marijuana

[John316]

My doctor mentioned the effect marijuana usage can have in causing gynecomastia. I myself, had the gyno from a young age, app. 15 years old, but i did smoke marijuana fairly often from the time i was 18-19 years old. I don't believe that this was what caused my gynecomastia, because i had the condition before i ever used marijuana. Anyway, i had the surgery about 6 weeks ago, and since learning the effects marijuana can have, i tried to drop this old habit. I realize that i should not be using this drug anyways, but after a few years of doing it often with friends, it's difficult for me to come up with a reason why i would just stop (i haven't told anyone about my surgery). I was just wondering what effect the drug can have in causing gynecomastia, or in my case causing it to reappear. Thanks in advance.

[Mubs]

I'm in the same boat, and while I can't offer any professional input on the topic, I highly doubt the hormonal changes caused by cannabis could actually cause gynecomastia. As far as I know, the number of gynecomastia cases that result from hormone imbalances are incredibly low. As in my doc had never heard of one case in his 20 years of doing the surgery.

I wouldn't worry about it!

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

The jury is out with this and you can hear arguments on both sides.  The problem is that marijuana, though obviously easily available in the US, is still illegal in most of the US.  Anyone would be silly to publicly acknowledge its use for fear of legal repercussions.  Therefore, it is virtually impossible to perform a legitimate medical study to determine whether it is causative or not. 

The answer, therefore, is that we simply do not know for sure, one way or another.

Dr Jacobs