Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 1/2019

01-02-2019 | Cannabinoid | Original Paper

New trends in cannabis potency in USA and Europe during the last decade (2008–2017)

Authors: Suman Chandra, Mohamed M. Radwan, Chandrani G. Majumdar, James C. Church, Tom P. Freeman, Mahmoud A. ElSohly

Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience | Issue 1/2019

Login to get access

Abstract

Through the potency monitoring program at the University of Mississippi supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a total of 18108 samples of cannabis preparations have been analyzed over the last decade, using a validated GC/FID method. The samples are classified as sinsemilla, marijuana, ditchweed, hashish, and hash oil (now referred to as cannabis concentrate). The number of samples received over the last 5 years has decreased dramatically due to the legalization of marijuana either for medical or for recreational purposes in many US states. The results showed that the mean Δ9-THC concentration has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, from 8.9% in 2008 to 17.1% in 2017. The mean Δ9-THC:CBD ratio also rose substantially from 23 in 2008 to 104 in 2017. There was also marked increase in the proportion of hash oil samples (concentrates) seized (0.5–4.7%) and their mean Δ9-THC concentration (6.7–55.7%) from 2008 to 2017. Other potency monitoring programs are also present in several European countries such as The Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, and Italy. These programs have also documented increases in Δ9-THC concentrations and Δ9-THC:CBD ratios in cannabis. These trends in the last decade suggest that cannabis is becoming an increasingly harmful product in the USA and Europe.
Literature
1.
Mukherjee A, Roy SC, De Bera S, Jiang H-E, Li X, Li C-S, Bera S (2008) Results of molecular analysis of an archaeological hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) DNA sample from North West China. Genet Resour Crop Evol 55:481–485CrossRef
2.
Russo EB (2007) History of cannabis and its preparations in saga, science, and sobriquet. Chem Biodivers 4:1614–1648CrossRefPubMed
3.
Zuardi AW (2006) History of cannabis as a medicine: a review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatría 28:153–157CrossRefPubMed
4.
Aggarwal SK, Carter GT, Sullivan MD, ZumBrunnen C, Morrill R, Mayer JD (2009) Medicinal use of cannabis in the united states: historical perspectives, current trends, and future directions. J Opioid Manag 5:153–168CrossRefPubMed
5.
6.
Hanuš LO (2009) Pharmacological and therapeutic secrets of plant and brain (endo) cannabinoids. Med Res Rev 29:213–271CrossRefPubMed
7.
Sharma HK (1996) Sociocultural perspective of substance use in India. Subst Use Misuse 31:1689–1714CrossRefPubMed
8.
Mary Lynn Mathre R (2012) Cannabis in medical practice: a legal, historical and pharmacological overview of the therapeutic use of marijuana. McFarland, Jefferson
9.
Fankhauser M (2002) History of cannabis in western medicine. The Haworth Integrative Healing Press, New York
10.
Nunn JF (2002) Ancient Egyptian medicine. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman
11.
Wills S (2003) Cannabis use and abuse by man: an historical perspective. In: Brown DT (ed) Cannabis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 16–46
12.
Booth M (2003) Cannabis: a history. St. Martin’s, New York
13.
Du Toit BM (1980) Cannabis in Africa: A survey of its distribution in Africa, and a study of cannabis use and users in multi-ethnic South Africa. AA Bolkema, Rotterdam
14.
Du Toit BM (1975) Dagga: the history and ethnographic setting of Cannabis sativa in Southern Africa. In: Rubin V (ed) Cannabis and culture. Mouton Publishers, The Hague, Paris, pp 81–116
15.
Du Toit BM (1976) Man and cannabis in Africa: a study of diffusion. Afr Econ Hist 1:17–35
16.
Laniel L (2006) Producing cannabis in Africa south of the Sahara: a review of OGD findings in the 1990s. In: Paper delivered at the international workshop, drugs and alcohol in Africa: production, distribution, consumption & control, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
17.
18.
19.
Assunção MR (1995) Popular culture and regional society in nineteenth-century Maranhgo, Brazil. Bull Latin Am Res 14:265–286CrossRef
20.
Marijuana EA (1980) The first 12,000 years. Plenum Press, New York
21.
Courtwright DT (2001) Forces of habit: drugs and the making of the modern world. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
22.
Amar MB (2006) Cannabinoids in medicine: a review of their therapeutic potential. J Ethnopharmacol 105:1–25CrossRefPubMed
23.
