CANNABIS may slow down sperm, says Herbert Schuel of the State University of
New York at Buffalo. This could explain reports of low fertility among men who
smoke a lot of marijuana.
Schuel鈥檚 team treated sperm in a test tube with a synthetic
anandamide鈥攁 chemical very similar to the active ingredient of cannabis.
Low levels sent sperm swimming into overdrive, but higher levels slowed their
motion to a lazy crawl. The chemical also inhibited the ability of the sperm to
bind to the egg and penetrate it. 鈥淚t really stops them cold,鈥� Schuel says.
Natural anandamides are present in semen, and are also secreted by the
oviduct and egg follicles, Schuel鈥檚 team has found. The researchers presented
their results at a meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San
Francisco.
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