If you have a drug test coming up, you might be wondering which bodily fluids can be tested for THC. The most well-known are blood, saliva, hair, and urine, and urine tests are by far the most widely used.
Recently, though, researchers discovered one more that most cannabis consumers likely aren’t aware of. Through a clinical trial, a group of Harvard researchers concluded that THC is detectable in semen.
The study was conducted on a group of 12 male participants aged 18-45. All subjects were frequent cannabis consumers, having used cannabis at least 25 days out of the past month. Of the 12 participants, two showed up with testable amounts of THC in their semen. One of the two men had 0.87 nanograms/milliliter, and the other had 0.97 nanograms/milliliter.
Considering the heavy cannabis use by all participants, the researchers were confused about the lack of detectable THC levels in many of the participants’ semen:
“It is puzzling that some, but not all, semen samples tested positive for THC. There were no obvious factors that were strongly associated with detectable semen THC. Thus, we can propose few predictors of the presence of THC in human semen. Future directions of research include identifying characteristics that may affect semen detectable THC levels.”
This study, a first of its kind, has opened the door to many new questions. While the detectable presence of THC in semen raises questions about a potential semen drug test, this is unlikely at this time. Further research in this area could, however, help us better understand the risks (or lack thereof) of prenatal consumption of cannabis as well as the overall impact of cannabis on reproductive functions.
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