Forensic Science International 235 (2014) e1–e2
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Forensic Science International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint
Letter to the Editor Mixed consumption of cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’
Keywords: Synthetic cannabinoids Spice THC Marihuana Cannabis
Dear Editor, In recent years driving under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids (‘‘Spice’’) became a real problem [1]. A big problem is not only the fact that synthetic cannabinoids interact with the cannabinoid receptor CB1/CB2 like the active constituent of cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – THC) but also that common drug screening tests can be circumvented after consumption of these drugs. Thus, cannabis is often substituted with ‘‘Spice’’. The only possibility for the confirmation of the consumption of these surrogate drugs is the application of complex analytical techniques like liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) [2,3]. In the literature these substances are considered mainly as surrogate for marihuana and the possibility that both cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’ may be consumed was not much discussed. From the point of view of the toxicology and the problems concerned with the driving under the influence of cannabis/’’Spice’’ it would be very interesting, since both THC and synthetic cannabinoids interact with the same receptors and drug–drug interactions with a synergistic effect can be expected.
With this letter we wanted to share our observations in this topic after the evaluation of analyses performed between January and October 2013. The liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analytical method used in our laboratory for the analysis of THC and its metabolites 11-hydroxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OHTHC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) also detects the most important ‘‘Spice’’ substances in our region (JWH-015, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-203, JWH-210, JWH-250, JWH-251, JWH-307, JWH-398, AM-1220, AM-2201, AM-694, RCS-4, UR144, XLR-11). After a few years of synthetic cannabinoids concentration monitoring in human serum in Lower Saxony (n > 1000) we can classify JWH-018, JWH-122, JWH-210 and AM2201 as most relevant. Therefore, these drugs were monitored in our study. Samples analysed with this LC–MS/MS method and evaluated were collected during police traffic controls and positively tested for THC metabolites either with pretests performed by the police of Lower Saxony or by the cloned enzyme donor immunoassay (CEDIA) performed in our laboratory. The achieved results (Table 1) revealed the mixed consumption of cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’ performed by some car drivers and that the prevalence of ‘‘Spice’’ positive samples among cannabis positive samples is about 0.5%. In some cases the quantified concentration was as low as
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Forensic Science International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint
Letter to the Editor Mixed consumption of cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’
Keywords: Synthetic cannabinoids Spice THC Marihuana Cannabis
Dear Editor, In recent years driving under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids (‘‘Spice’’) became a real problem [1]. A big problem is not only the fact that synthetic cannabinoids interact with the cannabinoid receptor CB1/CB2 like the active constituent of cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – THC) but also that common drug screening tests can be circumvented after consumption of these drugs. Thus, cannabis is often substituted with ‘‘Spice’’. The only possibility for the confirmation of the consumption of these surrogate drugs is the application of complex analytical techniques like liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) [2,3]. In the literature these substances are considered mainly as surrogate for marihuana and the possibility that both cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’ may be consumed was not much discussed. From the point of view of the toxicology and the problems concerned with the driving under the influence of cannabis/’’Spice’’ it would be very interesting, since both THC and synthetic cannabinoids interact with the same receptors and drug–drug interactions with a synergistic effect can be expected.
With this letter we wanted to share our observations in this topic after the evaluation of analyses performed between January and October 2013. The liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analytical method used in our laboratory for the analysis of THC and its metabolites 11-hydroxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OHTHC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) also detects the most important ‘‘Spice’’ substances in our region (JWH-015, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-203, JWH-210, JWH-250, JWH-251, JWH-307, JWH-398, AM-1220, AM-2201, AM-694, RCS-4, UR144, XLR-11). After a few years of synthetic cannabinoids concentration monitoring in human serum in Lower Saxony (n > 1000) we can classify JWH-018, JWH-122, JWH-210 and AM2201 as most relevant. Therefore, these drugs were monitored in our study. Samples analysed with this LC–MS/MS method and evaluated were collected during police traffic controls and positively tested for THC metabolites either with pretests performed by the police of Lower Saxony or by the cloned enzyme donor immunoassay (CEDIA) performed in our laboratory. The achieved results (Table 1) revealed the mixed consumption of cannabis and ‘‘Spice’’ performed by some car drivers and that the prevalence of ‘‘Spice’’ positive samples among cannabis positive samples is about 0.5%. In some cases the quantified concentration was as low as
![[Cerebellar stroke by cannabis consumption].](/assets/img/hold.png)