Brown DT (ed) (2003) The therapeutic potential for cannabis and its derivatives. In: Cannabis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 201–250
24.
Hall W, Lynskey M (2016) Why it is probably too soon to assess the public health effects of legalisation of recreational cannabis use in the USA. Lancet Psychiatry 3:900–906CrossRefPubMed
25.
Hanuš LO, Meyer SM, Muñoz E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Appendino G (2016) Phytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory. Nat Prod Rep 33:1357–1392CrossRef
26.
Curran HV, Freeman TP, Mokrysz C, Lewis DA, Morgan CJ, Parsons LH (2016) Keep off the grass? Cannabis, cognition and addiction. Nat Rev Neurosci 17:293–306CrossRef
27.
Bhattacharyya S, Morrison PD, Fusar-Poli P, Martin-Santos R, Borgwardt S, Winton-Brown T, Nosarti C, MO’Carroll C, Seal M, Allen P (2010) Opposite effects of δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on human brain function and psychopathology. Neuropsychopharmacology 35:764–774CrossRef
28.
Englund A, Morrison PD, Nottage J, Hague D, Kane F, Bonaccorso S, Stone JM, Reichenberg A, Brenneisen R, Holt D (2013) Cannabidiol inhibits THC-elicited paranoid symptoms and hippocampal-dependent memory impairment. J Psychopharmacol (Oxf) 27:19–27CrossRef
29.
Morgan CJ, Freeman TP, Schafer GL, Curran HV (2010) Cannabidiol attenuates the appetitive effects of δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in humans smoking their chosen cannabis. Neuropsychopharmacology 35:1879–1885CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Boggs DL, Nguyen JD, Morgenson D, Taffe MA, Ranganathan M (2018) Clinical and preclinical evidence for functional interactions of cannabidiol and δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Neuropsychopharmacology 43:142CrossRefPubMed
31.
Colizzi M, Bhattacharyya S (2017) Does cannabis composition matter? Differential effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on human cognition. Curr Addict Rep 4:62–74CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
32.
Englund A, Freeman TP, Murray RM, McGuire P (2017) Can we make cannabis safer? Lancet Psychiatry 4:643–648CrossRefPubMed
33.
Freeman TP, Morgan CJA, Hindocha C, Schafer GL, Das RK, Curran HV (2014) Just say ‘know’: how do cannabinoid concentrations influence users’ estimates of cannabis potency and the amount they roll in joints? Addiction 109:1686–1694CrossRefPubMed
34.
van der Pol P, Liebregts N, Brunt T, Amsterdam J, Graaf R, Korf DJ, Brink W, Laar M (2014) Cross-sectional and prospective relation of cannabis potency, dosing and smoking behaviour with cannabis dependence: an ecological study. Addiction 109:1101–1109CrossRefPubMed
35.
Bidwelll LC, YorkWilliams SL, Mueller R, Bryan AD, Hutchison KE (2018) Exploring cannabis concentrates on the legal market: user profiles, product strength, and health-related outcomes. Addict Behav Rep 8:102–106CrossRef
36.
Freeman TP, Winstock AR (2015) Examining the profile of high-potency cannabis and its association with severity of cannabis dependence. Psychol Med 45:3181–3189CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Meier MH (2017) Associations between butane hash oil use and cannabis-related problems. Drug Alcohol Depend 179:25–31CrossRefPubMed
38.
Freeman TP, van der Pol P, Kuijpers W, Wisselink J, Das RK, Rigter S, van Laar M, Griffiths P, Swift W, Niesink R (2018) Changes in cannabis potency and first-time admissions to drug treatment: a 16-year study in The Netherlands. Psychol Med 48:2346–2352CrossRefPubMed
39.
Di Forti M, Marconi A, Carra E, Fraietta S, Trotta A, Bonomo M, Bianconi F, Gardner-Sood P, O’Connor J, Russo M (2015) Proportion of patients in south London with first-episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: a case-control study. Lancet Psychiatry 2:233–238CrossRef
40.
Schoeler T, Petros N, Di Forti M, Klamerus E, Foglia E, Ajnakina O, Gayer-Anderson C, Colizzi M, Quattrone D, Behlke I (2016) Effects of continuation, frequency, and type of cannabis use on relapse in the first 2 years after onset of psychosis: an observational study. Lancet Psychiatry 3:947–953CrossRefPubMed
41.
42.
Smart R, Caulkins JP, Kilmer B, Davenport S, Midgette G (2017) Variation in cannabis potency and prices in a newly legal market: evidence from 30 million cannabis sales in Washington state. Addiction 112:2167–2177CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
43.
Freeman T, Swift W (2016) Cannabis potency: the need for global monitoring. Addiction 111:376–377CrossRefPubMed
44.
ElSohly MA, Ross SA, Mehmedic Z, Arafat R, Yi B, Banahan BF 3rd (2000) Potency trends of delta9-THC and other cannabinoids in confiscated marijuana from 1980 to 1997. J Forensic Sci 45:24–30CrossRefPubMed
