Donald F. Stanford

Rectal bioavailability of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol from various esters

The bioavailability of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC) from suppository formulations containing several polar esters was studied. The esters tested were the hemisuccinate, N-formyl alaninate, N-methyl carbamate, and methoxy acetate. These esters were administered to monkeys in both lipophilic and hydrophilic suppository bases, namely, Witepsol H15 and polyethylene glycol, respectively. Each suppository contained a dose equivalent to 10 mg delta 9-THC. Blood samples were analyzed for both delta 9-THC and its carboxylic acid metabolite (ll-nor-delta 9-THC-9-COOH) using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The data showed that, with the exception of the hemisuccinate, no delta 9-THC or its metabolite was detected in the blood samples using the Witepsol H15. Using polyethylene glycol, low levels of delta 9-THC and its metabolite were detected in blood for all esters tested. The levels, however, were lower than those observed with delta 9-THC hemisuccinate using Witepsol H15. Subsequent studies in the conscious dog using the hemisuccinate in Witepsol H15 showed 67% bioavailability of delta 9-THC with a linear response in the dose range equivalent to 5-20 mg of delta 9-THC. No significant bioavailability differences were found when delta 9-THC hemisuccinate ester was administered in various lipophilic bases (Hydrokote 25, Kaomel, Suppocire AIML, and Witepsol H15).

Chemical Fingerprinting of Cannabis as a Means of Source Identification

Marijuana is the most widely abused and readily available illicit drug in the United States, with an estimated 11.5 million current users annually purchasing more than

Immunoassay and GC-MS Procedures for the Analysis of Drugs of Abuse in Meconium

10 billion of the drug (1). Drug enforcement agencies are therefore keenly interested in trafficking routes of both foreign and domestically grown supplies of marijuana. From confidential sources to satellites, these agencies employ a multitude of methods to gather intelligence to direct resources, plan control operations, and develop policies. A practical means to recognize the source of seized marijuana would be a valuable tool for those purposes. Based on findings from 1990 to 1992 and described here, one way to determine origin is by using a chemical fingerprint system, a method that has shown promise as an effective intelligence tool to ascertain the geographic origin of confiscated marijuana samples. Of the many factors that affect the chemical constituents of marijuana, it is apparent that environmental factors consistently induce profiles unique to each environ. An “environ of origin” as broad as a continent or as small as an indoor garden may be differentiated based on the chemical fingerprint, or “signature,” of marijuana cultivated there—if a statistically significant number of samples grown in that environ are available for comparison. However, because all environs are not unique, the chemical fingerprint of cannabis is not considered to be an ultimate tool for forensic applications, although the technique may effectively support other types of evidence and is certainly of particular value in intelligence operations.