Hormonal Marijuana

Anti-androgens and hormones 5a-Reductase inhibitors Progesterone and estrogen Recreational drugs Ethanol Cocaine Marijuana... 

Cone EJ, Johnson RE, Moore JD, Roache JD. (1986). Acute effects of smoking marijuana on hormones, subjective effects and performance in male human subjects. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 24(6) 1749-54. 

In men, heavy long-term marijuana use can lead to lowered sperm counts and even impotence. It can also cause a hormone imbalance that leads to gynecomastia, the development of feminine breasts. Women who abuse marijuana may experience menstrual cycles that are off balance. 

Previous studies have claimed that THC delays sexual development in adolescents, interferes with male and female sex hormones, causes infertility, and produces feminine characteristics in males and masculine characteristics in females. Again, much of this research was conducted on animals using very high doses of THC some of these conclusions were also drawn on the basis of very small-scale studies. Thus, many researchers feel that this uncertainty plus a lack of scientific data in humans suggest that there is no clear correlation between marijuana smoking and reproductive effects in humans. 

Some studies in humans did find reproductive effects from marijuana however, they were found to be temporary. For example, in a study in which men smoked up to 20 marijuana cigarettes a day (considered a very heavy dose), researchers found a decrease in their sperm concentrations. However, by the end of one month, sperm counts had returned to normal despite continued dosing of marijuana. This temporary effect was also shown in animal studies. In a study of female monkeys, high doses of THC resulted in hormonal changes and a disruption of their menstrual cycle. However, after six months of similar THC doses, the monkeys hormonal levels and menstrual cycles returned to normal. Overall, the consensus of most researchers today is that THC has little impact on the reproductive system. 

Many street drugs are not administered in pill form because they have poor oral bioavailability. Examples include cocaine (3.12), heroin (3.13), and marijuana (active component, A10-tetrahydrocannabinol [3.14]) (Figure 3.9). Many legal prescription drugs also cannot be taken in oral form. Perhaps the most widely used injectable drug is insulin, a 51-peptide hormone that is rapidly broken down in the stomach when taken orally. 

THC has been reported to account for the majority of the reproductive hazards of marijuana use, and in males it leads to impotence by suppressing spermatogenesis, reducing the weight of reproductive organs, and decreasing the plasma concentration of circulating hormones like testosterone (Kolodney et al. 1974). In... 

Mendelson JH, Mello NK. 1999. Marijuana effects on pituitary and gonadal hormones in women, in Nahas G, Sutin KM, Agurell S. Eds. Marihuana and Medicine. Totowa, NJ Humana Press, pp. 385-392. 

Classes of substances currently banned by the IOC include stimulants (amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, pseudoephedrine), narcotics (heroin, methadone), anabolic agents (testosterone, nandrolone), diuretics (acetazolamide, spironolactone), and peptide hormones and their mimetics and analogs (erythropoietin, human growth hormone). Alcohol and marijuana at specified levels are also prohibited. For the latter, a level of as little as 15 ng/mL of 11-nor-A°-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid is a violation of the rules. A complete... 

Figure 16.2 shows examples of naturally occurring, physiologically active cyclic ethers. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal active ingredient in marijuana, includes a six-membered ring ether. Morphine contains a five-membered ring ether. Three-membered cyclic ethers (epoxides) are rare in nature. The juvenile hormone of some insects contains a cir-substituted epoxide. This hormone controls the rate insect maturation. 

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