ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 4

Testing Human Hair for Cannabis II. Identification of THC-COOH by GC-MS-NCI as a Unique Proof
Kintz, P
Institut de Medecine Legale,

Mangin, P
Institut de Medecine Legale,

Cirimele, V
Institut de Medecine Legale,

(Received 18 October 1994; accepted 15 December 1994)

Abstract

To validate information on cannabis use, 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic (THC-COOH) was investigated in human hair. The identification of THC-COOH in hair would document cannabis use more effectively than the detection of the parent drug which might have come from environmental exposure in a smoky atmosphere. Samples (100 mg) were decontaminated with methylene chloride and destroyed by incubation in 1 mL of 1 N sodium hydroxide for 30 min at 95°C in presence of 10 ng of THC-COOH-d³. After cooling, samples were extracted by n-hexane/ethyl acetate after acidification with acetic acid. After derivatization by PFPA-PFP-OH of the dry extract, drugs were separated on a HP1 capillary column, and detected by mass spectrometry (m/z 602) using negative chemical ionization with methane as reagent gas. Among 30 samples obtained from subjects deceased from fatal heroin overdose, 17 tested positive for THC-COOH, in the range 0.02–0.39 ng/mg, with an average of 0.12 ng/mg.

Keywords:
toxicology, cannabis, hair, GC/MS/NCI

Paper ID: JFS13837J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13837J
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