Abstract

Aim: This study was to elucidate some of the effects of oral administration of Cannabis sativa on the visual system of male Wistar rats.  Methods: 12 adult male Wistar rats were used for this study. The rats were distributed into two groups (A and B). The rats in group A (treatment group) were administered with 300 mg/kg body weight of Cannabis sativa while the rats in group B (control group) were administered with equal volume of phosphate buffered saline. The duration of administration was 21days. The rats were sacrificed using cervical dislocation 24 hours after the last administration. The brains were excised and fixed in 10% formol calcium. 72 hours after fixation, right occipital cortex, right lateral geniculate nucleus and right superior colliculus were excised respectively for histological processing and sections stained with H&E.  Results: Microscopic observations revealed alterations in the histoarchitecture of the organs of visual system of the rats in the treated group compared with the rats in the control group with preserved histological outline. Conclusion: Oral administration of Cannabis on the visual system of male Wistar rats caused degeneration in the neurons of occipital cortex, right lateral geniculate nucleus and right superior colliculus of Wistar rats.

Key words: Drug abuse, Vision, Cannabis sativa, Brain