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Analysis of the prevalence and coexistence of synthetic cannabinoids in “herbal high” products in Poland

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Abstract

“Herbal highs” are a group of products marketed in recent years as legal substitutes for marijuana. This article presents the results of examinations performed on samples seized in “head shops” and from individuals during a 3.5-year period, between mid-2008 and the end of 2011 in Poland. Of over 2000 samples delivered for analysis, 420 preparations were selected for this study. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–quadrupole-time-of-flight–mass spectrometry were used for identification of psychoactive components, and high-performance liquid chromatography was used for their quantitation. The most common ingredients of herbal highs were: JWH-081 (144 products), JWH-018 (103), RCS-4 (92), JWH-073 (89), JWH-250 (75), JWH-122 (69), cannabicyclohexanol (55), and JWH-210 (38). Over 50 % of the products contained two or more active ingredients; 136 products (32.4 %) contained two; 56 products (13.3 %) contained three; and 22 (5.2 %) contained more than three. Common combinations of ingredients were investigated by the graph method; substances coexisted mainly with those introduced into the drug market in a similar period of time. The most common dual combinations were JWH-081 + RCS-4 (18 products), JWH-073 + JWH-250 (16), and JWH-081 + JWH-250 (12). JWH-081 was blended with almost all detected synthetic cannabinoids. The main risks of the use of these substances were due to ignorance of great variation in the content and composition of synthetic cannabinoids even if the products had identical labels. This inconsistency could cause serious health damage to users, while ignorance of the fact that more than one third of the products being sold at head shops contain illicit compound(s) could result in unexpected arrest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31 033, Kraków, Poland

    Dariusz Zuba & Bogumiła Byrska

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  1. Dariusz Zuba
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  2. Bogumiła Byrska
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Correspondence to Dariusz Zuba.

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This article is for the special issue TIAFT 2012 edited by Osamu Suzuki.

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Zuba, D., Byrska, B. Analysis of the prevalence and coexistence of synthetic cannabinoids in “herbal high” products in Poland. Forensic Toxicol 31, 21–30 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-012-0159-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-012-0159-0

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