diff --git a/psycopg/psycopgmodule.c b/psycopg/psycopgmodule.c
index 61e2de57..be6e3343 100644
--- a/psycopg/psycopgmodule.c
+++ b/psycopg/psycopgmodule.c
@@ -181,13 +181,16 @@ psyco_register_type(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 static void
 psyco_libcrypto_threads_init(void)
 {
+    PyObject *m;
+
     /* importing the ssl module sets up Python's libcrypto callbacks */
-    if (PyImport_ImportModule("ssl") != NULL) {
+    if ((m = PyImport_ImportModule("ssl"))) {
         /* disable libcrypto setup in libpq, so it won't stomp on the callbacks
            that have already been set up */
 #if PG_VERSION_HEX >= 0x080400
         PQinitOpenSSL(1, 0);
 #endif
+        Py_DECREF(m);
     }
     else {
         /* might mean that Python has been compiled without OpenSSL support,