There are many reasons why cannabis should not be consumed, but now a study by Washington State University (USA) carried out on mice has included one more, it could harm your fertility… and that of your children. And it is that, researchers have observed that those who are exposed to cannabis vapor had harmful effects on the quantity and motility of sperm, and that this harmful effect could even pass to their offspring, thus affecting two generations.
This work was carried out on 30 adult male mice, where 15 were exposed to cannabis vapor three times a day for 10 days, which is similar to what would be a frequent consumption of this substance in adults. To know the effects on fertility, the characteristics of the spermatozoa of the marijuana group and the control group were analyzed. It is the first time that whole cannabis vapor has been studied in mice, as injections of tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC) used to be administered in previous mice.
Sperm count in humans has been reduced by 59% in recent decades, which could be due in part to cannabis use
The findings, which have been published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, indicated that immediately after the exposure period, sperm movement was reduced, and lower levels of sperm counts were shown after a month. The offspring of these cannabis-exposed mice were also found to show DNA damage and impaired sperm development.
Sperm damage could be hereditary
These results indicate that the damage produced in the sperm by the consumption of cannabis could be hereditary, also passing to their children. As explained in the study, the sperm count of humans has been reduced by up to 59% in recent decades and among many reasons that could be interfering, the authors believe that cannabis could be among them.
Kanako Hayashi, principal investigator of the study, has stated that “we did not expect that the spermatozoa would disappear completely or that the motility would be completely compensated, but the reduction in the sperm count and their motility in the offspring is probably a direct effect of the exposure. from father to cannabis. This is a warning flag. He can take cannabis for some kind of momentary stress, but it could affect his offspring.”
In the same study, the grandchildren of mice exposed to cannabis vapor were analyzed, in which the effects that their parents did have were not found. Therefore, it is understood that the consumption of this drug could affect the second generation, but it would not have the same consequences in the case of the third.
Now the group of researchers who have carried out this study is focused on finding out if exposure to cannabis in mice in the womb has deeper generational effects, since they start from the theory that this drug could affect the formation of the reproductive system during gestation.
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