Jeffrey C. Raber

Cannabinoid Dose and Label Accuracy in Edible Medical Cannabis Products

Cannabinoid Dose and Label Accuracy in Edible Medical Cannabis Products As the use of cannabis (marijuana) for medical purposes has expanded, a variety of edible products for oral consumption has been developed. An estimated 16% to 26% of patients using medical cannabis consume edible products.1,2 Even though oral consumption lacks the harmful by-products of smoking, difficult dose titration can result in overdosing or underdosing, highlighting the importance of accurate product labeling. Regulation and quality assurance for edible product cannabinoid content and labeling are generally lacking. We investigated the label accuracy of edible cannabis products.

Determination of Pesticide Residues in Cannabis Smoke

The present study was conducted in order to quantify to what extent cannabis consumers may be exposed to pesticide and other chemical residues through inhaled mainstream cannabis smoke. Three different smoking devices were evaluated in order to provide a generalized data set representative of pesticide exposures possible for medical cannabis users. Three different pesticides, bifenthrin, diazinon, and permethrin, along with the plant growth regulator paclobutrazol, which are readily available to cultivators in commercial products, were investigated in the experiment. Smoke generated from the smoking devices was condensed in tandem chilled gas traps and analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Recoveries of residues were as high as 69.5% depending on the device used and the component investigated, suggesting that the potential of pesticide and chemical residue exposures to cannabis users is substantial and may pose a significant toxicological threat in the absence of adequate regulatory frameworks.

The Conversion and Transfer of Cannabinoids from Cannabis to Smoke Stream in Cigarettes

Cannabis cigarettes (100% cannabis) with various percentages of cannabinoids were smoked through an experimental setup, and cannabinoids in the mainstream, sidestream and ash were collected. The cannabis used for the experiments predominantly contained cannabinoid acids. Less than 0.5% of the originally present tetrahydrocannabinolic acid or cannabidiolic acid was recovered as carboxylic acids in the smoke stream, indicating almost complete decarboxylation of cannabinoid acids upon combustion. Recovery of the theoretically present amount of tetrahydrocannabinol from plant material in the smoke stream varied from 27.5-46.3% and an average over all the experiments of 36.9%. The recovery of the theoretically present amount of cannabidiol showed similar results with a range of recovery from 29.9-42.6%, with an average of 38.4%. On average over 50% of the cannabinoids originally present in the plant material could be recovered in the combined ash, mainstream and sidestream smoke. The missing mass balance is most likely caused by destruction of the cannabinoids upon combustion.