Regular marijuana users may find THC in it

Too much of a good thing is never good, moderation in alcohol, Krispy Kremes, shopping, video games is recommended. Now data has found that habitual marijuana users may have THC in it… and they're not sure what that means. Research from Harvard Medical School found that THC can be detected in semen.

The study, published in the journal Reproductive Physiology and Disease, focused on 12 men between the ages of 18 and 45 who identified as chronic marijuana smokers. This meant consuming weed at least 25 days a month. After collecting urine, blood and semen samples, researchers found detectable levels of THC in two of the men, although they were unsure why THC was not found in the other subjects.

An important caveat, as Marijuana Moment first reported, was that “two seed samples did not have sufficient volume to be analyzed.”

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Overall, the researchers' goal was to determine whether THC can cross the “blood-testicular barrier” in healthy adults, citing a 2018 study that reported that 16.5% of men and 11.5% of women used marijuana while trying to conceive.

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The Harvard researchers wrote: “With a growing body of data on the effects of the endocannabinoid system on the regulation and maintenance of fertility and early pregnancy, our report is the first that the exogenous cannabinoid THC can be detected in any human reproductive organ.”

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Nevertheless, the THC levels found in the sperm were significantly low and just exceeded the detectable threshold. Researchers are still unsure how THC-laden sperm would affect pregnancy or child development, stating: “There is little evidence linking marijuana to reproductive outcomes, and to date it is often contradictory.”

Last year, researchers at Duke University found that cannabis use reduced the quality and number of sperm in men. Heavy marijuana use could mutate a gene strongly linked to autism, PTSD and schizophrenia, according to another Duke study. But researchers cautioned that they were not sure what the results of their study revealed and that they would need to be repeated before broader health discussions could take place.