Not everybody has access to cannabis and cannabis is not legal everywhere. But there are plenty of alternative herbs like Cistanche, Ashwagandha, Shilajit, and more which also support testosterone in a variety of ways. These are not the only routes to naturally increase testosterone. But it’s a good starting list.
But back to the cannabis! Cannabis is the scientific name of weed. It has several other names like weed, marijuana, sticky icky, etc. A lot of speculations and assumptions are revolving around-consuming cannabis.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency, the DEA(Drug Enforcement Administration) has categorized cannabis as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 says weed has no medical use and is a high risk of abuse.
But, almost 26 states have passed laws to legalize the use of cannabis. They believe that weed is a solution to many dreadful diseases.
So, the question might be plunging you.
Is smoking pot safe or unsafe?
Well, read on to find out. I hope this article answers your questions.
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Cannabis is not estrogenic
Many people assume that cannabis makes men infertile and is estrogenic. Studies done on animals showed a decrease in testosterone levels. Some scientists came to a solution with these studies. But, since rat has a similar reproduction system as humans, we cannot believe that our body reacts to every drug as a rat does. We can only rely on researches made on humans.
Some study reports say that cannabis and testosterone levels are no way related. Some even say that consuming weed increases testosterone levels in men.
17 men used THC and, it depicted no change in the level of testosterone or LH.
In a study of 6, 3 gave positive effects. The other three show a decrease in testosterone levels. But, testosterone levels do not depend on one particular factor. It depends on various other things like your sleep pattern, the food you eat, etc.
1215 men with long term cannabis use showed an increase in the level of testosterone levels when examined before and after consumption.
So does cannabis increase testosterone? Not exactly.
It reacts to everyone differently. But it does not make you estrogenic.
But recently a few reports suggest that men who smoked pot at some point in their lifetime have an increased sperm count.
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Hormone levels vary with smoking pot
Researchers found that people who smoke pot surplus had high testosterone levels when compared with those who never tried it. The people who stay away from cannabis, in fact, had below-normal testosterone levels. This result awed the researchers and brought the misconceptions to light. Cannabis reacts to the endocannabinoid system.
So, the intake of marijuana on rare occasions may encourage sperm production.
It was evident in the 2015 study conducted on Danish men. It says that the structure and development of the DNA of sperm can change due to THC. THC is an active component of Cannabis. Later, 662 men were studied and, the findings from the semen sample was contrary. People who smoked pot had a higher sperm count.
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5% of weed users only reported low sperm counts
Analysis of semen samples showed that the people who smoked pot had an average of 62.7 million/mL sperm concentration. The people who never tried it had an average of 45.4 million/mL sperm concentration only. Only 5% of people who smoked pot had low sperm counts, but it was 12% in the people who never tried it. Scientists and researchers presumed that low-level consumption of cannabis would benefit the individual.
The findings might also mean that men with high levels of testosterone indulge in activities like smoking pot. This result came as an astonishment to the scientists. They expected cannabis to have a negative effect on fertility and testosterone levels.
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The effect of weed on libido
Some study says that it inhibits capability, while others say that that it enhances it. Enhanced Stanford research suggests that the use of marijuana increases the sex drive. A small portion of the West is using marijuana for enhancing its intercourse. They use a low THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis for this purpose. Reports suggest that it gives pleasure and ardent desire.
But, the 2009 study put forward that everyday use of cannabis inhibits the capability and makes it difficult for men to achieve orgasm.
Stanford University made a research on 50,000 individuals ranging between the age group of 25 and 45. They found that men who consumed cannabis regularly had 20 times more intercourses when compared with those who never tried it. The report was the same as all the people irrespective of their health status. The frequent use of cannabis showed no impairment in the motivation or actual scenario of intercourse. But, there are caveats and lingering fear which persists. So, this does not implicitly mean that cannabis increases the feelings and intercourses. But, it does not cause damage as well.
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Does THC in Cannabis affect the DNA of the sperms?
The result of the research conducted at Duke University suggested that the THC component of Cannabis is epigenetic. It might change the structure of the DNA. But this might not be purely by THC. Many other factors like obesity, smoke, and tobacco might affect the sperm.
The research suggests that Cannabis intake affects the DNA of the user’s sperm, but whether that would pass on to the next generation remains a question. Things would only get clear on a large scale study. The changes might not be permanent. But, the researchers’ advice on not smoking pot for at least six months ahead of attempting to have a baby. Many research declined the false conceptions on Cannabis usage. This research says that the effect of Cannabis on sperm is neither negligible.
Conclusion
Cannabis treats various diseases and medical ailments. It also helps in avoiding hardcore drugs and in palliative care. Cannabis indica contains a high level of THC and has both recreational and medicinal use. But, the stigma around its use vary. So, researches also hesitate to experiment with this drug. Until recently, it was illegal to grow cannabis for study purposes. The government fund provided is also limited and researchers find it difficult to highlight its potential.
That said, more and more states in the United States are legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. Still, this doesn’t mean that marijuana use is 100 percent accepted by all sectors in society.
Some employers, for example, require their potential employees to pass pre-employment drug testing to get hired. Some also conduct random drug testing with consent from employees. Because of these policies, people who use cannabis products need to be extra careful when they consume anything with marijuana.
