Vaping Pure Cannabidiol e-Cigarettes Does Not Produce Detectable Amount of ∆9-THC in Human Blood

Kintz, Pascal

doi:10.1093/jat/bkaa008

“…Discussion 1 H NMR spectroscopy of ∆ 9 -THC in condensates indicates that an overall formation of ∆ 9 -THC does not occur in commercial CBD liquids. These findings are consistent with previous findings from Kintz 5 . Further analytical measurements using more sensitive LC-MS/MS have confirmed, that no formation of ∆ 9 -THC after heating occurred.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

“…The authors suggested to reconsider the viewpoint that CBD in e-cigarette liquids does not appear to have any psychotropic effect or any harmful effect on human health. However, a study by Kintz measured CBD concentrations in blood samples from consumers of CBD-containing e-liquids without ∆ 9 -THC being detected in blood samples 5 . Regarding smoking of low-THC cannabis, Gelmi et al observed blood THC concentrations at levels reported to cause impairment symptoms, but were unable to confirm such effects in a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled, two-way crossover study 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Absence of Relevant Thermal Conversion of Cannabidiol (CBD) to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in E-Cigarette Vapor and Low-THC Cannabis Smoke

Hindelang¹,

Scharinger²,

Golombek³

et al. 2022

Preprint

0

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Introduction: Recent research claimed that cannabidiol (CBD) in commercial electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) liquids can be converted into psychotropic amounts of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This study aims to validate this claim by a realistic e-cigarette setup. Additionally, this study also investigates if such a conversion may occur during smoking of CBD-rich cannabis joints. Methods: Two different CBD-liquids were vaporized using two different e-cigarette models, one of which was operated at extreme energy settings (0.2 Ω and 200 W). The smoke of six CBD joints was collected using a rotary smoking machine according to ISO 4387:2019. Analyses were conducted using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry as well as liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: For the condensed e-cigarette liquids, no increase in THC concentration could be observed. For the CBD joints, no formation of THC was provable. The recovered THC concentrations were ranging between 1% and 48% of the THC amount initially contained in the joints before smoking. Conclusions: Using realistic conditions of consumer exposure, relevant conversion of CBD to THC appears not to be occurring. The health risk of CBD liquids for electronic cigarettes as well as low-THC cannabis intended for smoking can be assessed by the concentrations in the source material without need to consider significant changes in psychotropic compounds during use by consumers.

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“…1 H NMR spectroscopy of ∆ 9 -THC in condensates indicates that an overall formation of ∆ 9 -THC does not occur in commercial CBD liquids. These findings are consistent with previous findings from Kintz 5 . Further analytical measurements using more sensitive LC-MS/MS have confirmed, that no formation of ∆ 9 -THC after heating occurred.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Absence of Relevant Thermal Conversion of Cannabidiol (CBD) to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in E-Cigarette Vapor and Low-THC Cannabis Smoke

Hindelang

¹

,

Scharinger

²

,

Golombek

³

et al. 2022

Preprint

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Recent research claimed that cannabidiol (CBD) in commercial electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) liquids can be converted into psychotropic amounts of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This study aims to validate this claim by a realistic e-cigarette setup. Additionally, this study also investigates if such a conversion may occur during smoking of CBD-rich cannabis joints. Methods: Two different CBD-liquids were vaporized using two different e-cigarette models, one of which was operated at extreme energy settings (0.2 Ω and 200 W). The smoke of six CBD joints was collected using a rotary smoking machine according to ISO 4387:2019. Analyses were conducted using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry as well as liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: For the condensed e-cigarette liquids, no increase in THC concentration could be observed. For the CBD joints, no formation of THC was provable. The recovered THC concentrations were ranging between 1% and 48% of the THC amount initially contained in the joints before smoking. Conclusions: Using realistic conditions of consumer exposure, relevant conversion of CBD to THC appears not to be occurring. The health risk of CBD liquids for electronic cigarettes as well as low-THC cannabis intended for smoking can be assessed by the concentrations in the source material without need to consider significant changes in psychotropic compounds during use by consumers.

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“…However, taking a closer look at these in vitro studies raises some doubts. If CBD was to be converted to Δ 9 -THC in vivo, typical Δ 9 -THC metabolites should be detectable in blood and urine, but this has not been observed in oral or inhalatory CBD studies [42][43][44] . Due to the contradicting results, a replication of the in vitro study of Merrick et al 21 was conducted using an extended experimental design.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lachenmeier

¹

,

Habel

²

,

Fischer

³

et al. 2021

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Cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products are widely marketed as over the counter products, mostly as food supplements. Adverse effects reported in anecdotal consumer reports or during clinical studies were first assumed to be due to hydrolytic conversion of CBD to psychotropic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in the stomach after oral consumption. However, research of pure CBD solutions stored in simulated gastric juice or subjected to various storage conditions such as heat and light with specific liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatographic/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometric (UPLC-QTOF) analyses was unable to confirm THC formation. Another hypothesis for the adverse effects of CBD products may be residual Δ9-THC concentrations in the products as contamination, because most of them are based on hemp extracts containing the full spectrum of cannabinoids besides CBD. Analyses of 181 food products of the German market (mostly CBD oils) confirmed this hypothesis: 21 products (12%) contained Δ9-THC above the lowest observed adverse effect level (2.5 mg/day). Inversely, CBD was present in the products below the no observed adverse effect level. Hence, it may be assumed that the adverse effects of some commercial CBD products are based on a low-dose effect of Δ9-THC and not due to effects of CBD itself. The safety, efficacy and purity of commercial CBD products is highly questionable, and all of the products in our sample collection showed various non-conformities to European food law such as unsafe Δ9-THC levels, hemp extracts or CBD isolates as non-approved novel food ingredients, non-approved health claims, and deficits in mandatory food labelling requirements. In view of the growing market for such lifestyle products, the effectiveness of the instrument of food business operators' own responsibility for product safety and regulatory compliance must obviously be challenged, and a strong regulatory framework for hemp products needs to be devised.

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Vaping Pure Cannabidiol e-Cigarettes Does Not Produce Detectable Amount of ∆9-THC in Human Blood

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Absence of Relevant Thermal Conversion of Cannabidiol (CBD) to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in E-Cigarette Vapor and Low-THC Cannabis Smoke

Absence of Relevant Thermal Conversion of Cannabidiol (CBD) to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in E-Cigarette Vapor and Low-THC Cannabis Smoke

Absence of Relevant Thermal Conversion of Cannabidiol (CBD) to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in E-Cigarette Vapor and Low-THC Cannabis Smoke

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

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