Does weed affect testosterone?

Weed is no longer just for hippies or hip-hop stars — around 22 million people in the U.S. are cannabis users. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about the long-term effects of marijuana on men’s health. For example, does weed affect testosterone?

Does it kill sperm? Can it cause ED?

Conflicting state and federal regulations keep research scarce, but we do know cannabis can impact hormones, including testosterone. And this can have residual effects on fertility and function.

But it’s not so cut-and-dried. Frequency of use, consumption method (whether you inhale it or eat it), and lifestyle habits can all play a role in how weed impacts health.

Ahead, we’ll break down how marijuana interacts with the endocannabinoid system and what this means for your hormonal and reproductive health. We’ll also look at CBD — is it safer choice?

Reviewed by Kelly Brown, MD, MBA

Testosterone and the endocannabinoid system

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a widespread cell-signaling network in the body that affects numerous biological functions, such as appetite, anxiety, learning, reproduction, and growth.

To activate the ECS, your body makes chemical compounds called endocannabinoids, which bind to cannabinoid receptors located throughout your body and brain.

Research shows the ECS is present in various parts of the body involved in male reproduction. Both endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors have been found in tissue, including within Sertoli cells (which play a crucial role in sperm production) and Leydig cells (the primary source of testosterone).

The ECS also affects the male reproductive system by interacting with the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis.

This mechanism, located in the brain and pituitary gland, controls the release of two other key hormones: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones communicate with the cells in your testes to aid sperm and testosterone production.

How does weed affect testosterone levels?

Though your body makes some endocannabinoids that activate the ECS, you can also activate them by using cannabis.

The cannabis plant has over 100 cannabinoids, but the two that get the most hype are:

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Cannabidiol (CBD)

THC is the part of the plant that gets you high, and CBD has no psychoactive effects.

When you use cannabis, cannabinoids like THC and CBD bind to cannabinoid receptors, including those located along the male reproductive tract.

Research is still emerging on how these cannabinoids influence testosterone levels, but so far, there are some conflicting results.

Does marijuana increase serum testosterone levels?

Firstly, a study on nearly 1,600 U.S. males found no significant differences in serum testosterone concentrations between men who’d used marijuana in the past and those who had never used the drug.

However, researchers found that serum testosterone levels were higher in men who recently used marijuana.

What does this all mean? Marijuana may increase testosterone in the short term, but more research is needed to understand the long-term effects.

Does marijuana use lower levels of testosterone?

Contradicting the study above, a study on over 2,000 infertile men found that cannabis use actually lowered plasma testosterone levels.

Among the participants, roughly 11 percent reported cannabis use — and these cannabis users had lower total testosterone levels than non-users.

On top of having lower testosterone, cannabis users also had lower sperm morphology (meaning sperm shape and size were below what’s typically needed to conceive). But there were no effects on sperm concentration or motility (sperm movement).

Despite this link to lower testosterone levels, researchers concluded that cannabis use wasn’t linked to hypogonadism (clinical testosterone deficiency).

Does cannabis use impact other reproductive hormones?

Testosterone is just one hormone that may be impacted by marijuana use.

In a study exploring how different lifestyle habits impact male fertility, researchers found a link between marijuana use and altered hormone levels.

Specifically, they saw that marijuana use lowered estradiol. This form of estrogen impacts male reproductive health by regulating libido, function, and sperm production.

The study also found that cannabis use increased prolactin levels (prolactin is a hormone associated with lactation). This could have a negative effect on sperm production. However, they found no evidence that marijuana users have low testosterone levels.

In another review that looked at the effects of marijuana use on male fertility, researchers didn’t find a clear link between cannabis and hormonal imbalances. But there was some evidence that marijuana may negatively impact sperm, including sperm count, concentration, morphology, motility, and viability.

Before you start worrying that your vape pen will lead to infertility, you should know the studies included in the review had small sample sizes. Researchers said larger-scale human trials are needed before making any sweeping conclusions.

Does weed cause ED?

With all this talk about how weed may or may not impact testosterone, you may wonder what this means for function. After all, testosterone plays an important role in function and libido.

Research on weed and ED

Some research has found that cannabis has negative effects on function because it stimulates specific receptors in the private tissues. Other research has found cannabis to be a vasodilator (meaning it opens blood vessels) linked to increased desire and satisfaction.

In a study of 4,800 men with dysfunction, cannabis users showed better private health (based on a test measuring private blood flow) — despite the fact that they tended to drink more alcohol and inhale more product. There was no difference in total testosterone levels between cannabis users and non-users.

However, it’s unclear if there’s a causal relationship between marijuana use and better private health. Researchers pointed out that cannabis users tend to be younger and have fewer other health issues.

Interestingly, after controlling for other factors, the researchers did find a link between cannabis use and more relationship problems.

Factors That Impact the Effects of Cannabis

There’s still a lot we don’t know about how cannabis affects overall health, including testosterone levels.

Some factors that may influence the outcomes are frequency of use and method of consumption.

Frequency of use

For example, THC users in a 2019 study had small yet statistically significant increases in testosterone than non-users. This increase was biggest among regular users who used cannabis two to three times a month.

But the increase in testosterone seemed to decline with a higher frequency of use.

In another study of 1,215 Danish men, testosterone levels were seven percent higher in self-reported marijuana users than in non-users. However, researchers noted that users also have higher testosterone levels than non-users. So it’s unclear if the act of using marijuana is what increased testosterone — or the act of using it. Chronic use was also associated with lower sperm quality.

An older study looked at how chronic marijuana use affected levels of testosterone, LH, FSH, prolactin, and cortisol in both men and women. The findings showed that chronic marijuana use had no significant impact on hormone concentrations in either men or women.

Most other research linking chronic marijuana use with lower testosterone is based on animal studies.

Method of consumption

Edibles, tinctures, and topicals are safer than joints when it comes to lung health. Still, more research is needed to fully understand how the method of weed consumption affects your hormonal, reproductive, and personal health.

Does CBD affect testosterone?

Does weed affect testosterone? Maybe — but what about CBD? Though CBD won’t get you high, it could impact your hormones.

In a 2023 study, short-term exposure to CBD and THC didn’t directly affect testosterone production (or cells, for that matter) when studied outside the body.

This might mean that neither of these compounds pose a threat to male reproductive health when used short-term. But the researchers did recommend more research to confirm their findings.

Can CBD help with low T?

In another 2023 study on long-term use, CBD was linked to fewer cases of low testosterone in older men than what’s typical for this age group. This suggests CBD may actually have a positive effect on testosterone levels.

Though these findings are promising, it’s not always clear how safe or effective CBD products are.

Safety considerations of CBD for testosterone

Since federal restrictions on growing cannabis plants with low amounts of THC have been lifted, CBD has become widely available in a range of products and formulations, including topicals, foods, and beverages. And most of these commercial CBD products aren’t regulated by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

A recent poll found that as many as one in three American adults use CBD products. But being accessible doesn’t necessarily mean a product is safe.

If you’re thinking of using CBD to increase your testosterone, improve function, last longer in bed, or relieve anxiety, there are many other science-backed, thoroughly studied methods to try first.