Using marijuana does not reduce chances of getting pregnant

Marijuana use by either men or women does not lower chances of getting pregnant, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers. Marijuana is one of the most widely used recreational drugs among individuals of reproductive age. Previous studies have examined the effects of marijuana use on reproductive hormones and semen quality, with conflicting results.

In Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), a web-based prospective cohort study of North American couples, the researchers surveyed 4,194 women aged 21 to 45 living in the United States or Canada. The study specifically targeted women in stable relationships who were not using contraception or fertility treatment.

 Female participants were given the option to invite their male partners to participate; 1,125 of their male partners enrolled. The researchers found that during the period from 2013 through 2017, approximately 12 percent of female participants and 14 percent of male participants reported marijuana use in the two months before completing the baseline survey.

 After 12 cycles of follow-up, conception probabilities were similar among couples that used marijuana and those that did not. The researchers stressed that questions about the effects of marijuana use remain. Classifying people correctly according to the amount of marijuana used, especially when relying on self-reported data is challenging.
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Use of marijuana is associated with psychosis

 Psychosis is a severe mental disorder that affects thought and emotions which leads to impaired contact with external reality.

Ingredients in marijuana have opposite effects on human brain, tetrahydrocannabinol THC, increases the brain processes that can lead to symptoms of psychosis.

Marijuana users may experience psychosis because THC interferes with the brain's ability to distinguish between stimuli that are important, and those that are not.

Psychotic symptoms have been linked to abnormal salience attribution, meaning that the brain has difficulty telling the difference between stimuli that are important and those that are not.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans was used to observe participants brains after they took pills containing THC. The images showed changes in the areas of the brain that linked to symptoms of psychosis.

Taking THC increased the activity in the prefrontal cortex, but lower activity in the striatum because THC alters the brain's levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
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Chili peppers may reduce gut inflammation

Capsaicin is an active component of chili peppers that give them heat to targets a receptor in the gut and produces anandamide.

Anandamide produced by capsaicin reduces inflammation in the guts of mice, it summonings anti-inflammatory immune cells and reverse type 1 diabetes in rodents.

Chilli peppers and edible marijuana may provide treatment for type 1 diabetes and inflammation of the colon.

Capsaicin in chilli pepper attacks and attach to a receptor known as TRPVI that is present in gastrointestinal cells and produce more anandamide.