Determination of the Contents of Three Major Cannabinoids in Cannabis Samples Found in Ghana

Abstract

The possession, use, cultivation, sale and trafficking of any form of cannabis in Ghana without lawful authority is illegal. Incidentally the substance remains one of the most abused in the country. The aim of this research was to measure the content of three major cannabinoids - THC, CBN and CBD in cannabis samples cultivated and abused in Ghana. The research was encouraged to fill this gap of information against the backdrop of the current social outcry on the legalization of the substance in Ghana. A GC-MS method was utilized in the measurement of the content of THC, CBN and CBD as a percentage of the dry weight of thirty three illicit cannabis samples. Thirty samples were selected from exhibits available at the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Ghana Police Service, which originated from suspected plant materials seized by Police Officers across the regions of Ghana. The remaining three were uprooted from illegal cannabis farms in the Ashanti, Eastern and Volta regions. The cannabinoid contents measured for the seized samples analyzed were: THC{(0.93±0.07) - (15.14±1.22)} %; CBN {(0.67±0.05) - (3.23±0.26)} % and CBD {(0.88±0.07) - (1.19±0.09)} %. The THC content measured for the fresh samples were (6.88±0.55) %, (4.49±0.36) % and (5.46±0.44) % respectively for Ashanti, Eastern and Volta regions. The CBD content of the fresh farm samples were (1.33±0.10) %, (1.33±0.10) % and (1.18±0.10) % for Ashanti, Eastern and Volta regions respectively. The expanded uncertainties (k=2) in the measurement of the cannabinoids content were 8.06 %, 8.04 % and 7.44 % for THC, CBN and CBD respectively. The THC results of all the samples analyzed gave an indication of very high potent cannabis plant materials in Ghana. The THC content of the fresh samples collected from farms in the Ashanti, Eastern and Volta regions were higher and significantly different (P<0.05) from the seized samples from the three respective regions. The phenotype indices of the samples analyzed were greater than 1 and found in the range of 1.99 to 18.07; an indication that all the samples analyzed were drug type cannabis.