Researchers claim smoking marijuana may not hurt male fertility

A new study reveals men who have smoked marijuana were found to have much higher concentrations of sperm than those who have never tried it.

Researchers from Harvard University only studied the conditions of men seeking help from fertility clinics. The findings contradict previous research that suggests smoking marijuana has a negative impact on men's fertility.

"These unexpected findings highlight how little we know about the reproductive health effects of marijuana, and health effects of marijuana in general," Jorge Chavarro, Associate Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US, told a news portal. Adding, "Our results need to be interpreted with caution and they highlight the need to further study the health effects of marijuana use."

The results also showed greater use among marijuana smoker was linked to higher serum testosterone levels. Feiby Nassan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard speculates the reason could be "low levels of marijuana use could benefit sperm production because of its effect on the endocannabinoid system, which is known to play a role in fertility, but those benefits are lost with higher levels of marijuana consumption."

Sperm concentrations below 15 million/ml were only found in 5 percent of smokers compared to 12 percent of non-smokers.

Researchers say further investigation is needed to truly understand the effects marijuana has on our health due to the fact that there are many perceived notions it poses serious health risks.