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Feb 18, 2020 | Blogs, Food / Beverage, Forensic | 0 comments
Cannabis refers to a genus of flowering plants originating from Asia.1 It’s also an umbrella term that includes both marijuana plants and hemp plants, among others. With the flurry of legalization across the United States, CBD and THC derived products have been thrown into the mix in recent years. But the question is, what’s the difference, and what do marijuana and hemp testing labs need to know?
From the perspectives of cultivation, chemistry and regulation, there is a big difference.
The main differences are what you should know.
In a nutshell, it comes down to cannabinoid content—the chemicals that interact with cannabinoid receptors in the brain to regulate how a person feels, moves and reacts.2 There are around 66 of these naturally occurring chemicals in cannabis, which includes both psychoactive and non-psychoactive compounds. The buzzwords of the moment are THC and CBD.
In conclusion, hemp is not a different species of the cannabis plant. Industrial hemp and marijuana are biologically related. They are different cultivars bred from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa.
Marijuana cultivars are grown for their high levels of THC, whereas industrial hemp is not. Both marijuana and hemp produce CBD. From a chemical perspective, the molecule is identical regardless of its cannabis source. From a regulatory perspective, however, CBD products derived from hemp and CBD products derived from marijuana are entirely different.
What’s the difference in how hemp, marijuana, CBD and THC are regulated?It’s a complicated web of federal and state-level activity. The different legislation and regulations inextricably link the compounds. Various state agencies often regulate the hemp and cannabis industries separately, however. Here’s the rundown:
When it comes to the hemp and marijuana classification, the magic number is 0.3%. When it comes to CBD and THC products, it’s a gray area that has prompted the US FDA to state that a regulatory framework is in the pipeline.
But there are other things to consider.
Hemp is a bioaccumulator and is used to cleanse the soil. This means it absorbs toxins such as pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers and heavy metals. The downside is that CBD extracted from industrial hemp cultivated in non-organic conditions can contain these contaminants. Additionally, CBD products from the black market are not required to undergo any testing for these chemical residues. The consumer has no idea what they are getting when a non-licensed product is purchased.
Medical and recreational cannabis by authorized growers, producers and dispensaries tend to be safer because they are produced according to stricter standards and carefully tested for potency and contamination. The main thing is that you understand the specified detection limits for THC and CBD for the products you are testing within the state or country that you are testing.
What does this mean for cannabis labs testing marijuana and hemp?Analyzing products from both hemp and marijuana plants is important to assure the efficacy and safety of the products. Mislabeled products are a big problem and a significant concern for consumers. Issues range from inaccurate amounts to completely incorrect ingredients.3
One of the most important tests for cannabis products is the concentration of both CBD and THC. Recent reports have found non-licensed CBD products for sale that do not contain the levels they claimed, or that contain no CBD at all. In addition to testing for potency, safety is paramount. Cannabis products need to be accurately tested for the presence of pesticides, herbicides and plant growth regulators (generically referred to as pesticides), as well as microbials such as mycotoxins.
In legalized markets, many of these chemicals are banned for use in marijuana cultivation as the actual toxicological consequences are unknown and present a real risk to consumers. This demonstrates the clear need for well-regulated legal production, distribution and product testing processes. Cannabis testing laboratories are fundamental to the safety of the entire production pipeline.
High sensitivity, mass accuracy and rigorous detection with linear dynamic range are key when it comes to cannabis product testing. Because of the complexity of cannabis samples, labs should consider employing an instrument system that can handle multiple workflows, such as potency analysis, pesticide testing, mycotoxin analysis and terpenes profiling. The system also needs to isolate and identify as many known and unknown compounds as possible and to detect very low concentrations (in the parts per million or parts per billion range).
LC separation with MS/MS detection is a commonly used technique for cannabis analysis as it meets all these requirements. It offers a fast, accurate and comprehensive analysis of marijuana and hemp-derived cannabis products within required detection limits, where applicable. The SCIEX QTRAP® 6500+ LC-MS/MS System provides exceptional performance in this area. I recommend checking out this technical note that uses the QTRAP 6500+ System to quantify THC in hemp-derived samples.
If you’re interested to learn about instrumentation, here’s a blog I published that gives you a good overview of well-known techniques used to analyze cannabis samples. For those more ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into analytical research in areas of concern, access our Cannabis and Hemp Testing Compendium.
References
It is no secret that (bio)pharmaceutical research and development is complex, both scientific and regulatory processes. Here is an overview of just some of the ways SCIEX is working to support these challenges.
In a recent webinar, available on demand, scientists Luiza Chrojan and Ryan Hylands from Pharmaron, provided insights into the deployment of capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) within cell and gene therapy. Luiza and Ryan shared purity data on plasmids used for adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing and data on AAV genome integrity, viral protein (VP) purity and VP ratios using the BioPhase 8800 system.
Last year, Technology Networks hosted two webinars that featured groundbreaking research utilizing SWATH DIA (data-independent acquisition) for exposomics and metabolomics. Researchers Dr. Vinicius Verri Hernandes from the University of Vienna and Dr. Cristina Balcells from Imperial College London (ICL) demonstrated how a DIA approach can be successfully implemented in small molecule analysis using the ZenoTOF 7600 system. Their innovative approaches highlight the potential of SWATH DIA to enhance the detection and analysis of chemical exposures and metabolites, paving the way for new insights into environmental health and disease mechanisms.
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