Trend of the psychoactive potential of Cannabis sativa l: Plant samples

Abstract

The products of the Cannabis sativa L. plant are the most widely used type of illegal drugs. In addition to growing under natural conditions, illegal breeders tend to produce, under artificial conditions, a plant with a high psychoactive potential i.e. high content of the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol. This paper includes the analyses results of the content of tetrahydrocannabinol in cannabis plant samples seized in the Republic of Srpska from 1999 to 2008 and from 2011 to 2016, in order to monitor the psychoactive potential of the samples available on the illegal market and the assessment trends in the future. The analyses of tetrahydrocannabinol content conducted for 3.718 samples was performed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector according to the method of external standard. The results showed that the illegal market has samples of cannabis plant material with a noticeable difference in psychoactive ingredient content, with an increase in the number of high-potent samples. Besides the high-potent samples, health risks are caused by a great variety and sudden changes in potential of illegal drug samples, as it is necessary to continue to monitor the psychoactive potential of cannabis plants samples on the illegal market.

Keywords

• Cannabis sativa L.
• psychoactive potential
• tetrahydrocannabinol
• gas chromatography