Journal:Analysis of cannabidiol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and their acids in CBD/hemp oil products
| Full article title | Analysis of cannabidiol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and their acids in CBD/hemp oil products |
|---|---|
| Journal | Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids |
| Author(s) | ElSohly, M.A., Murphy, T.P.; Khan, I.; Walker, L.W.; Gul, W. |
| Author affiliation(s) | ElSohly Laboratories, University of Mississippi |
| Primary contact | Email: elsohly at elsohly dot com |
| Year published | 2020 |
| Volume and issue | 3(1) |
| Page(s) | 1–13 |
| DOI | 10.1159/000509550 |
| ISSN | 2504-3889 |
| Distribution license | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International |
| Website | https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/509550 |
| Download | https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/509550 (PDF) |
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This article should be considered a work in progress and incomplete. Consider this article incomplete until this notice is removed. |
Abstract
Hemp products are readily available and are aggressively marketed for their health and medicinal benefits. Most consumers of these products are interested because of their cannabidiol (CBD) content, which has taken the natural products industry by storm. The CBD and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) concentrations in these products are often absent, and even where labeled, the accuracy of the label amounts is often questionable. In order to gain a better understanding of the CBD content, fifty hemp products were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for CBD, Δ9-THC, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ9-THCAA), and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). Δ9-THCAA and CBDA are the natural precursors of Δ9-THC and CBD in the plant material. Decarboxylation to Δ9-THC and CBD is essential to get the total benefit of the neutral cannabinoids. Therefore, analysis for the neutral and acid cannabinoids is important to get a complete picture of the chemical profile of the products. The GC-MS method used for the analysis of these products was developed and validated. A 10-m × 0.18-mm DB-1 (0.4 μ film) column was used for the analysis. The majority of the hemp products were oils, while one of the products was hemp butter, one was a concentrated hemp powder capsule, and another was a hemp extract capsule. Most of the products contained less than 0.1% CBD and less than 0.01% Δ9-THC. Three products contained 0.1–1% CBD, and two products contained 0.1–0.9% Δ9-THC. All of the samples appeared to be decarboxylated since the CBDA and Δ9-THCAA results were less than 0.001%. The developed method is simple, sensitive, and reproducible for the detection of Δ9-THC, Δ9-THCAA, CBD, and CBDA in CBD/hemp oil products.
Introduction
In the last two decades, there has been an escalation in cannabis use in the U.S., with growing public popularity and pressure, together with an inconsistent and confusing regulatory picture. In the U.S., the use and possession of marijuana is a federal crime; however, medical marijuana legislation has been adopted in the District of Columbia and in 33 states, while recreational marijuana use has been legalized in 14 states and U.S. territories.[1] In addition, 13 states have now passed legislation to allow certain CBD products, restricted in Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) content, for specific disease indications.[1] In the states in which medical marijuana has been legalized, recent studies have shown that 16–26% of medical cannabis users also consume other hemp products.[2][3] In December 2018, the passage of the “Farm Bill” (Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) greatly accelerated the aggressive marketing of products containing cannabidiol (CBD), a constituent of the Cannabis plant. That legislation redefined “hemp” as Cannabis sativa containing < 0.3% dry weight of the psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-THC, provided it is produced under regulations and guidelines stipulated in the statute.[4] It also removed “hemp,” so defined, as a Schedule I substance. This increasing trend of legalization has led to the production of hundreds of kinds of hemp and hemp oil products, commercialized in various forms, including oils, balms, lotions, candies, and capsules. These products contain variable concentrations of Δ9-THC and CBD.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Conference of State Legislatures (10 March 2020). "State Medical Marijuana Laws". https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx.
- ↑ Grella, C.E.; Rodriguez, L.; Kim, T. (2014). "Patterns of medical marijuana use among individuals sampled from medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 46 (4): 267–75. doi:10.1080/02791072.2014.944960. PMID 25188696.
- ↑ Walsh, Z.; Callaway, R.; Belle-Isle, L. et al. (2013). "Cannabis for therapeutic purposes: Patient characteristics, access, and reasons for use". International Journal on Drug Policy 24 (6): 511–6. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.08.010. PMID 24095000.
- ↑ U.S. Government Publishing Office (20 December 2018). "Public Law 115-334 - Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018" (PDF). https://www.govinfo.gov/link/plaw/115/public/334?link-type=pdf.
Notes
This presentation is faithful to the original, with only a few minor changes to presentation. Some grammar, punctuation, and repetition was cleaned up in the title and text to improve readability. In some cases important information was missing from the references, and that information was added. Nothing else was changed in accordance with the NoDerivatives portion of the license.
