size that revealed ovulation was delayed in women who smoked marijuana more than three times in three months. Marijuana use might also increase the risk of a miscarriage.

Scientists suggest the effects of marijuana on fertility appear to accumulate over time. This means that by the time a chronic marijuana smoking woman is in her mid-20s, she might be more likely to experience a delay in getting pregnant.

Marijuana might also affect the ability to conceive in couples with subfertility or infertility issues. On the other hand, it doesn’t appear to affect couples without fertility issues.

Women who smoke marijuana might have an increased risk of infertility due to abnormal ovulation, even for those women who use low levels of marijuana within a year of trying to get pregnant.