D02. NCNPR Activities at Coy Waller Complex

Corresponding author (NCNPR, School of Pharmacy): Mohamed M. Radwan, [email protected]://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters/1024/thumbnail.jp

New trends in cannabis potency in USA and Europe during the last decade (2008-2017)

Through the potency monitoring program at the University of Mississippi supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a total of 18108 samples of cannabis preparations have been analyzed over the last decade, using a validated GC/FID method. The samples are classified as sinsemilla, marijuana, ditchweed, hashish, and hash oil (now referred to as cannabis concentrate). The number of samples received over the last 5 years has decreased dramatically due to the legalization of marijuana either for medical or for recreational purposes in many US states. The results showed that the mean Δ9-THC concentration has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, from 8.9% in 2008 to 17.1% in 2017. The mean Δ9-THC:CBD ratio also rose substantially from 23 in 2008 to 104 in 2017. There was also marked increase in the proportion of hash oil samples (concentrates) seized (0.5-4.7%) and their mean Δ9-THC concentration (6.7-55.7%) from 2008 to 2017. Other potency monitoring programs are also present in several European countries such as The Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, and Italy. These programs have also documented increases in Δ9-THC concentrations and Δ9-THC:CBD ratios in cannabis. These trends in the last decade suggest that cannabis is becoming an increasingly harmful product in the USA and Europe.</p

Validating a predictive model of cannabinoid inheritance with feral, clinical, and industrial Cannabis sativa

© 2020 The Authors. American Journal of Botany published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Botanical Society of America Premise: How genetic variation within a species affects phytochemical composition is a fundamental question in botany. The ratio of two specialized metabolites in Cannabis sativa, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), can be grouped into three main classes (THC-type, CBD-type, and intermediate type). We tested a genetic model associating these three groups with functional and nonfunctional alleles of the cannabidiolic acid synthase gene (CBDAS). Methods: We characterized cannabinoid content and assayed CBDAS genotypes of \u3e300 feral C. sativa plants in Minnesota, United States. We performed a test cross to assess CBDAS inheritance. Twenty clinical cultivars obtained blindly from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and 12 Canadian-certified grain cultivars were also examined. Results: Frequencies of CBD-type, intermediate-type, and THC-type feral plants were 0.88, 0.11, and 0.01, respectively. Although total cannabinoid content varied substantially, the three groupings were perfectly correlated with CBDAS genotypes. Genotype frequencies observed in the test cross were consistent with codominant Mendelian inheritance of the THC:CBD ratio. Despite significant mean differences in total cannabinoid content, CBDAS genotypes blindly predicted the THC:CBD ratio among clinical cultivars, and the same was true for industrial grain cultivars when plants exhibited \u3e0.5% total cannabinoid content. Conclusions: Our results extend the generality of the inheritance model for THC:CBD to diverse C. sativa accessions and demonstrate that CBDAS genotyping can predict the ratio in a variety of practical applications. Cannabinoid profiles and associated CBDAS segregation patterns suggest that feral C. sativa populations are potentially valuable experimental systems and sources of germplasm

Evaluation of dispensaries’ cannabis flowers for accuracy of labeling of cannabinoids content

Abstract Background Cannabis policies have changed drastically over the last few years with many states enacting medical cannabis laws, and some authorizing recreational use; all against federal laws. As a result, cannabis products are marketed in dispensaries in different forms, most abundantly as flowers intended for smoking and sometimes vaping. All samples used in this study were obtained directly from law enforcement. The sample collection process was facilitated and funded by the National Marijuana Initiative (NMI), part of the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. This initial report focuses on cannabis flowers. Similar studies with other cannabis products will be the subject of a future report. Methods A total of 107 Δ9-THC cannabis flower samples were collected by law enforcement from adult commercial use cannabis dispensaries, located in three different states (Colorado, Oregon, and California) and analyzed in this study for cannabinoid concentration. Samples were analyzed by GC-FID following our previously published procedure. Discussion The label claims for total Δ9-THC content ranged from 12.04 to 58.20% w/w, while GC-FID results showed a concentration ranging from 12.95 to 36.55% w/w. Of the evaluated 107 products, only 32 samples have Δ9-THC content within ± 20% of the labeled content. However, the remaining 75 samples were found to be out of the ± 20% acceptance criteria. The degree of agreement for the tested samples using ± 20% tolerance with label claims was only 30%. The results of this study indicate that there is a need for more stringent regulations to ensure that product labeling is accurate, as 70% of the evaluated products did not meet the ± 20% acceptance criteria. This highlights the importance of healthcare professionals and patients being vigilant about the Δ9-THC content, as inaccurate labeling of cannabis products could potentially result in adverse health effects. Furthermore, there is a pressing need for more rigorous regulation of commercial cannabis products in the United States

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass

In recent years, cannabis has been proposed and promoted not only as a medicine for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, but also as an industrial crop for different purposes. Being an agricultural product, cannabis inflorescences may be contaminated by environmental pathogens at high concentrations, which might cause health problems if not controlled. Therefore, limits have to be placed on the levels of aerobic bacteria as well as yeast and mold. To ensure the safety of cannabis plant material and related products, a remediation process has to be put in place. Gamma irradiation is a sterilization process mainly used for pharmaceuticals, foods, cosmetics, agricultural, and herbal products including cannabis plant material. This study was designed to determine the effect of irradiation on the microbial count as well as on the chemical and physical profiles of the cannabis biomass, particularly cannabinoids, terpenes, and moisture content. The full cannabinoid profile was measured by GC/FID and HPLC analysis, while terpene profile and moisture content were determined using GC/MS and Loss on Drying (LoD) methods, respectively. Analyses were conducted on the samples before and after gamma irradiation. The results showed that the minimum and maximum doses were 15 and 20.8 KiloGray (KGY), respectively. Total Aerobic Microbial Count (TAMC) and Total Yeast and Mold Count (TYMC) were determined. The study showed that irradiation has no effect on the cannabinoids and little effect on terpenes and moisture content, but it did result in the virtual sterilization of the plant material, as evidenced by the low levels of bacterial and fungal colony-forming units (CFUs) < 10 after gamma irradiation