45.
Mehmedic Z, Chandra S, Slade D, Denham H, Foster S, Patel AS, Ross SA, Khan IA, ElSohly MA (2010) Potency trends of delta9-THC and other cannabinoids in confiscated cannabis preparations from 1993 to 2008. J Forensic Sci 55:1209–1217CrossRefPubMed
46.
Slade D, Mehmedic Z, Chandra S, ElSohly MA (2011) Is Cannabis becoming more potent? In: Castle DJ, Murray RM, D’Souza DC (eds) Marijuana and Madness, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 35–54CrossRef
47.
ElSohly M, Holley J, Turner C (1985) Constituents of cannabis sativa l. XXVI. The delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of confiscated marijuana, 1974–1983. In: Marihuana’84: proceedings of the Oxford symposium on cannabis: 9th international congress of pharmacology, 3rd satellite symposium on cannabis/edited by D.J. Harvey; assistant editors Sir William Paton, GG Nahas. IRL Press, Oxford, c1985
48.
ElSohly MA, Mehmedic Z, Foster S, Gon C, Chandra S, Church JC (2016) Changes in cannabis potency over the last 2 decades (1995–2014): analysis of current data in the united states. Biol Psychiatry 79:613–619CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
49.
Ross S, ElSohly M (1997) CBN and∆ 9-THC concentration ratio as an indicator of the age of stored marijuana samples. Bull Narc 49:139–139
50.
Cascini F, Aiello C, Di Tanna G (2012) Increasing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (δ-9-THC) content in herbal cannabis over time: systematic review and meta-analysis. Curr Drug Abuse Rev 5:32–40CrossRef
51.
Freeman TP, Groshkova T, Cunningham A, Sedefov R, Griffiths P, Lynskey MT (2019) Increasing potency and price of cannabis in Europe, 2006–2016. Addiction (in press)
52.
53.
Pijlman F, Rigter S, Hoek J, Goldschmidt H, Niesink R (2005) Strong increase in total delta-THC in cannabis preparations sold in Dutch coffee shops. Addict Biol 10:171–180CrossRefPubMed
54.
Potter DJ, Clark P, Brown MB (2008) Potency of ∆9-THC and other cannabinoids in cannabis in England in 2005: implications for psychoactivity and pharmacology. J Forensic Sci 53:90–94CrossRefPubMed
55.
Hardwick S, King LA (2008) Home office cannabis potency study 2008. Home Office Scientific Development Branch, St Albans
56.
Potter DJ, Hammond K, Tuffnell S, Walker C, Di Forti M (2018) Potency of δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids in cannabis in England in 2016: implications for public health and pharmacology. Drug Test Anal 10:628–635CrossRefPubMed
57.
Zamengo L, Frison G, Bettin C, Sciarrone R (2014) Understanding the risks associated with the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS): high variability of active ingredients concentration, mislabelled preparations, multiple psychoactive substances in single products. Toxicol Lett 229:220–228CrossRefPubMed
58.
Zamengo L, Frison G, Bettin C, Sciarrone R (2015) Cannabis potency in the Venice area (Italy): update 2013. Drug Test Anal 7:255–258CrossRefPubMed
59.
Dujourdy L, Besacier F (2017) A study of cannabis potency in France over a 25 years period (1992–2016). Forensic Sc Int 272:72–80CrossRef
60.
Hillig KW, Mahlberg PG (2004) A chemotaxonomic analysis of cannabinoid variation in cannabis (Cannabaceae). Am J Bot 91:966–975CrossRef
Metadata
Title
New trends in cannabis potency in USA and Europe during the last decade (2008–2017)
Authors
Suman Chandra
Mohamed M. Radwan
Chandrani G. Majumdar
James C. Church
Tom P. Freeman
Mahmoud A. ElSohly
Publication date
01-02-2019
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keyword
Cannabinoid
Published in
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience / Issue 1/2019
Print ISSN: 0940-1334
Electronic ISSN: 1433-8491
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-019-00983-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2019

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 1/2019 Go to the issue

Invited Review

Age-related differences in the impact of cannabis use on the brain and cognition: a systematic review

Original Paper

A randomised controlled trial of vaporised Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alone and in combination in frequent and infrequent cannabis users: acute intoxication effects

Invited Review

Cannabis and mental illness: a review

Invited Review

Understanding the evidence for medical cannabis and cannabis-based medicines for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain

Original Paper

How effective and safe is medical cannabis as a treatment of mental disorders? A systematic review

Invited Review

An update on cannabis use disorder with comment on the impact of policy related to therapeutic and recreational cannabis use