Marijuana has more health benefits than we may have all originally believed. Remember the days of being told that the “devil’s lettuce” led to all bad things? Well, thanks to time and lots of research, we now see that marijuana isn’t all that bad — when used in moderation.
According to a new study from Harvard University, we have even more good news about marijuana, guys, and it has to do with sexual performance and an increase in sperm count.
The study, which was published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction, identified that marijuana smokers may, in fact, have higher sperm counts than those who don’t burn one down. This is interesting because, according to previous studies, the opposite was believed to have happened.
To gather research, Harvard University collected semen samples from 662 men, finding that, those who have smoked weed at some point in their lives and those who smoke an average of two joints per week, have significantly higher sperm counts than those who don’t. Even more interesting, pot smokers were found to have higher levels of testosterone.
That’s all pretty big news for those who regularly smoke marijuana and might be scared about the impact it’s having on their body. But, because nothing can always be perfect, it’s important to remember that the results come from a small sample size, and that they aren’t conclusive to every guy — so make sure you don’t just toke up all the time and think there aren’t any repercussions associated with it.
Here’s what one of the researchers had to say about the results of the study, per Maxim.
“These findings are not consistent with a deleterious effect of marijuana on testicular function,” the researchers wrote in the report, noting that, as I mentioned before, previous studies on the effects of marijuana on the reproductive system suggest that smoking weedreduces sperm count and has a negative effect on testicular function.
“Whether these findings are reflective of the previously described role of the endocannabinoid system in spermatogenesis or a spurious association requires confirmation in further studies.”
While the above statement might not be the greatest thing to hear if you’re a regular marijuana smoker because the results are still inconclusive on a much broader basis, head researcher, Dr. Jorge Chavarro from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, added that the findings are critical when it comes to identifying how marijuana can positively impact sexual health.
“These unexpected findings highlight how little we know about the reproductive health effects of marijuana, and in fact of the health effects of marijuana in general. Our results need to be interpreted with caution and they highlight the need to further study the health effects of marijuana use.”
So don’t think that, just because you’re going out and smoking marijuana all the time that you’re not impacting your body in some way. But this study does go a long way in showing that, in some cases, marijuana isn’t necessarily killing your ability at reproducing, so that’s great news.