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 Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and low levels of other phytocannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD). Use of this type of cannabis is thought by some to pr...

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Main Authors:	Swift, Wendy, Wong, Alex, Li, Kong M., Arnold, Jonathon C., McGregor, Iain S.
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Public Library of Science 2013
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722200/

id	pubmed-3722200
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-37222002013-07-26 Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile Swift, Wendy Wong, Alex Li, Kong M. Arnold, Jonathon C. McGregor, Iain S. Research Article Recent analysis of the cannabinoid content of cannabis plants suggests a shift towards use of high potency plant material with high levels of Δ9-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 (<0.1%). “Known Provenance” samples showed no significant differences in THC content between those seized from indoor versus outdoor cultivation sites. The present analysis echoes trends reported in other countries towards the use of high potency cannabis with very low CBD content. The implications for public health outcomes and harm reduction strategies are discussed. Public Library of Science 2013-07-24 /pmc/articles/PMC3722200/ /pubmed/23894589 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070052 Text en © 2013 Swift et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Swift, Wendy Wong, Alex Li, Kong M. Arnold, Jonathon C. McGregor, Iain S.
spellingShingle	Swift, Wendy Wong, Alex Li, Kong M. Arnold, Jonathon C. McGregor, Iain S. Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
author_facet	Swift, Wendy Wong, Alex Li, Kong M. Arnold, Jonathon C. McGregor, Iain S.
author_sort	Swift, Wendy
title	Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
title_short	Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
title_full	Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
title_fullStr	Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
title_full_unstemmed	Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile
title_sort	analysis of cannabis seizures in nsw, australia: cannabis potency and cannabinoid profile
description	Recent analysis of the cannabinoid content of cannabis plants suggests a shift towards use of high potency plant material with high levels of Δ9-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 (<0.1%). “Known Provenance” samples showed no significant differences in THC content between those seized from indoor versus outdoor cultivation sites. The present analysis echoes trends reported in other countries towards the use of high potency cannabis with very low CBD content. The implications for public health outcomes and harm reduction strategies are discussed.
publisher	Public Library of Science
publishDate	2013
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722200/
_version_	1611997642038968320

Analysis of Cannabis Seizures in NSW, Australia: Cannabis Potency and Cannabinoid Profile

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