Marijuana doesn't affect fertility for men or women

People have strong opinions about marijuana. From whether it can help you recover from a workout to its effects on the human body, there are plenty of pros and cons to consider. There are also plenty of grey areas.

The most menacing, though, is weed's influence on your ability to reproduce. There's been plenty of speculation over pot's sperm-harming side effects for men and overall fertility for women.

Usually there's no smoke without fire, but in this case it's a misconception.

Lighting up a joint—whether you're a man or a woman—doesn't appear to reduce your chance of conception, according to a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

In the study, researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health analyzed data from a Web-based study of more than 4,000 women ages 21-45 who were in stable relationships and not using contraceptives. A portion of the women's male partners also participated.

Between 2013 and 2017, about 12% of the women and 14% of the men reported using marijuana in the two months before completing the baseline survey. After 12 cycles of followups, researchers found conception probabilities were similar among couples that smoked weed and those that didn't.

"Given the increasing number of states legalizing recreational marijuana across the nation, we thought it was an opportune time to investigate the association between marijuana use and fertility," lead study author Lauren Wise said in a press release.

If you're trying to have a baby, check out these seven secrets for super-charged sperm and these 10 everyday behaviors that are lowering your sperm count.