STUDY: POT PUTS DRAG ON SPERM; GETTING HIGH MAY PREVENT CONCEPTION

Washington - Sperm in men who smoke marijuana regularly lose stamina and
that may prevent conception, said a study released yesterday.

The study done at the University at Buffalo is the first to focus on the
swimming patterns of sperm in men who smoke marijuana, the authors said.

"The sperm from marijuana smokers were moving too fast too early," said
Lani Burkman, lead author of the study, in a statement.

"To attach itself to the egg, the sperm has to swim like mad - that's
hyperactivation - and they have to be vigorous at the right time," Burkman
said. "Smoking marijuana messes up the natural regulatory system. The
timing was all wrong. These sperm will experience 'burnout' before they
reach the egg and would not be capable of fertilization."

The study, released at the annual conference of the American Society of
Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio, also found that men who smoke
marijuana have less sperm because of lower quantities of seminal fluid
compared with men who don't smoke marijuana.

One of the ingredients of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the
psychoactive chemical that causes people to feel "high."

"We don't know exactly what is happening to change sperm functioning,"
Burkman said, "but we think it is one of two things: THC may be causing
improper timing of sperm function by direct stimulation, or it may be
bypassing natural inhibition mechanisms."

The speed, volume, shape, density, movement and count of sperm were studied.

A previous study found that the enzyme cap of human sperm changed when
exposed to high levels of THC. As a result, the sperm has a harder time
attaching to the egg before fertilization.

Even if people stop smoking marijuana, THC gets stored in the body fat and
may take several months before leaving the body, Burkman said.