Analytical strategies for herbal Cannabis samples in forensic applications: A comprehensive review

Cannabis sativa L. is undoubtedly the most used recreational drug worldwide because of its desired acute psychotropic effects, like relaxation, euphoria and altered perceptions. In addition, promising medical properties of Cannabis components have gained a lot of attention, resulting in a debate to permit recreational Cannabis use in several countries. In recent years, this controversial plant was increasingly studied and a large number of scientific papers were published. Herbal Cannabis consists of a variable and complex matrix, which makes it challenging to properly seize and prepare the sample for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Moreover, both the adoption of legal cut-off values in different countries for the Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in seizures, and the emergence of cannabidiol (CBD) based products, containing generally small but variable amounts of THC, urged the need for sensitive and reliable analytical techniques to accurately identify and quantify the components of interest. This review presents detailed information on the procedure prior to analysis and covers chromatographic and spectroscopic methods developed for the analysis of cannabinoids in seizures for different forensic purposes, that is, identification/quantification, potency testing, drug- and fiber-type differentiation, age estimation, yield determination and Cannabis profiling. Advantages and drawbacks of existing methods, within a specific forensic context, are discussed. The application of chemometrics, which offers a powerful tool in interpreting complex data, is also explained.This article is categorized under:Toxicology > CannabisToxicology > Drug AnalysisForensic Chemistry and Trace Evidence > Presentation and Evaluation of Forensic Science Output