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These documents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Ask Dr. Cullins: Body



Q:  My boyfriend smokes marijuana, and I have been keeping my body healthy all my life. If he ejaculates inside me, does the marijuana chemical get deposited inside me? Will it affect me?

A:  No. Some chemicals, like the ones in alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, can affect sperm badly. They may reduce the sperm count, or the quality of the semen, which may make it difficult for a man using them to cause a pregnancy. (It would be a very bad idea, however, to rely on taking these drugs for birth control.) But this will not affect the general health of the women a man has sex with.

On the other hand, certain chemicals and nutrients that a man ingests may alter the taste of his ejaculate. For example the sugars and vitamins in fruit and naturally processed alcohol may make semen taste sweet. Coffee and chemically processed alcohol may make it taste bitter. But neither of these effects will affect a woman's health.



Send your sexual health questions to askdrcullins@ppfa.org. Note that due to the large number of e-mails received every day, we are unable to provide personal replies. Answers to Ask Dr. Cullins questions are periodically posted on the homepage.
This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a medical problem, please call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment with the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you.


Published: 07.13.06

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