Health - Smoking Stalks Causes Infertility - Myth or not?

[Aar0n]

SWIM has searched both Google and on the DF's search engine to try and fine an answer to this.

Some of SWIM's friends believe that smoking the cannabis stalks causes infetility (moreso than just smoking bud and leaf). Has anyone else heard of this, and does anyone have any information or proof saying one thing or the other?

SWIM is sure it can't be true and smoking stalk won't cause infertility any more than just smoking regular weed, but SWIM's friends are convinced.

TIA

Reputation Comments on this post:

i have always wondered the same thing

[sylenth]

smurf heard it's from the seeds. also have wondered how true it is.

[Nargyle]

The only thing that will result from smoking stalks is a sore throat, a headache and not getting high, but not infertility, that's just a BS myth

[Aar0n]

Originally Posted by Nargyle

The only thing that will result from smoking stalks is a sore throat, a headache and not getting high, but not infertility, that's just a BS myth

So what if SWIM's weed has the occasional stalk, and SWIM then cuts it up and mixes it with the weed, then blazes that? Would that take away some of the high?

SWIM doesn't see how the stalk can prevent people getting as high as without the stalk.

[Nargyle]

well, swim thought swiy was talking about soking only stalks, that wouldn't get one high, of course if it's mixed with weed one will get high, but from the weed, not the stalks, actually they will make the weed less strong, since the same amount of thc (only the buds have enough thc, the leaves have a little thc and the stalks have no or almost no thc) would be spread amongst more plant matter

[purplehaze]

My conclusion is that THC is responsible for infertility and since stems have less THC they do less harm.

Here's the notes.

Chemicals

There is suspicion that many toxic substances in the environment influence sperm quality[8]. While a few chemicals with known effects on fertility have been excluded from human consumption, we cannot know if others remain undiscovered. Gossypol present in crude cottonseed oil (and potentially the organ meats from animals poisoned with it[14]) has been associated with reduced sperm production. Misuse of anabolic steroids can cause testicular atrophy and reduced fertility. Depo-Provera, Adjudin, and gossypol are examples of substances used as male contraceptives or in chemical castration. Recent studies have found that THC present in marijuana can confuse the movements of intact sperm, reducing their ability to achieve fertilization.[15][16]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_quality

Smoking Marijuana Lowers Fertility
Sperm Burn Out, Less Potent When Men -- or Women -- Smoke Marijuana
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Oct. 13, 2003 -- Smoking marijuana makes sperm less fertile -- even if the woman is the one who smokes it, a new study shows.


Marijuana-smoking college men volunteered for the study led by Lani J. Burkman, PhD, director of andrology at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.


The smokers weren't the only ones who got high. The drug affected their sperm, too. These stoned sperm party hard. And then? They burn out, researchers say.


"Marijuana-smoking men's sperm are hyper. They are way out there," Burkman tells WebMD. "They already have begun the vigorous swimming called hyperactivation. Sperm should be quiet at first. They should be waiting to be washed into cervix and approach the egg before they start hyperactivation."


So the little guys are fast out of the gate, right? What's wrong with a little head start?


"It is not a head start. They are going to blow it," Burkman says. "They're too fast, too early. Each individual sperm can maintain this swimming only so long, only several hours. Then it poops out. If it has run out of hyperactivation before it gets close to the egg, it will not fertilize. These sperm are going to burn out."


Burkman announced the findings at this week's meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Marijuana and Fertility Timing


When it comes to romance, timing is everything. That holds true for fertility, too, says Celia E. Dominguez, MD, of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta.


"The reason men have millions of sperm is because the fertility process is more difficult than people think," Dominguez tells WebMD. "The whole process of ascending up the tract to the fallopian tubes and then finding the egg is delicately balanced."


As the sperm approaches the egg, it receives a signal to start swimming -- hard. This hyperactivation lets it push through the egg cover. Pooped out sperm don't have a chance.


Of course, men who smoke marijuana do get women pregnant. But some men are more fertile than others, or are more fertile at different times of their lives. Smoking marijuana, Burkman warns, will make a borderline-infertile man frankly infertile.


"The marijuana-smoking men had significantly lower semen volume," Burkman says. "Many had pretty low volume, about half the male norm. If they came to our clinic as patients, we'd tell them they are abnormal. ... They are delivering significantly fewer sperm to the female when they have sexual intercourse."

Women, Too


Burkman's team studied only men. But she says that when women smoke marijuana, the active ingredient -- THC -- appears in their reproductive organs and vaginal fluids. Sperm exposed to this THC are likely to act just as sperm exposed to THC in the testes.


"When women smoke marijuana, nicotine, or other drugs, their reproductive fluids contain these drugs," Burkman says. "The woman smoking marijuana is putting THC into her oviduct, into her cervix. If the man is not smoking but the woman is, his sperm go into her body and hit THC in the vagina, oviduct, and uterus. Her THC is changing his sperm."


Dominguez says that Burkman's study is more important than merely warning men and women to avoid marijuana if they want to get pregnant. She says that by learning how the reproductive tracts of men and women respond to different chemical signals, researchers will learn more about how to help people get pregnant -- or even to avoid it.

[Inudiablo]

Swim understands what that artical says but Swim thinks that its a little.... one sided. Yes weed seems to make sperm inactive. Kill them maybe. But many other things do as well. Being at high altitude, (Myth)drinking mountain due code red. But one thing we got is that men continually produce sperm. While others are dead men make more. In one ejaculation there can be millions to billions of sperm. And if we worried about every little sperm who died, then we will just unnerve ourself. Think about teenage boys haha. God only knows how much sperm an average hormonal teenager kills in a week.

[jux]

the article mentions depo-provera as a male contraceptive...its not. its a birth control shot for females, not males.



from NORML's website:

Myth: Marijuana interferes with male and female sex hormones and causes lower sperm count.

Fact: The few studies that have shown a drop in testosterone levels in male marijuana smokers have shown modest, temporary decreases only. No long term or significant effects have been noted. Repeated high dosages in animals eventually produce tolerance, bringing about no change in hormone levels whatsoever. Temporary decreased sperm counts in one study returned to normal upon completion of the 30 day, high dosage experiment.

[purplehaze]

Originally Posted by jux

the article mentions depo-provera as a male contraceptive...its not. its a birth control shot for females, not males.

The article.

Depo-Provera, Adjudin, and gossypol are examples of substances used as male contraceptives or in chemical castration.

In this sentence Depo-Provera is the latter.

Other uses

Depo-Provera is also used with male sex offenders as a form of chemical castration as it has the effect of drastically reducing sex drive in males.[1]

[FuBai]

Originally Posted by purplehaze

The article.


In this sentence Depo-Provera is the latter.

Yes, however even chemical castration has to be continuously repeated to ensure that it is effective. If you cease use of Depo-Provera, even when used in sufficiently high doses to cause chemical castration, then fertility usually returns to it's usual levels. This runs in line with the information Jux gave.

[purplehaze]

Originally Posted by FuBai

Yes, however even chemical castration has to be continuously repeated to ensure that it is effective. If you cease use of Depo-Provera, even when used in sufficiently high doses to cause chemical castration, then fertility usually returns to it's usual levels. This runs in line with the information Jux gave.

That would be inhumane to sex offenders if it were permanent. Or is that an oxy-moron?

[Nargyle]

Pleae, I think we are getting really off-topic here, why not start a new thread in some for all where we can discuss about things like these

[fiveleggedrat]

Swim smokes stems in his weed all the time. He grinds it all up, after taking seeds out.

He gets no headaches. Swim says stems are just fine to be mixed with bud.

He saves seeds on the side and does not smoke them.