Evaluation of cannabis product mislabeling: The development of a unified cannabinoid LC-MS/MS method to analyze e-liquids and edible products

The 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act federally legalized the cultivation of hemp and manufacture and sale of cannabidiol (CBD). The overproduction of CBD led to a significant drop in price. To maintain profitability, manufacturers began producing synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, marketing them as “legal” and “hemp-derived” due to their synthesis from CBD. The cannabis industry is adaptable, and laboratories have struggled to keep up with the rapid emergence of new compounds. This has resulted in products with unlabeled or mislabeled cannabinoids, causing unexpected adverse events. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the separation and quantitation of 21 cannabinoids. The method was applied in the analysis of 55 commercially available products. Results demonstrate significant issues with quality assurance and labeling in the unregulated cannabis market. Many products either did not contain the cannabinoids listed on their labels or contained cannabinoids that were not listed. When cannabinoids were present, their concentrations were often incorrect, with some products showing high concentrations that could pose a potential health risk. Moreover, safety, dosing, and other pharmacological data of these newly proliferated cannabinoids are lacking. Reports of adverse events are increasing to poison controls centers and emergency departments following cannabis product use. Often, the actual cannabinoids involved in the case reprots are not determined. It is critical to develop more comprehensive testing methodologies to determine the content of cannabis products and to implement stronger quality assurance measures and regulations to protect the public from low-quality and potentially dangerous products.