Study Indicates Sperm Quality Not Affected by Cannabis Use

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A recent study published in Andrology, explored if cannabis use may affect sperm quality such as, motility (1). Research was conducted by researchers who are affiliated with the Boston University School of Public Health (Boston, Massachusetts) (2).

To begin gathering data, researchers looked through 1,654 semen samples that were provided from 921 male participants that were a part of a North American preconception cohort study called Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) (1). Participants over the age of 21 years old were asked to fill out a baseline questionnaire asking if they had any cannabis use in the past two months. 23% of participants were reported as having “currently consumed cannabis,” (2). Once participants were enrolled in the study, they were asked to perform at-home semen testing.

Researchers of the study mentioned that to analyze the data results (1), “We used linear regression to estimate percent differences in mean semen parameter values (%D) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between cannabis use and semen volume (mL), total sperm count (TSC, million), sperm concentration (million/mL), motility (%), and total motile sperm count (TMSC, million), controlling for potential confounders. We used log-binomial regression to estimate risk ratios (RRs) for low semen quality based on 2021 World Health Organization cut-points.”

Details of the results showed that (1), “Overall, 22.6% of participants reported current cannabis use and 3.3% reported daily use. Nearly 6% of participants had low semen volume (≤1.5 mL), 13% low sperm concentration (≤15 million/L), 8% low TSC (≤39 million), 25% low sperm motility (≤40%), and 11% low TMSC (≤16 million). Adjusted %Ds (95% CIs) comparing current cannabis use versus non-use were −3.2 (−9.1, 2.7) for semen volume, 3.5 (−10.3, 19.5) for sperm concentration, −0.6 (−14.3, 15.3) for TSC, 2.5 (−2.9, 8.0) for motility, and 3.0 (−13.4, 22.4) for TMSC. Cannabis use ≥1 times/week (vs. non-use) was associated with low semen volume (RR = 2.16, 95% CI = 0.93–5.04). Associations were imprecise and showed no monotonic association between frequency of cannabis use and the semen parameters evaluated.”

The study found that men who use cannabis do not experience lower counts of sperm or in sperm quality (1,2). Additionally, there were no “differences in sperm concentration, volume, or motility in cannabis consumers versus non-consumers,” (2).

References

1. Joseph, M.D.; Krivorotko, D.; Koenig, M.R.; et al. A North American preconception cohort study of cannabis use and semen quality. Andrology. 2025; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.70056
2. Norml. Cannabis use has no significant adverse impact on sperm motility https://norml.org/news/2025/05/15/study-cannabis-use-has-no-significant-adverse-impact-on-sperm-motility/ (accessed May 21, 2025).