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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Cannabis makes confused sperm swim more slowly Nick Paton Walsh Guardian Sunday 24 Dec 2000 Smoking cannabis slows down more than your thoughts and speech. New research shows sperm swim much slower when exposed to the drug's active ingredient, increasing the chances of infertility among dope smokers. American scientists have studied the effects of cannabis on the chemical signals in the reproductive organs. While a small amount of the active ingredient in marijuana smoke, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), makes sperm more alert and increases the chance of the egg being fertilised, a large dose of THC confuses the sperm, causing them to become sluggish and dopey, and so less likely to penetrate the egg. 'THC is the substance in marijuana smoke that makes people high,' said Professor Herbert Schuel of the University of Buffalo in New York State, author of the research. 'The sperm change their swimming behaviour. [With a low concentration of THC] they swim hyperactively and rapidly, waving their heads from side to side. These are the kind of sperm most likely to fertilise the egg. When the concentration was 10 times higher, the number of sperm showing hyperactivity decreased.' Schuel examined the role of THC in the cells of the male and female reproductive systems, focusing on its relationship with a similar set of chemicals produced by the body, anandamides. These signal to sperm and nearby cells to become hyperactive by latching on to receptors on the outside wall of cells. But THC latches on to the receptors instead, leaving the anandamides adrift to build up around the sperm. Too many anandamides give the sperm an excess of signals, making them confused and sluggish. Scientists have known for more than 40 years that cannabis damaged the production of sperm - reducing their numbers and quality - but this research marks a breakthrough in understanding how it affects the action of the sperm on the egg. Schuel first showed that THC could damage fertilisation in a series of experiments carried out in the late 1980s on sea urchins. Infertility affects one in seven couples trying for their first pregnancy, and 40 per cent of these cases are down to problems with sperm. Campaigners have long argued for the legalisation of marijuana, citing its medicinal properties as a painkiller and relaxant. The Government is currently assessing the effectiveness of cannabis as a painkiller and hopes to reach conclusions by the end of next year. The anti-drugs lobby will welcome this finding as it confirms a damaging effect of the drug. Several members of the shadow cabinet recently admitted to having smoked marijuana, and 2.7 million Britons are regular users. The British spend £3.5 billion a year on the drug, and a quarter of 15-year-olds are thought to smoke or to have tried it.
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