Cannabis in the wild: Analysis of street cannabis and cannabinoid composition in Australia

IF 4.4 2区医学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

International Journal of Drug Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104974

Valentina Lorenzetti , Isabella Goodwin , Erynn Christensen , Rebecca Kirkham , Yann Chye , Peter Galettis , Rebecca Gordon , Nadia Solowij , Murat Yücel

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Abstract

Background

Australia has one of the highest rates of cannabis use globally, yet the concentration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of illicit street cannabis has not been formally assessed in over a decade. We aimed to comprehensively profile the concentration of THC, cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids in contemporary illicit street cannabis in regional Australia, assess variation over time, and examine how the amount of THC relates to consumer’s perceived product strength.

Methods

Participants donated two 1-gram samples of cannabis at 3 different timepoints (i.e., 6 samples total) ∼9-weeks apart, over 5 months. High-performance liquid chromatography quantified the concentrations of THC, CBD, cannabigerol, cannabichromene, cannabinol, tetrahydrocannabivarin, and their plant-based carboxylic acid precursors (THCA, CBDA, CBGA, CBNA, THCVA) in percentage and milligrams.

Results

Thirty-seven participants donated 127 cannabis samples. On average, one cannabis gram contained 34.8 mg THC (6.96 Standard THC units), 12.00 % total THC (THC+(THCA*0.877)), and 0.30 % total CBD (CBD+(CBDA*0.877)). THC concentrations remained stable across participants’ current and past samples over time (p > 0.05). Finally, no correlation was found between participants' subjective assessments of cannabis strength and THC or total THC content in the same product (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Contemporary illicit street cannabis in regional Australia is high in THC and low in CBD. The concentration of THC is lower than international trends but appears to have increased compared to reports on illicit Australian cannabis collected over 10 years ago, while low concentrations of CBD have remained stable over time. Perceived cannabis strength may be influenced by factors beyond measurable THC concentrations, such as individual tolerance, consumption methods, or consumer expectations.

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野生大麻：澳大利亚街头大麻和大麻素成分分析

澳大利亚是全球大麻使用率最高的国家之一，但十多年来，非法街头大麻Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol（四氢大麻酚）的浓度尚未得到正式评估。我们旨在全面分析澳大利亚地区当代非法街头大麻中四氢大麻酚、大麻二酚（CBD）和其他大麻素的浓度，评估随时间的变化，并研究四氢大麻酚的含量与消费者感知的产品强度之间的关系。在5个月的时间里，参与者在3个不同的时间点（即总共6个样本）捐赠2个1克的大麻样本，间隔9周。高效液相色谱法定量测定四氢大麻酚、CBD、大麻酚、大麻二色胺、大麻酚、四氢大麻素及其植物基羧酸前体（THCA、CBDA、CBGA、CBNA、THCVA）的浓度（百分比和毫克）。结果37名参与者捐赠了127份大麻样本。平均每克大麻含有34.8 mg THC（6.96标准THC单位），12.00% THC （THC+(THCA*0.877)）和0.30% CBD （CBD+(CBDA*0.877)）。随着时间的推移，参与者当前和过去样品的四氢大麻酚浓度保持稳定（p > 0.05）。最后，参与者对大麻强度的主观评价与同一产品中四氢大麻酚或总四氢大麻酚含量之间没有相关性（p > 0.05）。结论当代澳大利亚地区非法街头大麻中THC含量高，CBD含量低。四氢大麻酚的浓度低于国际趋势，但与10多年前收集的澳大利亚非法大麻的报告相比似乎有所增加，而CBD的低浓度一直保持稳定。感知到的大麻强度可能受到可测量的四氢大麻酚浓度以外的因素的影响，例如个人耐受性、消费方法或消费者期望。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Drug Policy SUBSTANCE ABUSE-

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

11.40%

发文量

307

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Drug Policy provides a forum for the dissemination of current research, reviews, debate, and critical analysis on drug use and drug policy in a global context. It seeks to publish material on the social, political, legal, and health contexts of psychoactive substance use, both licit and illicit. The journal is particularly concerned to explore the effects of drug policy and practice on drug-using behaviour and its health and social consequences. It is the policy of the journal to represent a wide range of material on drug-related matters from around the world.