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XXXV TIAFT Annual Meeting Poster Presentations
CHARACTERISATION OF THE PHENOTYPE OF CANNABIS PLANTS AND OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS IN CONFISCATED SAMPLES IN CRETE

Dimopoulou M., Toutoudakis M., Tsatsakis A.M., Tsakalof A., Michalodimitrakis E.M.

Toxicology Laboratory, Medical School, University of Crete, Stavrakia, Iraklion, PO Box 1393, 71409 Crete, Greece

Cannabis products such as hashish and marihuana are the most prevalent psychoactive substances of abuse in Crete. In the present study samples of cannabis products and plants presented to us by the Drug Enforcement Units were characterised. These included quantities of processed or whole cannabis plants possessed by people that were known to be involved in trafficking and/or personal use of these substances as well as people growing cannabis plants in plantations.
Methods. The fresh samples were dried in a dry and dark room where they were kept until analysis. The samples include leaves, flowers, roots, trunks and whole plants. Analysis was performed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography (GC) using standard solutions of cannabidiol, δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, δ-8 tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinol provided by Alltech.
Results. The chemical analysis revealed that 70 % of the plants were classified as resinous phenotype while the remaining 30 % was of the textile phenotype (low concentration of active cannabinoids). The phenotypes were characterised according to the results obtained from leaves and flowers of mature female plants. The concentration of δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in the flowers and leaves ranged from 0.014 to 36.3 µg/g, of cannabinol from 0.006 to 0.320 µg/g and of cannabidiol from 0.01 to 29.6 µg/g.
Conclusion. Characterization of the cannabis plants in confiscated samples should be always carried out for better servicing legal regulations.

  Abstract 094

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