Uncomfortably high: Testing reveals inflated THC potency on retail Cannabis labels.

Autor: Schwabe AL; University of Northern Colorado, School of Biological Sciences, Greeley, Colorado, United States of America., Johnson V; Mile High Labs, Broomfield, Colorado, United States of America., Harrelson J; Mile High Labs, Broomfield, Colorado, United States of America., McGlaughlin ME; University of Northern Colorado, School of Biological Sciences, Greeley, Colorado, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2023 Apr 12; Vol. 18 (4), pp. e0282396. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Apr 12 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282396
Abstrakt: Legal Cannabis products in the United States are required to report THC potency (total THC % by dry weight) on packaging, however concerns have been raised that reported THC potency values are inaccurate. Multiple studies have demonstrated that THC potency is a primary factor in determining pricing for Cannabis flower, so it has an outsized role in the marketplace. Reports of inflated THC potency and "lab shopping" to obtain higher THC potency results have been circulating for some time, but a side-by-side investigation of the reported potency and flower in the package has not previously been conducted. Using HPLC, we analyzed THC potency in 23 samples from 10 dispensaries throughout the Colorado Front Range and compared the results to the THC potency reported on the packaging. Average observed THC potency was 14.98 +/- 2.23%, which is substantially lower than recent reports summarizing dispensary reported THC potency. The average observed THC potency was 23.1% lower than the lowest label reported values and 35.6% lower than the highest label reported values. Overall, ~70% of the samples were more than 15% lower than the THC potency numbers reported on the label, with three samples having only one half of the reported maximum THC potency. Although the exact source of the discrepancies is difficult to determine, a lack of standardized testing protocols, limited regulatory oversight, and financial incentives to market high THC potency likely play a significant role. Given our results it is urgent that steps are taken to increase label accuracy of Cannabis being sold to the public. The lack of accurate reporting of THC potency can have impacts on medical patients controlling dosage, recreational consumers expecting an effect aligned with price, and trust in the industry as a whole. As the legal cannabis market continues to grow, it is essential that the industry moves toward selling products with more accurate labeling.
Competing Interests: ALS is an employee of Shore Organics/ 420 Organics; this employment began after the manuscript was completed and submitted for review. VJ and JH were employees of Mile High Labs while data was collected at that facility. JH is employed at Cembrex Inc. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
(Copyright: © 2023 Schwabe et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje