YOUNG ADULTS IN BENIN CITY

Recently, social attitude toward the use of marijuana has changed and some have been advocating for legalization of its use. In the same vein, there has been an increasing interest relating to the health risk associated with it and how it affects several organs in the human body including the liver which is a key metabolic organ of the body. The aim of this study was to determine the possible effects of marijuana consumption on liver function parameters. Sixty adult marijuana smokers and 60 age-matched non-marijuana/cigarette smokers were recruited in the study. Socio-demographic data were collected using structured questionnaire. Serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), total protein (TP) and albumin were determined by spectrophotometric method. Data were compared using appropriate statistical tool. The results indicate that AST(42.4±8.67),ALT (41.67±14.15)andGGT (29.56±8.48) activities were significantly higher (p<0.05) in marijuana smokers than in nonsmokers (26.34±4.95 24.00±5.97, 14.91±3.36) respectively. Conversely, total protein and albumin concentrations were significantly lower (p<0.05) in marijuana smokers than non- smokers. Serum ALP activity was however not significantly different when compared with controls. Some 48/60 (80%) of marijuana smokers had AST values (44.8±8.44) above the upper limit of the reference range while 34/60 (56.7%) had GGT values (61.3±7.60) above upper limit of the reference range. Marijuana consumption may predispose individuals to liver injury independent of quantity consumed and duration of use therefore the public should aware of the liver health risk associated with marijuana consumption.