Planta Med 2010; 76 - P14
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1251776

Potency Trends of Δ9-THC and other Cannabinoids in Confiscated Cannabis Preparations from 1993–2008

Z Mehmedic 1, S Chandra 1, D Slade 1, H Denham 1, S Foster 1, AS Patel 3, SA Ross 1, 4, IA Khan 1, 4, MA ElSohly 1, 5
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 3Medical Marketing Economics, LLC, PO Box 2309, Oxford, MS 38655, USA
  • 4Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 5Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA

The University of Mississippi has a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse to carry out a variety of research activities dealing with cannabis, including the Potency Monitoring (PM) program that provides analytical potency data on cannabis preparations confiscated in the United States. This report provides data on 46,211 samples seized and analyzed during 1993–2008. The data showed an upward trend in the mean Δ9-THC content of all confiscated cannabis preparations, which increased from 3.39% in 1993 to 8.78% in 2008. Hashish potencies did not increase consistently during this period; however, the mean yearly potency varied from 2.52–9.23% (1993–2003) to 11.98–29.33% (2004–2008). Hash oil potencies also varied considerably during this period (16.76±16.32%). The increase in cannabis preparation potency is mainly due to the increase in the potency of non-domestic versus domestic samples. There was no significant change in the potencies of CBC, CBD, CBN, CBG and THCV. Acknowledgement: This work was supported with federal funds from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services, USA, under the contract No. N01DA-7–7746.