Analytical Methods for Herbal Products Containing Synthetic Cannabinoids: A Review

Synthetic Cannabinoids (SCs) have received considerable attention in the recent years. Most of these SCs are potent cannabinoid receptor agonists that were initially developed to carry out scientific research but were lately hijacked by the illegal clandestine drug operators. SCs psychoactive effects, along with their dubious legitimate status, have made them notoriously attractive for clandestine recreational purposes. Many SC-containing products are labelled “Not for Human Consumption” in an effort to bypass regulation that prohibits the selling and manufacturing of such substances for human usage. SCs solutions are splashed onto herbal stuff and marketed as “herbal incense” worldwide. JWH-073, JWH-018, and CP 47,497, along with their C6, C7, and C8 analogs were the very first SCs detected by following the exploratory forensic analysis of seized botanical materials and street drugs. The number of these psychoactive compounds have grown over time, and appeared in the market as street drugs. These include numerous diverse classes of compounds having psychotropic properties which were characterized and identified. Governments all over the world are taking measures to prohibit and regulate these drugs of abuse. As many of these compounds are not included in the present drug laws they are posing serious legal problems for their effective control. As the forensic laboratories are receiving seized samples of this category for analysis, the knowledge and methodology of their analysis has become the urgent need of the hour. The objective of this paper is to review the analytical methodologies developed and adopted for the analysis of the SCs in herbal products for the benefit of forensic community.