Recreational cannabis: Profile of cannabinoids present in marijuana samples supplied by the consuming population

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2023.4385

Published 30 March 2023 Open Access


Santiago Gómez Velásquez Master in Public Health. Secretary of Youth of Medellin. PhD student in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Universidad CES, Medellin, Colombia. image/svg+xml , Ángela María Amaya Heredia Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. image/svg+xml , Santiago Bedoya Moncada Political Scientist. Secretary of the Youth of Medellin, Medellin, Colombia. , Juan Esteban Patiño González Master in Psychology. Secretary of Youth of Medellin, Medellin, Colombia. , Jorge Ariel Martínez Ramírez PhD in Forensic Toxicology. Professor, Department of Pharmacy, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. image/svg+xml



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Keywords:

Cannabis, Cannabinoids, Tetrahydrocannabinol, Cannabidiol, Colombia

Abstract


As cannabis/marijuana is one of the most consumed psychoactive substances in the world, knowing the composition and type of cannabis sold in urban environments is a necessary input for the design of public health policies based on scientific evidence. This study characterized the main phytocannabinoids of marijuana samples (cigarettes or buds) obtained in urban and rural areas of the city of Medellín in October 2021. Non-probabilistic convenience sampling was carried out in which 87 marijuana samples donated by consumers were collected at different collection points throughout the city, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and flame ionization techniques were employed for the characterization of phytocannabinoids. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was found to be the main constituent of circulating marijuana in Medellín, where 67.8% of the samples had a high or higher toxicological range for THC; the foregoing in a context where the deregulated market in practice limits the possibility that consumers have to calibrate or decide the concentration of cannabinoids in their doses.


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