Hi Wendy! Thank you so much for sharing all of your stories, knowledge, and information with us during these classes. I would be delighted to learn further from you. I was curious, since this topic would probably be part of newer studies, if you have read, seen, or heard of anything about fertility issues and Cannabis use. Just so you have an idea why I ask; I have a friend who is 44, has always been an extremist when it comes to working out (running many miles daily even with severe knee pain, and one knee replacement, kickboxing, biking, etc.), she was trying to get pregnant for 2 years with no luck so she reverted to IVF. She had 2 miscarriages in the past when she was in her early and late 20's, which made me believe she was unable to get pregnant but she had tests done to check and they all came back with positive results that she was able to carry/had eggs, etc. During IVF, she stopped consuming alcohol, stopped working out so heavily, always eats very healthy, began working with an acupuncturist and began taking herbs to try to conceive. However, she is an avid Cannabis user and did not stop smoking while getting her first couple eggs checked/IVF's done (Sorry, I do not know proper terminology for this procedure), which resulted in low egg counts and a couple eggs had deformities. She and her Dr. were confused why the results were so low, she mentioned her often consumption of Cannabis (7x a week, multiple times a day), her Dr. asked if she could stop consuming Cannabis for the entire duration until they checked her eggs the next time and unbeknownst to all parties, her egg count then skyrocketed after no Cannabis use. This fascinated me and I have been wondering about this incident since but have not been given the chance to ask someone who may know if this is a common occurrence, is in the medical field, so knowledgeable of women's health, etc. Thank you in advance for any information you may have :)

Wendy said: Yes, this story does not surprise me. It appears that cannabis use, especially heavy like this, is a bad idea both prior to conception and during the first trimester. Not a lot of "research" but a lot of case reports. I have a niece who, along with her husband, grows cannabis for medical use in Michigan. Their personal use is pretty heavy. Even SHE stopped prior to conception and didn't resume until well into the second trimester.