Determination of cannabinoids in oral fluid and urine of “light cannabis” consumers: a pilot study
-
Roberta Pacifici
,
Manuela Pellegrini
Abstract
Background
In those countries where cannabis use is still illegal, some manufacturers started producing and selling “light cannabis”: dried flowering tops containing the psychoactive principle Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at concentrations lower than 0.2% together with variable concentration of cannabidiol (CBD). We here report a pilot study on the determination of cannabinoids in the oral fluid and urine of six individuals after smoking 1 g of “light cannabis”.
Methods
On site screening for oral fluid samples was performed, as a laboratory immunoassay test for urine samples. A validated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was then applied to quantify THC and CBD, independently from results of screening tests.
Results
On site screening for oral fluid samples, with a THC cut-off of 25 ng/mL gave negative results for all the individuals at different times after smoking. Similarly, negative results for urine samples screening from all the individuals were obtained. Confirmation analyses showed that oral fluid THC was in the concentration range from 2.5 to 21.5 ng/mL in the first 30 min after smoking and then values slowly decreased. CBD values were usually one order of magnitude higher than those of THC. THC-COOH, the principal urinary THC metabolite, presented the maximum urinary value of 1.8 ng/mL, while urinary CBD had a value of 15.1 ng/mL.
Conclusions
Consumers of a single 1 g dose of “light cannabis” did not result as positive in urine screening, assessing recent consumption, so that confirmation would not be required. Conversely, they might result as positive to oral fluid testing with some on-site kits, with THC cut-off lower than 25 ng/mL, at least in the first hour after smoking and hence confirmation analysis can be then required. No conclusions can be drawn of eventual chronic users.
Acknowledgments
The work was supported by Presidency of the Ministers Council, Department of Antidrug Policy.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: Presidency of the Ministers Council, Department of Antidrug Policy.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
References
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2018-0566).
©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- Frontmatter
- Obituary
- Jillian Russyll (AKA Jill) Tate
- Editorial
- The long way to standardization of practices: HbA1c as archetypal example
- Reviews
- Secretory tumors of the pituitary gland: a clinical biochemistry perspective
- Thalassemia in the laboratory: pearls, pitfalls, and promises
- Opinion Paper
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- General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Patient’s knowledge and awareness about the effect of the over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and dietary supplements on laboratory test results: a survey in 18 European countries
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- The utility of saliva testing in the estimation of uremic toxin levels in serum
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- Moving from the second to the third generation Roche PTH assays: what are the consequences for clinical practice?
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- Perioperative heart-type fatty acid binding protein concentration cutoffs for the identification of severe acute kidney injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery
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