Analysis of cannabis seizures in NSW, Australia: cannabis potency and cannabinoid profile

Recent analysis of the cannabinoid content of cannabis plants suggests a shift towards use of high potency plant material with high levels of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and low levels of other phytocannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD). Use of this type of cannabis is thought by some to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-07, Vol.8 (7), p.e70052
Main Authors: Swift, Wendy, Wong, Alex, Li, Kong M, Arnold, Jonathon C, McGregor, Iain S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol
Australia
Cannabidiol - analysis
Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids - analysis
Cannabis
Cannabis - chemistry
Cannabis sativa
Carboxylic acids
Cell adhesion & migration
Chemistry
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cultivation
Discipline
Drug abuse
Echo surveys
High-performance liquid chromatography
Liquid chromatography
Marijuana
Medicine
Mental health
Pharmacology
Plant Extracts - analysis
Police
Psychosis
Public health
Risk reduction
Seeds
Seizing
Seizures
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Trends
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Summary:Recent analysis of the cannabinoid content of cannabis plants suggests a shift towards use of high potency plant material with high levels of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and low levels of other phytocannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD). Use of this type of cannabis is thought by some to predispose to greater adverse outcomes on mental health and fewer therapeutic benefits. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of cannabis use in the world yet there has been no previous systematic analysis of the cannabis being used. In the present study we examined the cannabinoid content of 206 cannabis samples that had been confiscated by police from recreational users holding 15 g of cannabis or less, under the New South Wales "Cannabis Cautioning" scheme. A further 26 "Known Provenance" samples were analysed that had been seized by police from larger indoor or outdoor cultivation sites rather than from street level users. An HPLC method was used to determine the content of 9 cannabinoids: THC, CBD, cannabigerol (CBG), and their plant-based carboxylic acid precursors THC-A, CBD-A and CBG-A, as well as cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THC-V). The "Cannabis Cautioning" samples showed high mean THC content (THC+THC-A = 14.88%) and low mean CBD content (CBD+CBD-A = 0.14%). A modest level of CBG was detected (CBG+CBG-A = 1.18%) and very low levels of CBC, CBN and THC-V (
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0070052