Marijuana Man boobs
Those buds you’re smoking may be causing your man boobs to blossom. Animal studies have shown that exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component in cannabis, can result in a decrease in testosterone levels, a reduction of testicular size and abnormalities in sperm.
In a post for CNN, Detroit-based plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn warned that marijuana use could be behind the development of man boobs. Known in the medical world as “gynecomastia,” man boobs may be sprouting on male marijuana smokers due to the drug’s effects on hormone levels.
According to the plastic surgeon Dr. Adrian Lo, a specialist in breast reductions on men at Pennsylvania Hospital, a third of his patients are marijuana users.
But the scientific evidence about the effects of marijuana on hormones has so far only pertained to animals. So it’s still a question of whether and how cannabis influences hormone levels in humans.
There is some evidence to suggest that pot users have lower testosterone levels than non-users and that heavy doses of the drug may delay the onset of puberty in young men.
So even though there may not be a clear link between marijuana use and man boobs, Youn is hardly the only person to raise it as a possibility.
For decades, the medical community has suspected a link between marijuana and man boobs. However, due to the drug’s status as an illicit substance, there hasn’t been sufficient research to confirm these speculations.
Still, on MedlinePlus, a medical website maintained by the National Institutes of Health, “marijuana use” is listed as one of the causes of gynecomastia.
In 2012, plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Goldman told ABC 5 News that boys who use marijuana in their formative years may be more likely to have man boobs later in life.
“Young men who use marijuana through puberty may have that transient, temporary breast enlargement become permanent as their testosterone levels are altered by the marijuana,” Goldman said.
“They can get interference with the normal development. And those men can have in essence more breast tissue when they’re done with puberty than they would have otherwise had.”
