CBD, a precursor of THC in e-cigarettes

Abstract

The use of cannabidiol (CBD) in electronic cigarettes is widespread. Previously, it was reported that CBD is partly transformed to THC in case smoking as a cigarette, however, the pyrolysis of this compound has not been assessed extensively. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of temperature on the composition of pyrolysis products of CBD. The experiments were performed in the typical operating temperature range of e-cigarettes (250–400 °C) and at 500 °C under both inert and oxidative conditions, and the pyrolysis products were identified and quantified by GC–MS. Depending on the temperature and atmosphere, 25–52% of CBD was transformed into other chemical substances: Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, cannabinol and cannabichromene were the predominant pyrolysates in both conditions, all formed by cyclization reaction. THC was the main pyrolysis product at all temperatures under both oxidative and inert conditions. Our results point out that CBD in e-cigarettes can be considered as a precursor of THC, thus it bears all the dangers related to this psychoactive compound. Our findings are fundamental contributions to the safety profile of CBD-based e-cigarettes.

The electrophysiological effects of cannabidiol on action potentials and transmembrane potassium currents in rabbit and dog cardiac ventricular preparations

“…The consumption of cannabinoids, particularly CBD, which is enriched in numerous products, can be higher in case of the intake of CBD oils than in case of smoking cannabis. At high temperature, the majority of CBD is broken down (Czégény et al 2021 ), whilst from CBD oils (in fact CBD dissolved in vegetable oils) containing up to 20% CBD, a significant amount of CBD is absorbed.…”

Are adverse effects of cannabidiol (CBD) products caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) contamination?

“…Similar observations were recently provided by Yangsud et al determining CBD as stabile under stress conditions, other than acidic or alkaline conditions 49 . Transformation of CBD may also occur in acidified plasma samples or during pyrolysis gas chromatography 50,51 .…”

Considerations for Cannabinoids in Perioperative Care by Anesthesiologists

“…THC also undergoes a natural transformation into cannabinol (CBN) devoid of psychoactive potency [80]. CBD can be cyclized into 9-THC and 8-THC during pyrolysis [58,[81][82][83]. In addition, one must keep in mind that pyretic transformation of cannabinoids yields several hundred compounds, similar to smoking nicotine-based products or THC [82].…”

“…Following inhalation, the bioavailability of THC ranges from 10 to 85%, while the bioavailability of CBD averages 31%, both of which are dependent on inter-and intrasubject inhalation characteristics (number of puffs, the smoke volume, and amount of time smoke is held inside the lungs) [76,169]. Furthermore, pyrolysis may occur during smoking and vaping, resulting in CBD to THC conversion [81,83]. Smoking results in inhalation of combustion products similar to the mechanisms seen during tobacco consumption, but the significance of this is unclear [170,171].…”

“…A formidable challenge is gauging the intake of cannabinoids, as the dosages and potency of different cannabinoid preparations vary in strength and composition [18,19,35,37]. The standardization of the dosages is scant and complicated, with the concentration of 9-THC possibly being affected by 8-THC while being inversely related to CBD [77,78,83,179]. Furthermore, synthetic cannabinoids may further affect potency [10,207].…”