Marijuana use and procreation

February 3, 2013 8:27 AM

Should I stop smoking weed while trying to conceive?

Hi. 35 year old male in reasonably good health. History of migraines, ADHD, and anxiety. Take Wellbutrin xl daily. Ibuprofen, fioricet and maxalt as needed for migraines. My wife and I are starting to think about baby number 2. I've been smoking or vaporizing marijuana daily for the last couple if months and prior to that I had been using once to twice a week for a few years. How concerned should I be about the effect of pot on my gametes? I've read that it can degrade DNA as well as lead to infertility. I guess my real question is, should I stop smoking/vaping while we are trying to conceive? If so, how long until my sperms are healthy again? Thanks in advance!

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (6 answers total)

This article might be worth reading.

The significant paragraph, in the article is this: "In addition to fertility issues, marijuana has been linked in some studies to children's low birth weight, behavioral problems, poor growth, physical abnormalities, lower IQ, and difficulty with language comprehension and memory. One study, conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and published in May 1989 in the journal Cancer, found that exposing a fetus to marijuana increased a child's risk of getting leukemia. "

If I were in the process of conceiving a child, I wouldn't even consider using any type of drug.
posted by HuronBob at 9:00 AM on February 3 [6 favorites]

For what it's worth, drug testing is said to be sensitive to marijuana presence for about 30 days after on-going use is stopped. Sperm may or may not be more sensitive.

Note that while the article HuronBob references says marijuana might (or might not) lessen a male's ability to conceive, the portion he quotes refers to use by a woman while pregnant which, as with other things she ingests, exposes the fetus to its effects.

I am not encouraging you to use marijuana.
posted by uncaken at 9:51 AM on February 3 [3 favorites]

My apologies for misleading you in my answer... thanks, uncaken, for pointing that out.
posted by HuronBob at 10:00 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]

Your wife has probably given up any drugs she usually uses, alcohol, possibly caffeine, and other substances she enjoys. She's probably carefully watching her diet and taking multivitamins. She may stop eating sushi. Or her favourite soft cheese. Or other things.

I'd think giving up something to recognise the sacrifices she makes for the health of your future child (even if the risks are not entirely proven one way or the other) would be a supportive thing for your spouse and would be a good "just in case" for your future kid.
posted by olinerd at 10:32 AM on February 3 [8 favorites]

Confounded by the usual issues of self-reporting, esp of illegal substances, decent studies specifically on marijuana and marijuana alone are difficult to obtain. Studies that I've read - but no links that I can quickly find- note that marijuana is not a standard product, and may be of different potency or cut with different substances. Also those using marijuana may also be using other drugs, including the much more teratogenic alcohol. That said, from OTIS, the teratogen specialist organization, this fact sheet on marijuana seems to indicate paternal use of marijuana is not a high risk past fertility issues.

Other fact sheets are also available.

I also do not encourage use of marijuana or other non-medically indicated drugs during the conception period or gestation.
posted by beaning at 10:41 AM on February 3

I've been thinking of things along these lines lately, myself, although for me it's more a small paranoia about what I'm ingesting every day in general, from preservatives to alcohol. Anyway, my plan is to live as clean a life as possible for at least 74 days before we try conceiving (the amount of time it takes to guarantee that you're ejaculating sperm that started generating after said health kick). Time it with her ovulation for maximum effect, of course.
posted by hanoixan at 9:17 PM on February 3