THC Plant Material Analysis Using Compact Mass Spectrometry for Product Control and Law Enforcement of cannabis-related Plant Products

Analysis of the active components of the cannabis sativa plant is required both for law enforcement where these compounds are illegal and also as a tool for product control and optimization in the increasing number of legal markets for cannabis plant products. Whenever simple, unequivocal and legally defensible  analysis methods for the detection and quantification of plant  metabolites are required, mass spectrometry is the detector of  choice.

Here, we present two simple workflows for the analysis of cannabinoids such as the naturally occuring cannabinol (CBN), the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis sativa,  tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the degradation product cannabidiol (CBD). Both TLC/FIA/CMS for qualitative detection  of cannabinoids, as well as HPLC/CMS for the quantitative determination of THC demonstrate the added benefit of compact mass spectrometry in the analysis of natural products.