Evaluation of Effect of Cannabis Smoking on the Hematological Properties of Selected Adult Male Students Smokers

The study investigated the effect of cannabis sativa smoking on some hematological characteristics on the male students consumers. Blood samples were collected in triplicates from twenty (10) randomly selected male voluntary marijuana smokers (test) and ten (10) voluntary male non-smokers (control) in Choba Community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The parameters considered were body temperature, pulse rate, Red blood cells (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, packed cell volume (PCV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hemoglobin estimation (Hb). The research study revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in the hematological parameters between the smokers (Test) and non-smoker (control) subjects. Faster pulse rate and lower body temperatures were seen among test subjects as compared to control. The values observed for total white blood cell (TWBC), ESR and RBC were lower in test subject (smokers) than the control (non-smokers), while the values observed for ESR, Hb, and RBC were relatively close. The mean values observed for PCV, TWBC and Hb were markedly lower (p ≤ 0.05) in test subject than in control and could be indicative of reduced percentage of blood in the cell, porous immune system and decreased iron group of heme.